Ngakma Nor’dzin
Biography
Ngakma Nor’dzin’s training in meditation began in the early 1980s under the guidance of Tibetan teachers in the UK. She later became a devoted disciple of Ngak’chang Rinpoche and Khandro Déchen. In 1989 she was ordained and became the first Western woman to take ordination into the non-monastic tradition of Nyingma Tibetan Buddhism.
She began teaching classes in community education in 1983, teaching ceramics, homoeopathy, Tibetan yoga, meditation and relaxation. Ngakma Nor’dzin’s experience as a Buddhist practitioner and of community education led to the development of the curriculum at the heart of her book Relaxing into Meditation.
Ngakma Nor’dzin grew up in the Midlands of England and moved to Wales as an adult. She now lives in Cardiff with her husband, Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin Tridral, and they have two grown-up sons. From the early years of motherhood she amalgamated her Buddhist training and meditation with family life and work. She and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin have run a local meditation group for more than twenty years. In the 1990s under the instruction of her teachers, she and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin started to accept personal students.
Having originally trained in multidisciplinary design, Ngakma Nor’dzin is also a skilled craftswoman and has led several Buddhist craft projects. She has also trained in counselling, reflexology and homoeopathy. She practises Aro pulse diagnosis and element balancing – a system which promotes individual health and happiness through adjustments to diet and lifestyle.
Her first book, Spacious Passion, was published by Aro Books Inc. in 2006 and republished by Aro Books worldwide in 2009. Her second book Relaxing into Meditation was published by Aro Books worldwide in 2010
Ngakma Nor’dzin has a relaxed style of presentation. She is loved particularly for her warmth and friendliness, her sense of humour and her down-to-earth answers to students’ questions. She teaches public events internationally with her husband.
