A 10 hour retreat to cultivate Insight
MEDITATION ✺ YOGA ✺ BREATH-WORK ✺ THE SUBTLE BODY✺ BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY
January 25th and 26th
9am to 2pm PST / 6pm to 11pm CET
A weekend rooted in the spiritual traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and Hatha Yoga.
A two-day path to cultivate insight and bliss while deepening your relationship to consciousness. Release tension and reset your nervous system while learning tools to sustain peace and presence in every day life.
Learn the steps to cultivating insight with the mind and body through meditation and yogic science.
Discover the connection between mind, feelings, breath, and consciousness.
Access deep relaxation, stimulate the vagus nerve, and support somatic healing.
Explore your yogic inner body to harness energy and generate realization.
Learn a set of pranayama (breathing techniques) to shift mental states and create clarity.
Deepen your understanding of interdependence to transform your worldview.
Experience the union of insight and bliss.
What You’ll Experience
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Intention Setting and Grounding: Anchoring into Presence
Begin the retreat by connecting to stillness, cultivating intentions, and opening up to the possibility of transformation.Breath-Body Harmony: Pranayama and Meditation-Infused Yoga
A yoga flow which blends Tonglen meditation, breathwork, and Hatha yoga, fostering spaciousness while centering in the heart.Contemplating Connection: Buddhist Emptiness and Ethics
Explore key Buddhist teachings, unraveling concepts of emptiness and ethical living as pathways to freedom.Mirror of the Mind: Principles of Mind and Interdependence
Delve into the interconnected nature of existence and the mind’s role in shaping reality.Meditation on the Inner Landscape: Practicing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness
Experience a guided meditation exploring mindfulness of body, feelings, mind, and phenomena to arrive fully in the present moment.Embodying Insight: Reflection and Guided Integration
End the day with an integration practice, aligning discoveries with personal intentions. -
Morning Meditation Practice: Awaken and Align
Begin the day with a grounding meditation to prepare for deeper practice.Advanced Asana and Pranayama
Embodying the teachings of Day 1, enhancing the connection between breath, movement, and mindfulness.A Deep Dive into Consciousness
Is the mind physical or nonphysical? What happens to the natural state of mind when an object of mind is grasped at? We will explore these topics in a rich discourse anchored in lineage.Meditation for Cultivating Clarity: Deepening the Four Foundations of Mindfulness
Expand your practice by immersing in an extended meditation session, refining awareness and stability of mind.Reflections and Journaling: Capturing Insights
Closing Ceremony
Please note that participants will need a yoga mat, cushion for meditation, bolster/pillow, two yoga blocks, and a journal.
Tier 1: $555
Tier 2: $444
Tier 3: $333
As a dharma offering, all are welcome. No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email us.
Meet Your Guides
Edward Sczudlo
Edward is an experienced yoga teacher and dedicated Buddhist practitioner with over 15 years of teaching experience and two decades of study. He has dedicated his Buddhist studies to learning under the guidance of esteemed Tibetan masters. He has received teachings and tantric empowerments from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. For over 12 years, Edward has been a close student of Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa, the former Abbot of Gyume Tantric College. His studies with Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche are ongoing, reflecting his commitment to continued learning and practice.
For the past decade, Edward has supported Buddhist communities through work with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). He has also made contributions in helping build retreat centers, supporting three-year retreat practitioners, and preserving ancient scriptures with the Asian Legacy Library. Through The Maitri Project, an NGO focused on preserving Buddhist heritage, he has spent six years building connections between Western supporters and Buddhist monastic traditions.
Edward has completed 10 retreats. He has also spent time living in India and Nepal, engaging in pilgrimage and practice at sacred sites.
In yoga, Edward spent five years studying closely with Shri Dharma Mittra, focusing on Yoga Nidra, advanced breathwork, and the integration of fasting and nutrition with spiritual development. He received the transmission of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, including the original Sanskrit Lung (direct wind transmission), from a lineage holder of the text. This process required over 120 hours of study and practice, connecting him to yoga’s classical roots. Edward also practiced Ashtanga Yoga for a decade at Jivamukti Yoga and is among the first certified teachers from The Yoga Studies Institute.
Edward’s teachings combine Tibetan Buddhist practices with Hatha Yoga, leading retreats that integrate meditation, somatic healing, and subtle body practices. His approach is grounded in the traditions he has studied while being relevant to modern practitioners.
Before committing to his spiritual path, Edward worked in high fashion with Steven Meisel and Bruce Weber for Italian Vogue, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, and Abercrombie & Fitch.
Alexandra Jones
Alexandra is a specialized yoga and meditation guide with a background in Tibetan Buddhism which remains at the heart of her personal practice. Holding a Master’s degree in Yoga Studies from Loyola Marymount University, her approach blends rigorous academic understanding with lived experience.
Alexandra has had the privilege of receiving teachings from Tibetan masters such as Garchen Rinpoche and Lama Tsultrim Allione, and is deeply influenced by the Samkhyan teachings of Gurani Anjali. In addition to her certifications in Yoga Therapy and Mindfulness for Social Change, her extensive studies include Yoga Nidra with Richard Miller of iRest, Bhakti Yoga in the Ram Dass lineage, and working on Sanskrit translations of classical texts such as the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. She has also had the opportunity to immerse herself in practice by living with Jain monks in northern India and staying at Kopan Monastery in Nepal.
With a decade of practice and over 3000 hours of training, Alexandra skillfully adapts her teachings to meet the unique needs of each student. She has had the honor of holding space for people of all backgrounds, from guiding group and private classes, to facilitating teacher trainings, international retreats, and university courses.
Her experience also extends to leading meditations at fashion conferences in Paris and serving as Director of Communications for a wellness brand in Malibu, where she has developed creative ways to translate ancient practices for modern contexts. All of her offerings are infused with nervous system regulation and Buddhist philosophy to encourage presence in a way that is restorative, poetic, and deeply embodied.
“Alexandra has an incredible gift of sharing her knowledge and creating an inspiring, supportive, collaborative learning environment in a group… I highly recommend her to anyone who wants to learn more about mindfulness, or just wants to explore bringing a deeper personal practice into their life.”
Testimonials
“Edward has an amazing capacity for distilling the dharma into its crystal clear essence and does a great job of bringing the teachings to life through his own lived experience. Edward’s teaching style is direct, pure, lucid and warm. “
“I met with Edward’s teachings while going through a challenging time in life. His teachings and practices brought clarity and inner resource at a time when it was needed most. I’m deeply grateful for his work. “
“I took a meditation teacher training with Alexandra Jones as our teacher and it was the most wonderful experience! I cannot say enough about Alex, she embodies what I imagine a true Buddha to be, she radiates love and kindness!”