1.  The setting is gob-smack-yourself-upside-the-head-in-disbelief-at-your-awe exquisitely beautiful.
Have a peek at some of the photos from my trips at the bottom of this page.  No camera can capture the full dimension of any experience, but we're talking about a place that has every visual and sensual delight you could ask for to settle into a long overdue exhale of relief at how it's still possible to be completely surrounded by unsullied beauty.  Quaking aspens, towering lodge-pole pines that smell like summer, a gorgeous lake in the middle of the Ranch's property, and trails that wind their way through all of it.  This place is seriously, sweetly beautiful.  Every inch of it. 

2.  Summer in Montana is awesome.
The days are warm, the nights are delightfully cool for sleeping, the elevation is high enough to keep you and biting mosquitoes far away from each other, and the quality of light in the great West gives the whole place a sparkle that dribbles under your skin and into your bones and muscles and ligaments and tendons and leaves you feeling whole and healed just from doing nothing more complicated than standing awestruck at the idea that,  "Wow, it's summer and I'm in Montana and whatever could have made me believe that life was anything but an awesomely magical experience?" 

3.  You can have as much or as little solitude as suits you.
Ranch retreats are designed to offer you what you need most.  If you want to hang out with your new friends or the buddy you came with between classes, you can do that.  You can just as easily slip away for an afternoon napping on the lawn, canoeing on the lake, meditating at the stupa, lounging in the hot tub or sauna, or strolling in the woods under the dappled light of the pines. 

4.  The lodging choices give you all kinds of flexible options to suit your needs and personal preferences.
If you love to hear the sounds of nature at night and love staying alone, there are tipis and tents dotting the landscape. You'll have a cot, a mattress, plenty of snuggly warm bedding, and awesome views of your world from the outdoor lodging choices.  There's a beautiful, clean, bath-house to use for showering, sauna-ing, hot-tubbing, getting a massage, or maybe enjoying a pajama party with your lovely new friends.  There are also indoor lodging choices with such pretty rooms to share. Clean, beautifully appointed, and supremely comfortable.  And yurts!  They have yurts!
 
5. The bathhouse.
Seriously, this bathhouse is the best.  Some of my favorite memories from the past summers are of hanging out in the cedar bathhouse letting the hot sauna make amends for winter or waiting for my massage appointment or even just giggling with a friend at the sink when we're both brushing our teeth.  There's a special love that happens when you brush your teeth next to someone you only met the day  before.  Just saying. 

6. The food.
Oh. My. Heavens.  You have NO idea.  This place takes meal preparation seriously.  And they pour so much love into the effort.  Aside from being technically skilled at creating memorable meals, the staff puts so much care  into every dish that you can taste it.  Meals are served in a dining hall built a few years ago, just a few steps away from the Main Lodge that houses the beautiful main yoga room.  Fill up your plate and relax at a table in the dining hall with your new peeps or toddle off if you'd like some solitude and eat on the sprawling green lawn watching the sunlight dance on the lake.  The food is actually so darn great there that they have their own cookbook, which flies off the shelf of the little Shanti Boutique on the Ranch  fast, especially for first-timers who get their first taste of the cooking at the Ranch.  And?  The cooks are the sweetest, funniest, kindest people ever.  You've never been so pampered. And if you have a special dietary need, it's not a problem.  There will always be something for you to eat that's going to make you very very happy.  (Email me privately if you'd like to know how get to where they keep the ice cream or chocolate just in case you get a late night craving and find yourself walking the Ranch with a flashlight under a brilliant starlit sky in search of one last 'something' to make your day even more perfect . . .)

7. The yoga.
It almost goes without saying that over the years the Ranch has hosted some of the finest yoga teachers on the planet.  Yeah, the yoga's really good there.   Whatever your style or preference, there's a workshop offering that's almost sure to float your boat.  This coming 2012 season is incredibly strong.  Bhakti yoga, yoga with music, therapeutic yoga, gentle yoga, women's yoga, Freedom Style Yoga, Iyengar yoga.  Empowerment.  Peace. Love.  Real yoga here.  Real yoga. 

8. The vibe.
This isn't "just another" place to go for a yoga retreat.  It's full of heart.  It's accessible to any heart, any being.  It's sincere.  And its history and its continuing purpose - its reason for being - is, well, it's important.  When you support the Feathered Pipe Foundation by attending a retreat, you're supporting their global seva work.  You're helping Tibetan children.  You're helping to preserve endangered cultures. You're helping war veterans coping with PTSD.  You're helping bring the experience of a retreat to others through scholarships.  You heal.  The world heals.  You can't lose. 

9. India Supera and the Elk Story.
See for yourself.

10.  It's not hard to get there.  In fact, it's easy.
It's a short flight to Helena from major hubs - Denver and Salt Lake City, for example. If you book early, you can snag a good airfare.  

11. If you bring a friend, you get a price break.
Bring one friend; they get $100 off, you get $100 off.  Bring three friends; they each get $100 off, you get $300 off.  Bring fifteen friends, and your workshop would be close to free (depending on workshop tuition and accommodation choice)!  All they need to do is let the Ranch know you referred them when they call us or when they do our follow up call if they register online. The office staff at Feathered Pipe is massively awesome. 

12. The bodyworkers.
Sweet merciful heavens.  The bodyworkers at Feathered Pipe are over-the-top amazing.  Each unique in their style, all the same in their commitment to supporting the retreat experience with loving hands and great care.