An brief account

Ram Chatlani, teachings and lineage.

Some people ask, need to know the background, so here is a version of my life in the work of awakening.

My first formal teacher was the Brahma Kumari Dadi Janki-she passed away in March, 202, at the age of 104. I was invited to meet her by one of her close acolytes on her first visit to Europe in the late 1970’s. She taught me the essence of meditation. Because it was so simple, because that essence is so simple, it took me another 25 years to begin to truly enter and feel the simplicity of it. Until then, nevertheless, the method she taught was of great support.

I had begun hatha yoga from the age of 8. It was a family tradition-my great grandfather was a pearl fisher and he taught pranayama in north India, my sister, Mohini, has taught yoga for decades across continents. I continued yoga practice until I was 25 when I began to learn qigong and tai chi.

In my 20’s, just as I was completing Sri Iyengar’s long asana training, I was introduced to zen meditation which I began to practice daily for many years. During that time I met and studied with one of Ouspensky’s students children, with whom I studied Gurdjieff’s system. This eventually led me to meeting with the Sufi teach Omar Ali Shah, the brother of the renowned Sufi writer Idries Shah.

In 1991 I met the Taoist master B.K. Frantzis with who I studied intensely for over 20 years. He certified me to teach Taoist pranayama, various qigong and tai chi forms and ba gua chang. At that time also I lived in Mexico with the Wirrarika indigenous people, studying the practical aspects of the Toltec path as elucidated by don Juan Matus in the books by Carlos Castaneda. I met and worked with two of don Juan’s direct students: Ken Eagle Feather and Merrylin Tunneshende.

In the late 1990’s I began an complete and intensive study of the Theravda method of meditation. I undertook most of the meditations in the vissudhimagga and the abhidharma during a training which lasted some 10 years. I then began vajryana and maha ati practices which I had been introduced to years before, in 1980, when I sat with Tibetan lamas, notably Khyongla Rinpoche. Later I met and worked closely with Sepa Dorje Rinpoche and was invited to meet and discuss my practices with Chogyal Namakhai Norbu Rinpoche. I met and worked also with Wangdor Rinpoche and his lineage holder Lama Lena who has been a visitor to Tourné where she has given teachings publicly and privately since 2011.



I teach a synthesis of movement and stillness, an eclectic mehtod that honours the authentic source of Buddha, shaman and Tao. I have not sought pubic exposure. I taught meditation, qigong and tai chi at the zen dojo of Lyon for over 6 years. Mostly now i teach at Tourné in Occitanie where short retreats are available all year round in a vaoruet y of subjects. Each season a more intensive retreat is offered.

Practices are offered dependent on the student’s needs. I maintain contact with a large number of students worldwide who undertook a 6 year training that I wrote and conceived as a means to bridge the divide between daily life and spiritual practice.

What am i most interested in? That we might awaken quietly, share kindness without opinion.