The Essence of Tantra: Awakening through Direct Experience

December 10-13, 2026

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Arrival: Thursday, December 10th, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Departure: Sunday, December 13th, 12:30 PM

Tuition:
$250 + 3 nights lodging

Combined at checkout

Meals & drinks included
Inc. V, VG, GF

Add extra nights at 50% off

Tuition:
$250 + 3 nights lodging
Combined at checkout

Meals & drinks included
Inc. V, VG, GF

Add extra nights at 50% off

About the Retreat

Over the years, I’ve found myself returning again and again to a simple question: What if our spiritual path isn’t about stepping away from life—but about fully inhabiting it?

Tantra offers a radical and deeply compassionate perspective. It reminds us that our bodies, our emotions, our desires, and our engagement with the world are not obstacles to awakening—they are the very ground through which awakening unfolds.

Rather than emphasizing renunciation, Tantra invites us into intimacy with experience itself. Every moment, every sensation, every relationship becomes a doorway into the sacred. This ancient tradition speaks directly to those of us who want genuine transformation without leaving our lives behind.

What to Expect

In this retreat, I’ll share core Tantric teachings through direct, embodied practice—moving beyond concepts into lived experience. Through meditation, breath, sensory awareness, movement, and energetic exploration, we’ll learn how to drop beneath the mind’s constant activity and reconnect with an intelligence that has always been present within us.

In a world that often feels rushed, fragmented, and disconnected, Tantra offers something precious: a return to wholeness. A way of awakening that happens not despite our humanity, but through it.

If you feel drawn to a path that honors both your spiritual longing and your lived, human experience, I would love to explore this together.

Required Materials

Irini’s workbook, The Essence of Tantra, will be sent via PDF upon registration.

Please also obtain a copy of Irini’s book, Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path. 

Retreat Schedule

Thursday
2:00 – 5:00 pm Registration
5:30 – 6:00 pm Orientation
6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner
7:00 – 9:00 pm Session 1 – Opening: Entering the Tantric World

Friday
7:30 – 9:00 am Breakfast
9:30 – 12:30 pm Session 2 – Understanding and Experiencing Tantra
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 – 3:30 pm Free Time / ROTA
3:30 – 6:00 pm Session 3 – Passion and Transformation I: Emotions as Wisdom
6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner

Saturday
7:30 – 9:00 am Breakfast
9:30 – 12:30 pm Session 4 – Passion and Transformation II: Feminine and Masculine Energy
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 – 3:30 pm Free Time / ROTA
3:30 – 6:00 pm Session 5 – The Tantric World: Sacredness in Everyday Life
6:00 – 7:00 pm Dinner

Sunday
7:30 – 9:00 am Breakfast
9:30 – 12:30 pm Session 6 – A Journey Beyond Self and Closing Circle
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
Departure

Retreat Faculty

Irini Rockwell

Irini Rockwell, MA, is the founder of the Five Wisdoms Institute and a pioneering teacher in the field of human development. Drawing on her roots as a dancer and her training in Contemplative Psychotherapy, Irini brings decades of experience in translating the profound teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism into accessible, embodied tools for transformation. For over [...]

Lodging

We have several accommodations to choose from during checkout.
All options include our healthy meals and drinks. Inc V, VG, GF.

Off Land
Participants who wish to commute from home or arrange their own accommodations off-campus (for example, a bed and breakfast, camping nearby)  pay tuition, plus $40/night for meals (3 meals per day) and use of our facilities.

Car Camping
We have 5 primitive parking spots in the Rigden parking lot, for simply parking and sleeping. This includes food and access our bathhouses in Rigden Lodge
Note: We don’t have any water or electric hook ups for RV’s.

Single and Double Tents

Located in campgrounds throughout the property, these 12′ x 14′ tents have two twin beds, two bookcases and a hanging clothes rack.* Each campground offers a shared bathhouse. Summer platform tents are available from late May through early September. A tent can be rented as a single (without a roommate) or a double (with a roommate).

Some of our campgrounds were impacted by a recent wildfire and the affects may still be visible this summer, however, they are safe to use.

Bedding is not provided. Please bring your own twin sheets, blanket or sleeping bag, a pillow and towels.

Dormitories
Rooms with beds for up to 7-8 people. Gender-segregated with men in their own dorm and women in another. The dorms use a shared bathroom down the hall, which is also equipped with shower stalls.

Monk Rooms
A cost-effective option for participants looking for indoor, solitary lodging, but who don’t mind using a shared bathroom or are looking for a more affordable retreat solution. These rooms are in the same hall as the Ridgen Dormitories, but offer more privacy than the dorms. In addition to a bed, bedding, a private room and closet, the monk rooms also have a large window and a desk and desk chair for added comfort.

Single and Double Rooms
The perfect choice for a retreat where you want both your own space and your own bathroom. Each room offers a little more space, a dresser and closet, and a 3/4s bathroom (toilet, sink, and shower, no bathtub) attached to each room.

Junior Suite
Our Lodge Junior Suites include a queen-size bed topped by a cozy comforter, a desk, dresser, closet and private bath with bathtub, plus a sitting area.

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