Feathered Pipe Ranch — Hotel in Helena

I just returned from a wonderful weeklong yoga retreat led by Carie Garret at Feathered Pipe Ranch near Helena, Montana. It was a wonderful experience and I have already signed up for 2018 when she returns August 18-25. She is taking over the slot for a freedom-style yoga retreat at the ranch that was long led by Erich Schiffmann until he retired last year. For those who don’t know her yet, Carie with the long-red hair was a long-time assistant of Erich’s freedom yoga style. To say she is filling his shoes would be trite because while she remains loyal to the principles of freedom yoga, she is going steps further by adapting freedom-style yoga to a unique and refreshing style that is all her own. In contrast to the more cerebral emphasis of Schiffmann, Garret seems more focused on the heart and emotional aspects of yoga. For example, she is a devotee to Bhakti yoga, a branch of yoga more oriented to expression through singing, dancing, and other artistic forms. Most yoga studios don’t offer Bhakti classes so yogis have few opportunities to sample the Bhakti experience. Carie is also emphasizing a freedom form of hatha yoga that gets away from some of the old techniques that other yogis drone on about that actually create stress rather than bring peace. She has created some of her own poses and sequences. For example, I remember “pigeonish” which is a way for people with tight hips to get the benefit of pigeon without the strain. Another pose is “running dog” that is an interesting variation of down dog. I have a tough time with balance poses but she did a sequence that brought me to a brief instance of dancer’s pose. In addition to the mediation, some discussion and standard asana of the morning, each afternoon we had a session of freeform. This involves turning on music for about an hour in which you do any poses—existing or self-created--in any way that the spirit and music moves you. During one free-form session, interested yogis even had a change to draw mandelas which was a popular group activity. Although I lack any artistic skill, I found the mandela a very cathartic activity. Don’t worry about the day being too busy to relax. There is ample time between the morning and late afternoon sessions to hike, boat on the lake, get massages, or my favorite activity take a nap. Some group members even led a yoga nidra session after class one day. A highlight of the week for me was the way Carie blended in story-telling with a dramatic flair. One tale in particular was the fascinating legend of the monkey god, Hanuman. These are some stories only some teacher trainees learn, but after that enthralling tale I now understand why splits are called the Hanumasana. Carie was very much a part of our group activities. Sometimes after dinner she led many of us to hike up to a scenic overlook over the ranch that also has a view of the continental divide. The sunsets there are spectacular. Often a group of us yogis line up on the ridge and have a picture of us in sundry poses. Of course, this whole week had the lovely Feathered Pipe Ranch as a backdrop. The accommodations can suit all tastes from lodge, to yurt, to tipi, to tents. As usual the food was scrumptious and varied. There were many options for vegans and those with restricted diets, but the carnivores had their shot. We circled the world on our bellies with Thai, Indian, Mexican,...

Feather Pipe Ranch is an incredible experience that I could not recommend more.

I was researching and looking for a wellness retreat that would be restorative after being mentally exhausted and burnt out from corporate America.

After reading the reviews, I had high expectations, now post retreat- I can say they were exceeded.

The ranch staff take incredible care and are passionate about providing guests with the highest level of service, and are superbly kind and meticulous to every guests needs. I have never seen such detail oriented menus that provide specific dietary options for all guests. Not only do they take vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, gluten free, and meat eaters into account- they also have a system in the kitchen down to individual guests!! I had to peak behind the curtain to see the magic! See photos for high level of detail.

The food was incredibly delicious and healthy. Great care was taken to provide local farm to fork options that were sourced from Montana. The kitchen was a delicious well oiled machine that enabled you to focus on yoga/ meditation and rest. By far the best “camp” food I’ve encountered.

As for the yoga, I was fortunate enough to be a beginner practitioner (and I mean completely green) Iyengar yogi. Lara Warren is a certified Senior Intermediate Iyengar teacher who has taught yoga in New York and worldwide since 1989- and was our instructor. Our class was a mix of a few complete beginners, seasoned practitioners, and numerous other Iyengar teachers. She did an absolutely incredible job of teaching to each persons’ individual skill level and health limitations/history.

Her dedication, commitment, and study to Iyengar yoga was not only inspiring but practical on the minute level in helping me understand and develop the basics.

This type of yoga, Iyengar, has an incredible ability to take you outside your mind to understand and be present in your body by teaching you how to breathe and grounding you. The breath connects your physicality and mentality- something I had not previously understood the significance of and its impact on my health. As someone who gets stuck in my brain and focus’s on cognitive tasks to the neglect of my physical health, this was transformational and encouraging for me.

Lastly- I loved how community oriented this retreat was and how it fostered relationships between generations. This is something I no longer experience since I left the church 10 years ago. It was incredibly encouraging to meet other students in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, and not only learn from them but see how this yoga practice has been with them for 10, 20, and 30 years and how it not only helped them develop mental fortitude but also helped them develop physical strength and balance.

This was truly a life changing experience for me, and I am looking forward to continuing and joining my own Iyengar yoga studio back home. (And also coming back someday!).

I...

I visited Feathered Pipe Ranch on a yoga retreat with my amazing teachers Stacy McGinty and Teresa Gonzalez. The place is incredible. The land is beautiful, peaceful, and full of magic. I stayed in a yurt in mid-September, and what a great experience. The evenings were chilly, but I had many cozy blankets, and the staff made sure I was warm and comfortable. Staying outside in the elements (well, almost) was a real treat. The bathrooms and showers, sauna, and hot tub facilities were a short walk from the yurt - I made a habit of getting nice and warm in the sauna before hopping into bed in the evenings.

The yoga room in the main lodge is beautiful! Full of history, and it looks out onto the water. I found it to be a quite peaceful place to practice.

Finally, the staff at the Ranch are amazing. They made sure our group had everything we needed/wanted, and we felt so cared for there. And the food - oh goodness the food! You will never eat so well in your life. They had options for various special diets, and each meal had a fun, well-thought-out theme. It was all just so good. Special shout-out to the baker - the cornbread was the best...