• Blog
  • Contact Us
    • Contact a Guest
    • Guest Services Contacts
  • Privacy Policy
Drala Mountain Center
  • Retreats
    • All Retreats
    • The Buddhist Path
    • Meditation & Mindfulness
    • Creative Expression
    • Yoga & Wellness
    • The Natural World
    • Online and Hybrid
  • Rent Our Venues
  • Solo Retreat
  • Jobs/Volunteer
    • Volunteer
    • Join Our Staff
  • ABOUT
    • Mission and Values
    • Our Organization
    • Campus
      • Grounds & Facilities
      • Group Spaces
      • Visiting
      • Getting Here
      • Driving Directions and Map to DMC
      • Rideshare
      • Lodging / Rates
      • The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya
      • DMC Virus & Flu Protocol
    • Our Living Lineage
    • The Governing Council
    • Financial Assistance
    • Eco-Forestry Work
    • DMC Press Center
  • Donate
  • Click to open the search input field Click to open the search input field Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to Instagram
  • Link to Youtube

Bringing Ancestral Awareness to Our Spiritual Journey | 2026

January 22–25, 2026

Meditation & Mindfulness, On Land Retreats

Program Start Date & Time: January 22nd, 2026  |  5:30 pm

Program End Date & Time: January 25th, 2026  |  12:30 pm

As we travel along the spiritual path, we realize the importance of including all of ourselves on the journey of becoming more sane, compassionate and awake. When our ancestral or cultural inheritance is cut off from our spiritual practice, we may feel a disconnect between who we are and the teachings we aspire to integrate. Inherited wounds can be avoided, suppressed or side-stepped for decades, only to resurface at some point later in our lives. Rather than being a problem to be fixed, opening to our ancestral heritage can connect us with a deeper sense of our humanity, revealing resources we may not have appreciated, and healing deep wounds.

Especially at this time of collective unraveling and rapid change, many of us feel called to transform patterns that have been carried by our ancestors and handed down to us, in order to contribute to a kinder, more liberated world. This joining of outer and inner realities is, in fact, one of the definitions of “drala” — the transformational power of life we experience in personal moments of connection with any living energy, including the ancestral energy and strength we carry and our connection with all of life.

The journey of this 3-day workshop will include acknowledging both the wounds and strengths handed to us from our ancestors and the collectives to which we belong. By opening to these dimensions without bias, we open to ourselves and gain a deeper, more personal access to basic goodness so that our spiritual practices can more fully take root.

Through embodied mindfulness and awareness practices, engaging with the felt sense, and deep listening to each other, we will invite the field of our ancestors within a larger sense of nowness to create a space where transformation and healing are possible. Opening to the ground of our humanity with honesty, courage, and compassion, we may naturally find ourselves touching into a realm of sacredness that supports and strengthens our journey forward as well as our relations with others, including those of other cultures, beliefs or practices.

Practices will include:

Embodied mindfulness and awareness practices – facilitated by guided meditations and short readings,

Instruction in the practice of “felt sensing” (also called Focusing), which can be regarded as an extension of embodied mindfulness/

Simple rituals such as creating an ancestral altar together. Unless inappropriate, certain Shambhala and/or Buddhist chants can be included.

Deep listening and sharing in circles of 6 and/or Focusing (felt sensing) in pairs or triads.

Testimonials

“I recently attended Ellen’s course Bringing Our Ancestral Lineage to the Spiritual Path.  My ancestral lineage includes generations of catastrophic experiences related to being Jewish – most recently, the Holocaust.  My childhood and personal identity were bound to post Holocaust terror.  Ellen’s gentle, healing style of communication, providing guided focusing and safety while exploring trauma, allowed me to become free of that bondage. I am so grateful.”

– P. Ohm

No special preparation needed for this program, but participants are encouraged to bring 1 or more objects with them that represent an aspect or part of their ancestral lineage. This could include a photo, piece of jewelry, cloth or other personal possession, or an object from the natural world, such as a rock, stone, shell or feather that has personal significance. Also a notebook for journaling.

Program Sample Schedule

Thursday (January 22nd)

2:00 – 5:00 pm Registration

5:30 – 6:00 pm Orientation

6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner

7:15 – 9:00 pm Program Session

Friday & Saturday (January 23-24)

(6:30 – 7:15 am – Optional Early Morning Session)

7:30 – 9:00 am Breakfast

9:30 – 12:15 pm Program Session

12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch

1:30 – 2:30 pm Free Time

2:30 – 4:00 pm Program Session (DMC FR talk during this period on Saturday)

4:00 – 4:30 pm Tea Break

4:30 – 6:00 pm Program Session

6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner

Sunday (January 25th)

(6:30 – 7:15 am – Optional Early Morning Session)

7:30 – 9:00 am Breakfast

9:30 – 12:30 pm Program Session

12:45 – 1:30 pm Lunch and Departure

Retreat Faculty

Ellen Korman Mains

Ellen Korman Mains was a close student of Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche and has been a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage for 5 decades. Also a close student of Kanjuro Shibata Sensei XX. she taught the Japanese art of Kyudo (Zen Archery) at Naropa University and internationally. In 2006, Ellen began traveling to Poland […]

Program Details

Dates: January 22–25, 2026

Tuition: Tuition $360 + 3 nights lodging
Faculty:

Ellen Korman Mains

View Visitor Information +

Check in Instructions:

All participants must check in at our Guest Services Cabin. Check-in takes place from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm on your program start date.
(After hours guests will have a packet next to the door).

Your program begins with orientation, followed by dinner. Please see your retreat's registration page for information about the program content, scheduling, and any other details about the program.

Further specifics regarding your program's schedule will be available upon arrival.

Register Now

Visit

  • Driving Directions and Map to DMC
  • Getting Here
  • Rideshare
  • Gift Certificates

Giving

  • Donate
  • Volunteer
  • Volunteer Application

Policies

  • Rates, Payments, Cancellations
  • Children
  • Land Rules
  • Liability Release
  • Code of Ethics
  • Whistleblower Policy
  • Anti-Discrimination Policy
  • Virus & Flu Safety Policy
  • Financial Assistance
  • Recording Release
  • Rental Guest Terms and Conditions

Contact

  • Address

    Drala Mountain Center
    151 Shambhala Way
    Red Feather Lakes, CO 80545

  • Phone

    1-970-881-2184

  • Email

    frontdesk@dralamountain.org

  • Join Our Staff

  • Program Proposal Form

  • Media Requests

  • Join Our Affiliate Program

© 2025 Drala Mountain Center:: Website by Integritive Web Design :: Asheville, NC | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions
Link to: Foundations of Meditation Link to: Foundations of Meditation Foundations of Meditation Link to: Retreat & Renewal 2026 Link to: Retreat & Renewal 2026 Retreat & Renewal 2026
Scroll to top Scroll to top Scroll to top