Big Sky Yoga Retreats Bozeman, Montana About Schedule Contact



2011 EAT PRAY LOVE Yoga & Hiking Weekends
Big Sky, Montana
Friday-Monday, September 2-5, 2011 (Labor Day Weekend)
SOLD OUT!
Thursday-Sunday, September 22-25, 2011
SOLD OUT!

2012
Friday-Monday, Aug 31-Sept 3, 2012 (Labor Day Weekend)
Thurs-Sun, September 20-23, 2012
Friday-Monday, October 5-8, 2012 (Columbus Day Weekend)

reserve online now for 2012!

Women's Eat, Pray, Love Yoga
3-night retreat will incorporate discussion, reflection, intention setting and meditation based on themes in the book - and of course sharing our fave parts! Bring your copy of the book if you dog-eared and underlined (otherwise we'll have a fresh copy for you in your goodie bag).

Yoga is the effort to experience one's divinity personally and then to hold on to that experience forever. Yoga is about self-mastery and the dedicated effort to haul your attention away from your endless brooding over the past and your nonstop worrying about the future so that you can seek, instead, a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with poise. Only from that point of even-mindedness will the true nature of the world (and yourself) be revealed to you. - Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love

$1,295 per person per person based on double occupancy

$1,495 single occupancy. We will place you with a roommate if you do not have a travel companion. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is due to hold your reservation. We start at 5 pm on the first evening and end after brunch on the third day, so please plan your travel accordingly. Let us know how we can help you with planning an add-on stay in Bozeman or to visit Yellowstone Park.

Eat Pray Love Yoga & Hiking retreats are at
the Mountain Meadows Lodge in Big Sky

Mountain Meadows is nestled on a hillside in Big Sky, with perfect views of Lone Peak, the winter ski hill. The elegant yet rustic log lodge is an exclusive, cozy inn that we have all to ourselves! Our yoga will be inspired by majestic Lone Peak, as seen from the floor to ceiling glass windows surrounding our yoga space; we'll enjoy downtime by the fireplace, sitting in the sauna or just relaxing with a glass of wine at our mountain refuge.

I just wanted to thank you for the Eat Pray Love Yoga Weekend. It's been two weeks since the retreat, and I've had to answer "how was your trip?" a few dozen times since then. And every time, I start with "Amazing...life-changing...seriously one of the best weekends of my life..." And it truly, truly was.

The past two years of my life have been filled with extreme ups and downs...and by last winter, I barely recognized myself. After coming across Big Sky Yoga Retreats online, I knew I had to go. I'd never done anything like it before, but it was definitely time. I'd started doing yoga pretty regularly, and I loved the idea of spending a weekend hiking, meditating, and yoga-ing. You certainly delivered - from the beautiful Lodge to some of the most informative and wonderful yoga I've ever done, to a butt-kicking hike with gorgeous views, every moment of the retreat was exactly what I was looking for. The Eat Pray Love theme was woven perfectly into the weekend, and it really inspired me to take in every moment and concentrate on myself. And spending time with a group of incredible women from across the country completed the weekend - I left Montana with a bunch of great new friends.

Honestly, I would recommend this trip to any woman looking to discover something about herself. I stepped outside my comfort zone, let myself truly relax, challenged myself physically, and had an all-around amazing time. -Lisa, New York
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for more testimonials!

Visit Athleta Chi and read retreat leader Margaret's tutorial Outdoor Yoga: Poses for Hikers
we'll practice these poses and more on the trail!

EPL Yoga Weekend schedule:

*Please plan your arrival at the Lodge between 3-4 pm on friday; we begin our program at 5 pm. It is approx 1 hour drive from the airport to the Lodge. You will need to rent a car for this retreat; Big Sky is about an hour's scenic drive from Bozeman, through the Gallatin Canyon. We can also put you in touch with your roommate/other retreaters to possibly rent together. We highly recommend adding on a day or two in either Bozeman or Livingston, and are happy to make suggestions based on your interests and travel plans. Both places make great starting points for visiting Yellowstone National Park, a frequest add-on for our retreaters.

feeling like warriors at the top of our peak hike, Beehive Basin!

One of our hikes is to Beehive Basin, in our opinion Big Sky's most scenic trail. BB sits in a bowl surrounded on three sides by 10,000 foot mountains of the Spanish Peaks. This top-of-the-world hike includes alpine meadows covered with wildflowers, a tumbling creek, and tons of tall spruce and subalpine fir. At the top (9200 ft.), the picturesque basin is a glacial cirque with a small lake. We often see moose on this trail!

One of our hikes is to nearby Ousel Falls, a powerful 35-foot waterfall that plunges off a moss-covered rock wall onto a granite shelf in an amazing display of whitewater. Ousel Falls is named after water ouzels, small gray birds often present in the nooks next to the waterfall.

