Born in Ohio in 1937, Allyn R. Lyon was raised in northern New Jersey. In her "younger days," Allyn's interest was in politics and social issues. But somewhere during the course of two marriages and the adoption of her son Chris, it became clear to Allyn that "the 'problem' lay in the human mind." Like many in her generation, Allyn began to read eastern philosophy in the early '70s. By good fortune, she found herself at The Naropa Institute in the summer of 1974. "Naropa, of course, radically changed my life," she says. By 1977, Allyn and her son were living at Karmê Chöling. As a meditation instructor, Allyn managed to sit five dathuns and began teaching. She went to the 1979 Vajradhatu Seminary, the first of seven that she would attend as a student, staff member or teacher.

Due to what she calls "interesting karma," Allyn has held a number of administrative positions in the Shambhala Mandala including at The Naropa Institute, Vajradhatu, and Boulder Karma Dzong. In 1992, she traveled to Asia to direct three Naropa Nepal Programs and then to Crestone, Co to direct two three-month Maitri Space Awareness programs. In 1995, Allyn "found herself volunteering" to take on the position of Director of Rocky Mountain Shambhala Center and during that time, she managed to combine center administration with teaching trips to Europe, Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, and elsewhere.

In 2000 she was appointed an Acharya and ended her tenure at Shambhala Mountain Center. Since then she has been traveling and teaching while creating a home base in Tepotzlan, Mexico, where she is the resident Acharya.  Allyn is also the resident Acharya for Los Angeles, CA where she spends a couple of months each year.  Recently, she has traveled to South America to teach in Brazil and Chile.

Allyn's main interest in teaching dharma remains the nature of mind and how it functions: "What is mind? How does practice work with mind? What is real?" But if there's a bottom line, Allyn says, "it's that I really enjoy practicing the dharma, teaching and sharing my love of the dharma with students."

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