The 2019 yoga retreat gift guide is here! While you are in the throes of holiday merry making (and all the busy-ness that ensues), why not make a commitment to yourself for next year – to go on a yoga retreat that focuses on your health and wellbeing. Personally, I love having a trip out there on the calendar that will encourage me to stay focused on healthy goal setting.
I’m a big believer that experiences make the best gifts, and have lasting impact; it’s what I give my daughter more often than not. So whether you give a retreat to yourself, ask Santa for it, or gift it to another lucky yogini…I hope this guide will help you make the perfect choice.
I can’t think of any better holiday cheer than yoga, horses, Montana!
If you want to hop down to a particular gift in our list, click below:
- Cowgirl Yoga & Hiking Patagonia
- Luxe Cowgirl Yoga & Creativity
- Luxe Cowgirl Yoga
- Luxe Yoga & Fly Fishing
- B-Luxe Cowgirl Yoga
- Advanced Yoga & Hiking Big Sky
- Yoga & Yellowstone
- Yoga & Vineyard Tuscany
- Yoga & Vineyard Sicily
So #justbookit, and let us know if you need a gift certificate.
Cowgirl Yoga & Hiking in Patagonia, March 2-9, 2019
We’re heading back to Argentina to hike and horseback ride under the Southern Cross! Join other thrill seeking yoginis for this action-packed South American adventure – we promise to balance out the action with lots of yoga, meditation and mindfulness.
*Hurry, only TWO spots left!
If you want: a very active and adventurous vacation in one of the most wildly stunning places on earth (like Montana but in Argentina!); to explore trails by foot and hoof, on our only retreat to offer both hiking and riding. And Malbec.
Riding level: while our outfitters can accommodate all levels of riders, we strongly recommend riding experience and/or lessons before the trip, so you can be as comfortable as possible in the Patagonian terrain.
Fun facts: a private catamaran sail will take us to the trailhead for one of our hikes. Bariloche is famous not only for its outdoor playground, but also for its chocolate. South American seasons are the opposite of North America’s, so our retreat is during their early fall.
Why you should #justbookit: Because when else are you going to go to Argentina?? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list retreat. And you are going to come back in rock star shape. Because Yoga Journal called it a “Patagonia Odyssey” in its 10 Best Women-Only Yoga Retreats Around the World.
Check out our Cowgirl Yoga & Hiking Patagonia FAQs!
LUXE Cowgirl Yoga & Creativity, May 23-26, 2019
Cultivate your creative streak with yoga and horses! This retreat is designed to start the day with yoga and more saddle time than our other retreats, on a wide open landscape (over 5,000 acres at Grey Cliffs Ranch!) with a Big Sky overhead. In the afternoons, we’ll delve into pottery, sketching and coloring, journaling and more meditation. If you miss art class and love yoga and horses, this one’s for you.
If you want: to ride out like a cowgirl after warming up with a full yoga practice, to indulge in art with pottery lessons and time to color and sketch, to take a cooking lesson, to connect the dots between yoga, horses and your own creative expression.
Riding level: you can expect between 2-4 hours in the saddle on each ride, so some riding experience is recommended.
Fun facts: Licia your pottery teacher has an etsy shop, but you can also pick up her gorgeous goods at the ranch studio. If you’re feeling really cowgirl, Licia’s husband Chris will take you clay shooting.
Why you should #justbookit: to reTreat yourself for a fresh start in the spring, to awaken your artsy cowgirl yogini.
LUXE Cowgirl Yoga, June 6-9, September 19-22, September 26-29, 2019
Where it all started – the original Cowgirl Yoga. Not one, not two, but three rounds coming up in 2019!
If you want: the unique combination of yoga + horses; laid back luxury (which abounds at the Double T River Ranch); yoga in a restored barn loft; the most comfortable beds ever.
Riding level: beginners welcome! and we always have something up our chinks for more experienced riders too. This retreat emphasizes the horse-human connection and the connection between our time with horses and our time on the yoga mat, so it’s a lot more than riding: groundwork, meditation and mindfulness, hands-on horse time (as in horse massage!).
Fun facts: CNN filmed a “Passion to Portfolio” segment with me on this retreat; we do before bed restorative yoga on this one – come in your pj’s, and bring wine.
Why you should #justbookit: we take a happy hour fjord wagon ride around the ranch on Saturday night! And LUXE CY was featured by SELF Magazine in 11 Yoga Retreats that are Totally Worth It!
NEW! LUXE Yoga & Fly Fishing, June 27-30, 2019
It’s been requested, for years. You’re welcome.
Is Fly Fishing the New Yoga? asks the Robb Report. Well, you don’t have to choose since you’ll get both on this retreat.
If you want: to fish where “A River Runs Through It” was filmed; to discover how meditative fly fishing is.
Skill level: beginner fly fisher-yoginis welcome! We’ll divide into groups of 2-3 women with a private guide for each, so whatever your fishing skill you’ll get individualized instruction.
