About Us
Shrimala is a platform dedicated to the exploration, perpetuation, and integration of ancient knowledge in the contemporary world - specialising in Tibetan medicine, Buddhist studies, and other forms of traditional wisdom. We offer coursework, consultations, tutoring, and an array of other services and products, and support critical research on historical relations with the more-than-human world.
About Shrimala
Shrimala began in 2017 as a Tibetan Medicine clinic in Topanga, California. In 2019, we moved to London, and have since grown into a platform dedicated to physical, spiritual, and existential recovery.
We offer private consultations for those who wish to improve their health and gain perspective in their lives, as well as coursework and mentorship for those who wish to expand their knowledge, deepen their practice, and recover a sense of what it means to be human in a more-than-human world.
We also offer a range of products, including handmade jewellery and incense, ritual implements, and other items to help inspire enchantment in our day-to-day lives.
Our Namesake
The name Shrimala is a Sanskrit translation of the Tibetan name Pelden Trengwa (Wyl. dPal lDan ‘Phreng Ba), belonging to a powerful dakini (female wisdom being) who is said to abide in Maratika Cave in eastern Nepal. According to the Tibetan medical tradition, she was the dharma custodian of the Yuthok Nyingthik (Wyl. G.yu Thog sNying Thig), a tantric Buddhist spiritual corpus which she conferred upon Yuthok Yönten Gönpo (ca. 1126-1202 CE), the father of Tibetan Medicine.
Shrimala remains an important spiritual figure in Tibetan Medicine, and is often invoked in rejuvenation practices. We honour her as our patron, and an enduring embodiment of both the sacred feminine and the dynamic wisdom embodied in the Earth itself.
About Erik Jampa Andersson
Erik Jampa Andersson, founder and director of Shrimala, is a London-based practitioner, teacher, and scholar of Tibetan Medicine (Sowa Rigpa), Tibetan Buddhism, and Environmental History. He is a graduate of the Shang Shung Institute School of Tibetan Medicine, and holds an MA in History from Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of Unseen Beings: How we Forgot the World is More than Human (Hay House, 2023).
A Buddhist practitioner since 2005 (at the age of 14), Erik found an early home in the Tibetan tradition under the close guidance of Lama Tsultrim Allione, founder of Tara Mandala retreat center in Colorado, and has studied with an array of teachers from Tibet and the Himalayas. While pursuing a degree in religious studies at Naropa University, he was inspired to change course and enrol in a five-year Tibetan Medicine program at the Shang Shung Institute, in which he was trained extensively under notable senior physicians including Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo, Dr. Namgyal Tsering, Dr. Nyima Tsering, and other Sowa Rigpa experts in America and Asia.
In 2013, he began studies with Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, a yogi-physician from northeastern Tibet and founder of Sorig Khang International, from whom he has received many instructions on Tibetan Medicine, healing yoga, mantra therapies, and the Yuthok Nyingthig (the spiritual lineage of Tibetan Medicine). Erik is a certified Sorig Khang teacher and instructor for a wide range of courses relating to Tibetan Medicine, the Yuthok Nyingthig, and Tibetan Astrology. He specialises in the practice of Chöd.
For many years, Erik has served as head umdze (ritual MC/puja leader) and a senior ritual arts specialist in the Tara Mandala community, where he specialises in an array of Chöd cycles from the kama and terma lineages, as well as the comprehensive Great Accomplishment (Drubchen) ceremony. Erik has taught numerous retreats at Tara Mandala as a visiting teacher, and will be offering two online retreats in 2022 (see upcoming events).
Outside of the Tibetan tradition, Erik has trained in western herbalism, Taoist five-element medicine, alchemical herbalism, and Hellenistic Astrology - and has an academic background in Performance, Religious Studies, and History. While the Tibetan tradition lies at the core of Erik's philosophy and methodology, clients and students benefit from his breadth of knowledge and experience within myriad ancient and modern traditions of knowledge.
To book a workshop or other event with Erik, please contact us.