Chö, originating from Tibet, is a unique practice that originated in Tibet from a female dakini, Machig Labdrön. Machig Labdrön, a courageous and unconventional figure from 12th century Tibet, was a heroine in her own right. She crafted the Mahamudra Chö system, which builds upon the Buddha’s wisdom and applies it directly to the challenges of negative mental states and adversarial energies. Machig’s distinctively feminine approach involves embracing and nurturing the very “demons” that typically evoke fear and aversion within us, transforming these reactive emotions into expressions of love. This practice represents a tantric path towards cultivating compassion and fearlessness, offering a radical technique for cutting through the entanglements of the ego.
 

Joining the V.N.O.S. CHÖ© course and practising Chö can transform one’s negative energies—addiction, shame, fear, depression and so on—into the energy of liberation. For Dharma practitioners, it is a profound method for cultivating both conventional bodhichitta (offering oneself to others) and ultimate bodhichitta (dispelling the ignorance of truly existent ‘I’). While this method is more forceful than usual, this practice can be practised in everyday life towards enlightenment.​​​