Sangha is a Sanskrit word that means “bring together.”
In Buddha’s lifetime, the sangha was officially composed of monks and nuns who committed to a lifetime of renunciation.
To participate in the Lifting the Gaze Sangha you do not need to be a renunciate. You do not need to be a Buddhist or take Buddhist refuge vows. You do not need to be an experienced meditator, a vegetarian, or anything different from who you are right now.
That’s the point of practice - getting familiar with who you are, as you are. This is not about rejecting any part of you, no part of your mind, your emotions, your anger or your love, or any part of your body. It is about opening to the basic goodness that lives inside you right now and very gently, over time, letting that goodness come forward and guide your life.
Lifting the Gaze
The Power and Practice of Sangha
Exclusive monthly newsletter about meditation technique, philosophy & application
Monthly meditation prompts
Meditation Field Guide by Cyndi Lee: written & audio meditation instruction
Twice-monthly sits, Dharma talks and Q&A’s with Cyndi
Reduced price meditation mini-retreats
Dharma Day retreat open only to Sangha members
Access to Cyndi’s dharma talk archive
Opportunity to study privately with Cyndi
Throughout the weekend at our scenic wellness retreat in Northern California, you'll engage in nourishing movement, guided meditations, and inspiring dharma talks, all aimed at embodying sustainability in your physical and mental practices.
The Saddha Meditation Series offers you the opportunity to develop your meditation practice by: committing to a series of three retreats and growing your capacity to meditate by participating in progressively longer sessions. Each retreat will include a dharma talk, sitting mindfulness meditation practice, stretching, breathwork, Q & A.
Each day I will offer a lesson on the nuts and bolts of meditation, as well as how the practice relates to the rest of your life. On Day 1 I will give specific mindfulness meditation instruction and we will sit for a short period. Every day the instruction will deepen and the length of the sitting periods will grow. By the end of five days we will sit together for 30 minutes…or more.
Join legendary yoga teacher, Cyndi Lee, for a program that explores the notion of sustainability in yoga. This work is about presence, curiosity, and personal connection; it is never goal-oriented or performative.
Return home feeling more energized and expanded in your capacity to move, breathe, and live well into the future.
Spiritual refuge offers a path for connecting to the basic goodness of the body, breath, and mind. Breathwork, meditation, and OM Yoga are all effective tools that offer healing, self-awareness, compassion, and mindfulness.
Each day’s work will build on the day before so you can observe the effects of your practice. Return home with resources that offer you a refuge for the rest of your life.
Each day I will offer a lesson on the nuts and bolts of meditation, as well as how the practice relates to the rest of your life. On Day 1 I will give specific mindfulness meditation instruction and we will sit for a short period. Every day the instruction will deepen and the length of the sitting periods will grow.
This retreat is open to everyone! Our practice will focus primarily on sitting and walking mindfulness meditation, sustainable yoga, and restorative yoga. Yoga props will be available in the yoga studio and modifications will be offered for everyone. Each morning will include a short dharma talk and group discussion.
Each day I will offer a lesson on the nuts and bolts of meditation, as well as how the practice relates to the rest of your life. On Day 1 I will give specific mindfulness meditation instruction and we will sit for a short period. Every day the instruction will deepen and the length of the sitting periods will grow.
Join the Meditation Mini-Retreat
Each day, for one hour, we will meditate together and I will offer a lesson on the nuts and bolts of meditation, as well as how the practice relates to the rest of your life.
This is a great opportunity for those who have not had formal meditation instruction or would like to refresh their practice.
Upcoming Retreats:
March 18 - March 22
July 22 - July 26
September 30 - October 4
December 2 - December 6
From the Yogis
“Cyndi is so steeped in Buddhist wisdom that it flows into every aspect of her Yoga teaching. She shares the deep intertwined roots of Yoga and Buddhism in a way that is natural and simple and entirely her own. I am forever grateful to have taken my 300 hour TT with Cyndi. Whether you are a practitioner, or a teacher yourself, her generous and informed perspective will connect you to a limitless source of discovery that will change your life.”
