This retreat offers a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in a revolutionary 5-step process developed by Lama Tsültrim Allione. Based on the 11th-century Tibetan Buddhist teachings of Machig Labdrön, this practice teaches us to stop fighting our "demons" and instead feed them with compassion, transforming our deepest struggles into powerful sources of wisdom.
Whether you want to learn this as a profound self-help tool or are taking your first step toward professional certification, we would love to welcome you into the circle.
Daily workshops in FYD, pair-work practice, and deep discussions.
Direct instruction in the core meditation of Mahayana Buddhism to help you rest in the spacious, natural clarity of your mind.
A fully held retreat container, including morning and evening meditations, wisdom teachings, and dedicated integration time.
The Workshop: 4200 SEK.
Secure your spot by registering now with a 1000 SEK deposit.
Excluding food and accommodation.
We have reserved single rooms at the YtterJärna hostel. If you want to book a room, select this option during registration.
Price for a single room including breakfast and dinner for the 5 Day Retreat is: 4600 SEK
If price is a barrier for any reason, please message or email us directly.
If you cancel before Oct. 1, 2026, the fee is refundable, excluding a reservation fee of 1000 SEK, which can not be refunded. If you cancel after Oct 1, 2026, no refund is possible.
If you want to get a feel for the practice or ask questions about the retreat, we invite you to our upcoming online introductory session.
Wednesday, August 26. With Lisa Svensson.
Through Feeding Your Demons, you'll discover how to transform what depletes you into a source of wisdom. This revolutionary approach combines ancient Tibetan practices with modern psychological understanding.
The Feeding Your Demons (FYD) method employs principles of the Tibetan Buddhist practice Chöd, originally articulated by the eleventh-century female Tibetan teacher Machig Labdrön. FYD is a five-step process that guides practitioners in transforming their demons into protective allies through a sequence of illuminating questions and visualizations..
Kapala Training I opens the path to a wide range of teachings, practices, and experiences in the lineage of Machig Labdrön, an 11th-century Tibetan yogini. The training teaches the method of “Feeding Your Demons.” The well-known Buddhist teacher Lama Tsültrim Allione developed this 5-step process based on the principles of Machig Labdrön’s Tibetan Buddhist practice “Chöd.”
Through body awareness, imagination, and inner dialogue, we enter into an accepting and compassionate relationship with our demons (our “unloved aspects,” such as emotional blockages, fears, depression, addictions, and the like)—rather than ignoring or fighting them—and can thus transform them into their inherent wisdom.
The training offers participants the opportunity to engage intensively with their inner demons, including practices in pairs, with plenty of space for discussion and questions. The goal is that, with some practice, the 5-step process can also be applied as a self-help tool.
In addition to this work with inner aspects, the Prajna-Paramita meditation will be the main meditative practice. It provides access to the very foundation of our being—the all-pervading, boundless SPACE of our mind—our inherent wisdom and compassion. We will explore both the philosophical foundations of the Prajna-Paramita teachings—which are considered the most profound teachings of Mahayana Buddhism—and practice the meditation as taught by Lama Tsültrim Allione.
The Kapala Training I is the first of three modules for those seeking certification to apply “Feeding Your Demons” with clients in the healing professions. It is also a central component of the “Magyu Program,” one of the practice paths at Tara Mandala.
The teachings will be in English to accommodate our diverse international community. Participants can choose to perform the Feeding Your Demons pair exercises in mainly Swedish or English.
If there are matching pairs of participants of other languages there is also a possibility to practice in other languages. Please let is know about your language preferences for the FYD practices in the registration form. Lisa speaks English, Swedish, and German.
Saturday October 24:
Sunday- Wednesday October 25-28:
Thursday October 29:
The retreat will take place at Ateljé Light Hub on the Ytterjärna campus, located 5 km from the town of Järna and 55 km from Stockholm’s city center. The retreat space overlooks the fjord at the edge of the nature park and forest, including access to the Ekoleden walking trail and nearby biodynamic farms. Participants will be able to enjoy the Swedish fall and spend time in nature during their time on retreat. You will have the possibility to buy Lunch at Kulturhuset. Breakfast and Dinner will be served at the Light Hub.
