VAJRA YOGA™ IMMERSION | Singing Yourself Awake: the Foundations of Mantra Practice | with Robert A.F. Thurman, John Campbell, Jamie Bonelli, and special guest Fifi Pallas

Friday, July 17 | 6:30-8:30 PM ET Saturday, July 18 | 9:30 AM-5:30 PM ET Sunday, July 19 | 9:30 AM-1:30 PM ET In-person & Online | $195 Presenters: Robert A.F. Thurman, John Campbell, Jamie Bonelli, and special guest Fifi Pallas PLEASE NOTE Single-day tickets are not available for this event. Recordings of all 3 days will be available to registered participants who are unable to attend one of the days. The workshop requires a minimum of 10 participants in order to run — please register in advance. The Singing Yourself Awake weekend is an exploration of the meaning and practice of mantra. Drawing on insights and methods from the treasure house of the Indo-Tibetan inner sciences, this workshop addresses the power of everyday speech in shaping our thoughts, and how language becomes the “super language” of mantra for navigating the landscape of consciousness and resonating with our core body of enlightenment. Alternating between vibration and stillness, articulation and silence, the immersion is a crash course in “Vajra Speech,” the creative, joyful communication that naturally arises from a joyful heart. In Friday night’s lecture, renowned scholar of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism Bob Thurman explains mantra as a special language force capable of aligning everyday speech with our naturally awakened, buddha-field energies and freedom. Practice sessions on Saturday and Sunday teach participants to identify the archetypal “seed syllables” emerging from the Sanskrit alphabet, whose very sounds and shapes mimic the frequencies of the energetic “vajra body.” Collaboratively and individually, John and Jamie will give instruction in hatha and Tibetan healing yoga, methods of mantra recitation and visualization, and yoga nidra. Extraordinary sound-yoga practitioner Fifi Pallas provides celestial sound accompaniment for practice sessions, transforming them into somatic meditations on nāda, the essential vibration of creation. Weekend topics and practices include: Dharma discourse on speech as the “mainspring of wakeful ethics” in Buddhism’s Eightfold Path and the eight branches of the Yoga Sutra Yoga nidra and sound meditation Tibetan healing yoga (Nejang), asana yoga, pranayama Use of “seed” syllable mantras to navigate the subtle energetic body, and the mantra of White Tara as the enlightened “speech energy” underlying ordinary communication Engaging in yoga practices that integrate movement, breathwork, visualization, vocalization, and above all deep listening, we come to recognize within our everyday experience the resonance of our subtle energetic “vajra” bodies, and to hear them harmonize with creation’s interdependent, joyful hum. We hope you will join us. Chairs are provided as needed for the Friday night lecture and meditation. Saturday and Sunday’s yoga practice sessions involve active movement, so please dress accordingly. Yoga mats are provided. All levels are welcome. Practices will be accessible and adaptable, with modifications offered to support those with injuries or physical limitations. Tentative Schedule Friday, July 17 6:30–8:30 PM Dharma Talk Speech and Silence of Buddhas w/ Bob & John Saturday, July 18 9:30 AM – 11 AM Dharma Talk w/ Bob & John The sound-signature of White Tara 11:15 AM – 12:30 PM Workshop w/ John & Jamie Tibetan Healing Yoga and Pranayama 12:30 – 1:45 PM Break 1:45 – 4:00 PM Dharma Talk w/ Bob and John Realistic Speech: “Mainspring of Wakeful Ethics” 4:00 – 5:30 PM Yoga Nidra & Nada Yoga—w/ Jamie and Fifi Sunday, July 19 9:30 AM — 12 PM Workshop w/ John & Jamie Vinyasa-based Yoga, Tibetan Healing Yoga, and Pranayama 12:45 — 1:30 pm Nāda Yoga (sound bath) w/ Fifi TEACHER BIOS Bob Thurman is a professor emeritus, author, and teacher widely regarded as one of the leading Western experts on Tibetan Buddhism. The first American ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Bob has spent decades making the Buddha’s teachings accessible to modern audiences. A former Jey Tsong Khapa Professor at Columbia University and co-founder of Tibet House US, he has written extensively on Buddhism, politics, and culture. Named one of Time Magazine’s 25 most influential Americans, he was awarded India’s Padma Shri in 2020 for his work preserving Buddhist heritage. Through his scholarship and activism, Bob continues to be a vibrant bridge between ancient wisdom and contemporary life. To learn more visit https://bobthurman.com/. John Campbell has been practicing yoga and meditation for over thirty years. In 2002 he became one of the few instructors worldwide to be recognized as a Certified Teacher by the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore in southern India. He currently runs the Vajra Yoga program for Tibet House in New York City. A scholar of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, he received a PhD in Religion from Columbia University. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and taught at Columbia University and the University of Virginia, where he co-founded the Contemplative Sciences Center. He is a translator of Sanskrit and Tibetan texts from the yogic and tantric traditions of India and Tibet. His publications include The Esoteric Community Tantra by Vajradhara with the Illuminating Lamp by Chandrakirti (2020), the first in a series of commentaries on the Guhyasamāja Tantra co-translated with Prof. Robert Thurman. He is a native New Yorker and lives with his wife, three children, and various cats and dogs in Newburgh, New York. Jamie Bonelli has been practicing yoga for more than 25 years. Before turning to yoga, she worked as an actress, singer, and dancer, with performances on stage, film, and television. Her journey as a teacher began when she sought to share the benefits of yoga with a friend living with MS, leading her to train in Yoga Nidra. She is among the rare practitioners to have completed the entire original Ashtanga yoga syllabus, studying with David Swenson, Nancy Gilgoff, and Manju Jois. In addition, she has cultivated a deep appreciation for Vedic chanting under the guidance of Shantala Sriramaiah. Her practice has also been enriched by workshops with Bob Thurman and John Campbell, as well as explorations of Tibetan yoga, experiences that have allowed her to integrate decades of study into a teaching style rooted in joy and presence. Jamie is currently pursuing MSW in social service at Fordham University. She is the mother of two daughters and continues to find inspiration in dance. Fifi Pallas is an artist, yogi, and consciousness explorer whose work bridges ancient wisdom traditions with modern biohacking approaches to consciousness and nervous system regulation. Her practice is informed by extensive exploration of altered states of consciousness and contemplative traditions including yogic philosophy, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Bön. Through immersive sound journeys, breathwork, and somatic practices, Fifi guides participants into brainwave harmonization, enhanced creativity, and expanded awareness—inviting a return to their true nature, Sat Chit Ananda: existence, consciousness, and bliss. Follow: @fifi_fifile