 

 

One of our hike options on this retreat is to Lava Lake, a popular hike in Gallatin Canyon. It is 6 miles round-trip with an elevation gain of 1,600 feet. The 40 acre forest-lined lake sits in a small valley surrounded by granite walls with the majestic Spanish Peaks rising in the distance. It is the only lake in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness that was not glacially formed. The trail climbs through thick evergreen forest, parallels the scenic, cascading whitewater of Cascade Creek, and passes turbulent Hoodoo Cascade and a few waterfalls.

Things to know before you go...
or actually, before you book

Hiking: our hikes, with the exception of the final morning hike, are on average 6 miles, at a significant altitude (and often with further altitude gain). We highly recommend that you take time before your retreat to increase your cardio fitness level.

Yoga: we highly recommend that you have prior yoga experience in order to get the most out of your retreat, even if you start a practice with the retreat in mind. We practice vinyasa flow yoga. We're happy to help you with class suggestions for your area.

This is an active vacation, so if you prepare accordingly you will have more fun.

Utkatasana pose on the trail -
easier with a bridge under our bums!

TESTIMONIALS

What a treat! I just spent the most amazing weekend surrounded by mountains that comforted me like a blanket. Hiking in the cool air of Montana in the autumn (along with a little drizzle) was enough to open my breathing as deeply as an asana practice...The views were amazing and seeing deer, elk, and moose were an added bonus. Affording my body both yoga and hiking in the same weekend was a true balance. Many people will tell you that they are the most spiritual when they are in nature. Others will tell you it's when they are in meditation or yoga. For me it's all of the above...and to combine them was a powerful weekend. Add to that great friends...gourmet food, and the weekend reached great heights. -Christine, Bozeman

Within 2 weeks, I found myself unemployed, suddenly single, and just shy of not having a roof over my head. I remember reading Elizabeth Gilbert's account of her own bathroom meltdown and thought that I myself was a hair's breadth away from having my own episode. But rather than depart for Italy and India, I journeyed instead to Bozeman...to attend my first Big Sky Yoga Retreat. It was more than what I could have hoped or imagined. I healed my body through exquisite yoga, my mind through the book discussions, and my soul by surrounding myself with nature...I was surrounded by the most inspiring women and thank all of them for their time and attention...I now have the confidence through the Eat Pray Love yoga retreat to let go and let live. -Christine, Washington DC

Words cannot express how amazing last weekend was. It always amazes me how a group of women from all walks of life, from all over the country, can gather for just two days and be able to talk openly about so many things. You provided a place where it was safe to let go, to open yourself up, to be in the moment. Every last detail was taken care of so that we didn’t have to worry about anything. The Lodge wasn’t like staying in a hotel at all…it was like we were guests at a friend’s big, beautiful log home. The yoga, the food, the hot tub, hikes, and conversation…all made for a wonderful weekend. As women, we tend to spend a lot of our time taking care of everyone around us. It was such a gift to have those two days to take care of ourselves. My mom and I had decided that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to experience together…but after those two days, realized we wanted to make it an annual affair! Thank you for giving us a place to spend time together, just the two of us. We are both better wives, mothers, and friends because of it!
-Amy, Bozeman

Thank you for a great experience. The setting was spectacular. The people I met - of all ages and backgrounds - were wonderful. You are the best and most patient yoga instructor I have had.
-Georgeen, Chicago

Thank you so much for a wonderful weekend! Take it from someone who has 'been there, done that', you have created something quite unique and wonderful; an experience I will always treasure and feel lucky to have participated in. For your success in creating something so special, you have my deepest admiration and gratitude. I am sure I will see you again on another one of your magical retreats!
-Betsy, Los Angeles

I just wanted to thank you for a truly special experience. I feel restored and revivified and have a new-found interest in pursuing yoga with more vigor.
-Gigi, Hilton Head

The yoga and hiking weekend was one of the most wonderful weekends...the 1 on 1 attention during yoga classes, the food was excellent as well as the accommodations, and the beautiful Montana mountains made for the perfect backdrop. I was happy with the entire retreat and have made some great new friends through this experience. I would definitely recommend these retreats to friends and family and hope to come back again!
-Beth, Saint Louis Park

I had a great time and so enjoyed the yoga. Thanks for providing such a lovely refuge for the weekend. We really enjoyed our sister time. You're an inspiration!
-Meg, Houston

I want to thank you for the Mother's Day weekend and the great yoga which has inspired me to find time to practice more. I also thought that you really helped me understand and connect to yoga more spiritually, not just as excercise. So, thank you again for your patience with my being a novice and your enthusiasm. I really felt relaxed and peaceful.
-Heather, Missoula