Retreat venue address:
Ateljé Light Hub, Rudolf Steiner Seminariet 3, 153 91 Järna.
Ateljé Light Hub
We serve local organic vegetarian food throughout the retreat, beginning with dinner on Friday and closing with lunch on Sunday. Breakfast and dinner will be served in the dining hall or outside. Our breakfasts include granola, bread, yogurt, tea, and seasonal extras, while dinner consists of a light meal of soup, bread, and salad.
Lunch can be bought at the Kulturhuset restaurant on campus. The restaurant is also open daily from 10:00 to 16:00, offering a variety of baked goods, coffees, and juices for purchase.
From the campus you can walk the Ekoleden trail, a wonderful nature experience of 12 kilometers which connects the campus, the garden, the park, the Baltic Sea coastal area, nearby forest and agricultural fields. The trail is marked out and has some rest areas along the road. The whole trail is estimated to take about 2-3 hours. A shorter alternative is the Nibble round which takes about 45 minutes.
The garden is a classic place that has developed from the typical Sörmland agricultural landscape, from Bruno Liljefors' love of the wild nature, walking paths and plantations. By Arne Klingborg's and Lars Krantz's incredible enthusiasm for the biodynamic garden for the benefit and pleasure, which became the model for Rosendal's garden. With a much talked about rose garden and beautiful magnolia plantations, it is no wonder that so many garden enthusiasts travel here for inspiration and tranquility.
If you wish to stay on site during the retreat, choose that option in the registration. The hostel is surrounded by gardens and fields and is very close to our retreat space.
All rooms are equipped with a bed, desk, chair, and bookshelf. As a guest, you have access to a fully equipped kitchen shared with other guests.
Lisa Svensson is an authorised teacher of Kapala training and FYD by Lama Tsültrim Allione. She lives and works as a therapist in Munich, Germany. More information about Lisa: www.coaching-therapie-muenchen.de
Kapala Training offers a five-level path for practitioners within the long-term practice lineage Magyu as well as the first of three steps in becoming a certified facilitator for people working in healing professions. More information:
Please indicate on your registration form how you intend to arrive, and we will support the organization of ride shares where possible. It is possible to take a bus from Järna train station all the way to the retreat. See below.
Arriving by plane
The nearest airports are Arlanda (ARN) or Skavsta (NYO).
From Arlanda you can take the pendeltåg (train) headed to Södertäjle Hamn, in the direction: Södertäjle Centrum.
From Södertäjle Hamn, you can either take a commuter train to Järna or a bus and then a second bus from Järna station (Bus 784 in the direction of Norrvrå) to a stop called Stensta (1 km walk to accommodation/campus) or directly to Kulturcentrum Järna (a few feet from your accommodation).
From Stockholm
From Stockholm City or T-Centralen, you can take a pendeltåg (commuter train) to Södertäjle Hamn. There is also a direct train from Södra Station to Södertäjle Hamn.
From Södertäjle Hamn, you can either take a commuter train to Järna or a bus and then a second bus from Järna station (Bus 784 in the direction of Norrvrå) to a stop called Stensta (1 km walk to accommodation/campus) or directly to Kulturcentrum Järna (a few feet from your accommodation).
Lama Tsultrim Allione is the bestselling author of Women of Wisdom (1984), Feeding Your Demons (2008), and Wisdom Rising Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine (2018). Lama Tsultrim is the founder of Tara Mandala, a 700-acre retreat center with the three-story temple and library dedicated to the divine feminine in the Buddhist tradition near Pagosa Springs, in southwest Colorado. She leads a vibrant international community with over forty groups around the world.
Born in New England, she traveled to Asia in her late teens and in 1970 at the age of 22 in Bodhgaya, India she became the first American to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. She later disrobed, married and became the mother of three and now is grandmother of six. In 2007 she was recognized in Tibet and Nepal as the emanation of the renowned 11th-century Tibetan yogini, Machig Labdrön, and she is one of the few women Lamas in the world today. In 2012 she received the Machig Labdron Empowerment from His Holiness the 17thKarmapa. She was awarded international recognition as an “Outstanding Woman in Buddhism” in 2009 by a panel of distinguished scholars and practitioners in Bangkok, Thailand.
More about Lama Tsultrim Allione can be found here:
