2026 Five Elements Certification: Healing Ourselves, Healing the World, Year 1

Introduction
Welcome to a profound journey of transformation. Over three years, under the guidance of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, we invite you to explore the living power of the Five Elements—Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space—and to rediscover the deep harmony that connects us to the natural world and to our own true essence. This training will teach you how to bring the healing and balancing power of the elements not only into your own life, but also into your relationships with others and the natural world.

Successful completion of the full three-year certification program will give you the tools and skills to share: 

How to recognize elemental imbalances in one’s body, emotions and nature 
Tools for restoring balance to the elements and the physical world through:

Offerings
Mudras (sacred hand gestures)
Mantras


Simple, powerful ways to retrieve elemental essences by being and resting in nature 
Finding our own inner refuge through connecting to sacred stillness, silence and spaciousness
Retrieving lost or damaged life force and elemental energies by connecting with one's inner refuge
The Nine Breaths of Purification 
The five External Tsa Lung Exercises. 

The Three-Year Certification Program
Year One: Reconnecting with the Physical Elements
In the first year, we focus on the physical qualities of each element—their roles in the environment, in our bodies, how they support one another, and how they can grow unbalanced. Through prayers, mantra, meditation, mudras, and offerings, we will learn to connect intimately with the living world, restoring harmony not only externally but within ourselves.

These practices will also be applied inwardly, to your own body: retrieving lost essences, restoring balance, and nurturing physical health. This first year is very hands-on, encouraging you to pay close attention to your body with love and care—exploring diet, sleep, movement, and breathing practices as ways to connect to the natural world. You will learn to enhance your physical relationship with each element and to feel grounded in your body in a deeply practical, embodied way.

Year Two: Deepening Your Relationship with the Living Elements*
The second year invites us to experience the elements as living, sacred beings—elemental goddesses whose wisdom and power can heal deep places of suffering and injury in us and in the world. Through visualization, transformation, mantra, and breath, we will learn to retrieve lost qualities, reclaim energy, personal power, and reconnect with spirit.

This year also emphasizes the subtle influence of the elements on mental and emotional landscapes. We will explore how thoughts and feelings are shaped by these energies, and how to restore balance, clarity, and emotional freedom, cultivating harmony within ourselves and in our interactions with the world.

Year Three: Awakening the Wisdom of the Elements Within
In the final year, Rinpoche will guide us toward understanding the wisdom of the five elements as pure, innate energies that can be accessed through the practice of inner refuge. Drawn from the ancient Tibetan practice of soul retrieval, we will discover ways to connect to the true source of healing and wellness that exists within us all.

From deep within our own spirit we will bring healing to every level of the elements in ourselves, and learn to nourish and renew them in relationships, community, and the world around us. This is a journey of awakening our natural ability to restore balance, vitality, and joy, both within and beyond ourselves.

This 3-year certification program invites you to come home to yourself—body, mind, and spirit—and carry that healing presence into the world. As you restore balance within, you become a source of transformation for all around you.

This three-year program includes:

Three in-person retreats at Serenity Ridge Center: 






April 14–19, 2026 | April 20–25, 2027 | April 4–9, 2028






Seven online teaching sessions with Rinpoche each year (Dates to be announced).




Seven guided practice / discussion sessions each year with guides personally selected by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche 
Journal assignments to track realizations and personal growth as you work with the elements. 




Small group practice sessions to deepen your experience and integration


Printed and electronic support materials


Downloadable online video and audio recordings
Registration in LigminchaLearning.com courses included as part of this program: Meditation Breath & Movement, Five Elements, and The True Source of Healing, dates to be announced
A written and practice-oriented examination at the conclusion of the third year. 

This structure ensures a rich, immersive experience—combining in-depth teachings, guided practice, reflection, and personal integration—so you can fully embody the wisdom of the Five Elements.

Students completing the program will receive a certificate of completion and may share the practices of year one and three with others. 
Attendance Requirements

Attendance at the three in-person trainings at Serenity Ridge are required to receive a certificate of authorization.
The live practice and teaching sessions on zoom may be viewed live or via recordings, but live attendance is strongly encouraged.

Certification
Students successfully completing the full program and examination will receive a certificate of completion and may share the practices of year one and three with others.
Costs

The fee for the training program is as follows:

Year 1, April 2026: $2,185
Year 2, April 2027: $2,185
Year 3, April 2028: $2,185
Additional fee for accommodations. 
Payment plans are available




Not included in the fee: 

Travel to Serenity Ridge
Fee for accommodations at Serenity Ridge (Please contact sr.office@ligmincha.org if rooms are booked and open to sharing a double room with a stranger. We will try our best to accommodate roommate requests).
Required reading: Healing with Form, Energy and Light and The True Source of Healing, Awakening the Sacred Body




* The practices of year two are specifically intended to deepen the practice of the student, and are not included in any authorization granted by this program. Students who receive a certificate of completion may share the practices in their community as service work, workshops, retreats and special events, not within Ligmincha (which requires additional authorization). Authorization does not extend to teaching others to teach these practices.