— Susan Kraft | Yoga teacher & Writer | Brooklyn
“Cyndi’s ability to make the complex simple and the simple complex is what I understand jazz musicians - and poets! - do. She’s a true artist and inspired teacher.”
— Alexa Mergen | Nature Writer & Yoga Teacher | California
“My 300 hour yoga Teacher training with Cyndi Lee elevated my teaching practice in every way possible, but especially with creating a full spectrum yoga class. Cyndi masterfully integrates the Buddhist teachings into every asana practice — even just observing her methodology is immensely helpful. After the training, I felt empowered to launch a very successful private practice in NYC and joined the faculty of a prestigious university as part of their mindfulness program. The entire world opened up!”
— Hunt Parr | Yoga Teacher | NYC & Brooklyn
“She is very, very funny and she will work you and challenge you and you will feel like you have actually gained something really deep from the training.”
— Jeri Wilson | Yoga Studio Owner | Maine
“Cyndi is a down to earth teacher. With her precise alignment instructions she guides students to connect to themselves and get stable and clear. She has a unique way of blending Buddhadharma into yoga classes, thereby encouraging students to see and touch their potential, their basic sanity.”
— Detlev Alexander | Yoga & Meditation Teacher | Berlin
“I’m so glad I decided to take Cyndi Lee’s 300 hr TT. It advanced my personal practice in ways that I could not imagine. There is no pose I am afraid of anymore. It’s advanced my teaching practice, it’s advanced my dharma study. It’s just been a thrilling experience the whole time.”
— Ann Megyas | Actor, Yoga Teacher, Hospice Worker | NYC
“Cyndi is a teacher's teacher--meticulous, focused on process, devoted to her lineage. Cyndi has given me the tools to transform my life, breath by breath. I could not be more grateful."
— Lisa Sack | Psychotherapist, Yoga Teacher | Brooklyn
“She is just THE perfect combo of smart and fun. Seriously. Love her so much!”
— Sandy Gross | MoveWell | Cleveland
“She is totally groovy....like a lava lamp.”
— Cindi Assad | Yoga Teacher | Pennsylvania
“I’m Jeri and I’m a studio owner in Maine and I just finished my 500 hr TT with Cyndi Lee. It was an excellent experience, partly because I had been trained primarily in Anusara and I was challenged to think very differently. I found it was very helpful to come back to teach with Cyndi’s influence. She is very, very funny and she will work you and challenge you and you will feel like you have actually gained something really deep from the training.”
— Jeri Wilson, Studio Owner, Maine
“I am a graduate of the OM 2003 Warrior Weekend Teacher Training Program. I had the honor to teach at OM yoga in New York City for several years. I have since moved to another city and was instantly offered teaching jobs based solely on the fact that I had been a teacher at Cyndi Lee’s OM yoga. Studio owners in my current city thought so highly of Cyndi Lee’s OM yoga Teacher Training that they hired me immediately and I found and continue to find that my OM yoga Teacher Training opens door after door for me. OM yoga (practicing there, teaching OM yoga, and learning from Cyndi Lee) helped me professionally in my own yoga-teaching career. Even more meaningfully for me, I feel that the path of mindfulness and attention to alignment that pours through the pores of OM yoga has influenced me and helped me to soften enough to become more “myself” since I first walked into the OM yoga studio.”
— Natalie Levin, OM Yoga Graduate, OM Warrior Weekend Teacher Training Program 2003
“I am a student of the OM 200 and OM 500 TT. I keep learning from Cyndi Lee who is just a master teacher, every class I take, every hour I’m here she says something wonderful that I can bring into my life, onto my mat, into my classes with my students. As a teacher and a student, I feel enriched every time I’m with her and in her class.”
— Donna Levenstien, Yoga Teacher, Lake George, NY