The Heart of Devotion Retreat with Krishna Das

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Join Krishna Das and friends for a weekend retreat of yoga, chanting, and devotional heart-opening practices. This is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with a group of dedicated seekers and immerse yourself in practices, teachings, and discussions. Over this retreat weekend, Krishna Das will lead nightly kirtan with accompanying musicians, and guide us during afternoon workshops with discussions and Q&A. Special guest teacher is Tulku Sherdor who will share Buddhist chanting and dharma teachings from his tradition. Nina Rao will lead morning chant sessions, and Shamina Rao will lead the yoga practices.

To help you transition into retreat mode, there will be a Gentle Yoga Class on Friday Afternoon – 4:15-5:30 PM ET – This class will include gentle and fluid movement, restorative poses, and breathwork to help you “land”.

Saturday and Sunday morning yoga classes will be 8:00-9:15 AM. These classes will include slow-flow grounding asana, pranayam, and meditation with an emphasis on the connection between breath and movement. The class will be paced to provide room for stillness within the flow, to enhance body awareness with mindfulness and intention, and to prepare us to sit for chanting and Q&A with Krishna Das and Nina Rao. Please bring yoga props with you if you can.

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PLEASE NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC KIRTAN FOR THIS RETREAT THIS YEAR

For your viewing pleasure, please see this pre-recorded clip

Tentative Schedule for Opening Day (subject to change)

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TEACHERS

Krishna Das is a Grammy-nominated chant artist and has sung with people all around the world for over 35 years. His music offers the practice of chanting mantras mostly in the Indian tradition with some Buddhist and Gospel infusions! By sharing his life experiences on the Path in his book “Chants of a Lifetime” and workshops with people around the world, participants have found a way to integrate spiritual practices in their lives in a better way with some peace of mind. Krishna Das released his latest and 16th album last year “Peace of My Heart”. To learn more about his work, please visit his website.

Nina Rao is Krishna Das’s assistant and leader of chanting. Her first recording is of the ‘Nina Chalisa’ on Krishna Das’s “Flow of Grace – Chanting the Hanuman Chalisa” album. In January 2013 she released her own album “Antarayaami – Knower of All Hearts”. She released her second album “Anubhav” in September 2018 and continues to chant with people in Brooklyn and beyond. She is currently working on an album of chants for the 21 Taras with Chandra Easton and Genevieve Walker. For more information, please visit: https://www.ninaraochant.com/

Tulku Sherdor is our Executive Director. Born in Montreal, Canada in 1961, he began studying Buddhist Insight meditation from a very young age, and met his first principal teacher, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, in Nepal in 1981. He was fortunate to study with many pre-eminent masters of the 20th century, including His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Dung Say Trinley Norbu Rinpoche, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, and many others. He served his principal teacher His Holiness Orgyen Kusum Lingpa in countless ways from 1997 through 2009, and is a senior Tulku of His Holiness’ monastery in Golog, Tibet, Lung Ngon Tubten Chokorling. Tulku Sherdor has completed about ten years of intensive, formal retreat, including a three-year and four-month lama retreat in the Karma and Shangpa Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism under Kalu Rinpoche, a year-long solitary retreat in the Chogling Tersar practice lineage held by Tulku Urgyen, and a four-year personal retreat from 2017 through 2021. Tulku founded and has presided over the Rimay Monlam peace prayer gathering annually since 2007, is the author of nine scholarly books on Tibetan Buddhism, and the lead translator of two Sutras published by the 84000 Project. Recordings of his chants and songs are available on CD, YouTube, and all major streaming platforms. More than thirty years ago, Tulku Sherdor began to serve the dharma by translating for a great number of distinguished Nyingma and Kagyu meditation masters, and about twenty years ago, he began teaching and leading retreats around the world and online, and directing or supporting countless other dharma projects, touching the lives of tens of thousands of people worldwide. More information can be found here: https://blazingwisdom.org/tulku-sherab-dorje/

Shamina Rao’s passion for yoga spans over 25 years. She was born in India and grew up around the world. Her classes incorporate meditation, pranayam, and thoughtful sequencing in a breath-centered vinyasa practice bringing awareness to the connection of the work we do on the mat to our lives off the mat and a firm belief in yoga for all people. Shamina’s yoga practice grounds her work as a full spectrum doula and Lactation Consultant, as she supports new parents through the transformative journey of childbirth and early parenthood. She integrates yoga into all aspects of her work, fostering balance, empowerment, and joy in the power of this practice to bring people together, no matter what our backgrounds are.

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COVID-19

The health and safety of our guests and staff is a top priority for the Garrison Institute. To attend a retreat or event all guests, teachers, and staff are required to self-test (at home antigen test is acceptable) within the 48-hour window prior to arriving for a retreat on site, and to bring a 2nd self-test kit when coming on site. We encourage everyone to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and other illnesses before your visit. If you experience symptoms or have a positive diagnosis, please notify us immediately at events@garrisoninstitute.org We will continue to follow any COVID-19 guidelines set forth by our local officials, New York State and the CDC. Please visit this page for more information about the safety protocols in place as well as answers to frequently asked questions.