The Sorig Institute
School of Traditional Tibetan Medicine
OUR STORY
Founded in 2010 under the aegis of renowned Tibetan physician Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, The Sorig Institute is one of the premiere educational institutes for Tibetan Medicine in the west. It is the American headquarters for Sorig Khang International (formerly IATTM, the International Academy for Traditional Tibetan Medicine), a global network of over 60 centers focused on the preservation, education, and practice of Traditional Tibetan Medicine and the Yuthok Nyingthig.
In 2018, The Sorig Institute officially established its permanent home at Pure Land Farms, a Tibetan Medicine retreat center located in LA-adjacent Topanga, California, where it will soon launch a variety of comprehensive training programs in Sowa Rigpa and associated sciences. Learn more…
School of Tibetan Medicine & Massage Therapy
TIBETAN MEDICINE PROGRAM
As one of the leading organizations for Tibetan Medical education in the west, The Sorig Institute is thrilled to announce our new Los Angeles-based school of Tibetan Medicine at Pure Land Farms. This healing sanctuary, nestled in Topanga canyon, is the heart of Sowa Rigpa in the United States – and the home of Tanaduk Gardens, Yuthok Ling, and the Pure Land Farms Wellness Center. The Sorig Institute offers official SKẎ courses in Sowa Rigpa, and will soon be launching complete training programs for Sowa Rigpa practitioners. Students will benefit from our team of qualified instructors, who hold a wealth of theoretical and experiential knowledge in the practice of Tibetan Medicine, and who are deeply committed to the effective transmission of Sowa Rigpa to a modern audience.
KUNYE MASSAGE
We are excited to announce that The Sorig Institute will soon be offering complete training programs in the practice of Kunye Massage and Sorig External Therapies. This course is suitable both for existing massage therapists as well as complete beginners, with comprehensive coursework covering the theoretical foundations of Sowa Rigpa, biomedical anatomy & physiology, and practical training in Tibetan massage and other specialized external therapies (such as moxibustion, compress therapy, and more). Please sign up on our mailing list below for more information and updates regarding enrollment and our course launch dates.
ONLINE LEARNING
In addition to our onsite courses (held at Pure Land Farms in Los Angeles), The Sorig Institute will soon be rolling out a series of online coursework, covering myriad topics relating to Sowa Rigpa, herbalism, traditional astrology, and inner science. Many of these courses will be available to the public, with additional online materials available for students enrolled in our Sowa Rigpa and Kunye Massage programs.
Pure Land Farms
Nestled in the idyllic landscape of Topanga Canyon, just 30 minutes from Los Angeles, Pure Land Farms is a unique refuge for physical, mental, and spiritual rejuvenation. In addition to being the home of The Sorig Institute, PLF is home to Yuthok Ling, the first American temple devoted to Yuthok Yönten Gönpo, the father of Tibetan Medicine; Tanaduk Gardens, an ambitious botanical project cultivating medicinal herbs from around the world, based on the legendary healing gardens of the Medicine Buddha; the PLF Wellness Center, a traditional medical clinic offering traditional Tibetan, Ayurvedic, and Chinese therapies; SKY Press, a publishing house dedicated to Sowa Rigpa and other traditional Tibetan sciences; and Pure Land Herbs, an herbal supplement line based on traditional Tibetan formulations.
Pure Land Farms hosts regular workshops, lectures, meditation classes, and group retreats, as well as accommodations for short-term solo retreats. For more information, please click here.
Our Founder:
Dr. Nida Chenagtsang
Dr. Nida was born in a yurt in Amdo, in Eastern Tibet. Interested in the traditional healing science of his people, he began his early medical studies at the local Sorig hospital. Later he gained scholarship entry to Lhasa Tibetan Medical University, where he completed his medical education in 1996. Dr. Nida completed his practical training at the Sorig hospitals in Lhasa and Lhoka.
Alongside his medical education, Dr. Nida received complete Vajrayana Buddhist training in the Longchen Nyingthing and Dudjom Tersar traditions and trained in the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage, spiritual counterpart to Sorig, with his teachers Khenchen Troru Tsenam and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyaltsen. He received the transmission with the empowerment to teach and further transmit the Hayagriva Tantra and the Yuthok Nyingthig from Khedrup Michötsang.
He has published many articles and books on Sorig. He has extensively researched ancient Tibetan healing methods, and has gained high acclaim in the East and West for his revival of traditional Tibetan external healing therapies.
Dr Nida is the Co-Founder and Medical Director of SKẎ/Sorig Khang International (formerly IATTM, International Academy for Traditional Tibetan Medicine), and of The Sorig Institute. He is also the Co-Founder of the International Ngak Mang Institute, established to preserve and maintain the Rebkong Ngakpa yogic culture within modern Tibetan society.
Dr. Nida trains students in Sowa Rigpa and the Yuthok Nyingthig spiritual tradition in over 40 countries around the world. Living in Rome, Italy, he frequently returns to Tibet, to stay informed of, and assist with, the advancement of Tibetan medicine.
“Facing the imminent loss of Tibetan culture, philosophy, literature, science, and religion, the Sorig Khang International Foundation is to be contributing to the preservation and propagation of Traditional Tibetan Medicine. In particular, the continuity of the holistic Tibetan healing sciences in their theory and their practice, as well as in their philosophy, and in its closely connected spirituality as a complete system in the Yuthok Nyingthig transmission lineage, is to be protected.”
— From the Foundation Charter of Sorig Khang International
Supporting Sorig Education Worldwide –
Our Partnership with Sowa Rigpa International College
Sowa Rigpa International College (SRIC) is the first accredited Sorig University established in Nepal, offering a traditional and comprehensive 5.5-year training in Traditional Tibetan Medicine, culminating in a B.S.M. degree (Bachelor of Sowa Rigpa Medicine) from Lumbini University. This trailblazing program is the most robust Sorig education offered outside of Tibet and India, seeking to stabilize the practice of traditional medicine as a livelihood for future generations of Nepali and international students.
While tuition fees for the university are kept as low as possible, many Himalayan families still struggle to put their children through school, and financial support is needed to ensure that these bright and gifted students are able to complete their education.
The Sorig Institute is proud to be partnering with SRIC and Ngakmang Foundation to help bring this vision to fruition. Please click here to learn how you can help to support the advancement of Sorig education in the Himalayas.