Fun facts: All fishing gear is provided, so you can pack light. We’ll kick things off with a fly tying workshop, with wine; our photographer (who was an extra in the movie “A River Runs Through It”!) will be on hand to capture your best cast (and maybe a yoga pose with fly rod in hand!) as a souvenir. There’s a “Brad Pitt rock” in the Gallatin River. The Gallatin Canyon is primo fishing in June, since it stays cooler than other parts of the river.
Why you should #justbookit: it’s featured in the January/February 2019 issue of SHAPE magazine. Because fly fishing may be the new yoga, but you can have it all. To say you did fish pose on a yoga and fly fishing retreat.
B-LUXE Cowgirl Yoga, July 11-14 & July 18-21, 2019
B Bar Ranch is so peaceful, you can hear your breath. It’s a true retreat into the wilds of Montana, with all the creature comforts. And the creatures.
If you want: the unique combination of yoga + horses; to be smack dab in the middle of Yellowstone wilderness – B Bar is a 9,000-acre ranch and an extension of the Yellowstone National Park ecosystem; to see stars like you have never seen stars before; to watch grizzlies at dawn (through binocs!).
Riding level: beginners welcome! and we always have something up our chinks for more experienced riders too. This retreat emphasizes the horse-human connection and the connection between our time with horses and our time on the yoga mat, so it’s a lot more than riding: groundwork, meditation and mindfulness, hands-on horse time (as in horse massage!).
Fun facts: Caitlin teaches a mala making workshop, and your Cowgirl Yoga mala is the perfect retreat souvenir.
Why you should #justbookit: to learn more about an eco-friendly working ranch that strives to live in harmony and balance with its many native floral and faunal inhabitants. For the mind-blowing experience of seeing the Milky Way when you look up at night. Rainbows. There are lots of rainbows.
Yoga & Advanced Hiking in Big Sky, August 1-4, 2019
Everyone thinks because of our name that all our retreats are in Big Sky. This is actually the only one. The ski town becomes a hiking mecca in the summer.
If you want: to experience the best lunch you’ve ever had (after approximately 1200 feet altitude gain, food tastes so. good.); the feeling of accomplishment that comes from hiking 18 miles in 2 days; to say you did mountain pose in the mountains.
Activity level: challenging. Hiking at altitude requires good cardio fitness, and preparation. So get your workout on, and then come get that hiker’s high on a choice few of Montana’s best trails.
Fun facts: we almost always see moose, and if we’re really lucky we’ll see a mama and baby; one of our hikes Beehive Basin was included in Austin-Lehman’s World’s 10 Greatest Hikes (of course we agree).
Why you should #justbookit: we send you training tips to get in tip-top, mountain climbing shape.
Yoga & Yellowstone, September 13-16, 2019
Did you know that our Yoga & Yellowstone retreat is also a hiking trip? Yep.
If you want: moose, grizzly, and elk galore; Yellowstone Park in all its autumn glory; to explore YNP with our own charming private guide.
Activity level: moderate. We have options for shorter or longer hikes depending on your mood, and our hikes in the Park are interspersed with wildlife scoping, geyser gazing, and Boiling River soaking.
Fun facts: wine selections at dinner include the apropos Yellowstone Cellars, and Elk Cove.
Why you should #justbookit: Fall is one of the best times to be in Yellowstone; it’s the elk rut (mating season), and hearing those big boys bugle is like nothing else. Also, the summer crowds are gone.
Yoga & Vineyard Tuscany, October 13-19, 2019
Fall in Tuscany. What else is there to say? Just add yoga.
If you want: yoga under the tuscan sun; to stay in a villa in the Florentine Chianti; to learn how to make gnocchi (because how can you go through life without knowing how to make gnocchi??); to learn the ins and outs of olives during harvest time; plenty of Italian food and wine, plus the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for a full week!
Special touches: we send you a JADE Travel mat to pack for your Italian yoga adventure, and a copy of A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure by Marlena de Blasi for pre-Italy reading.
Fun facts: The sumptuous Villa il Leccio is part of the Agriturismo movement, translated literally as “farm stays”; the best Italian food is not in a swanky Florence restaurant – it’s in the countryside. We have the opportunity for horseback riding through the vineyards (at additional cost), because it’s almost impossible to say no to that. You’ll be able to say you visited the birthplace of Chianti, Castello Brolio.
Why you should #justbookit: Um, because Italy. And yoga in a medieval villa. And wine. And butter soft Italian leather, and cappuccino, and gelato, and…and…
Check our our Yoga & Vineyard FAQs!
NEW! Yoga & Vineyard Sicily, October 20-26, 2019
Yoga and Vineyard is such a great combo in Tuscany, we thought we’d go south with it.
If you want: to stretch, sip and sightsee in Sicily; to compare and contrast typical “Italian” fare to Sicilian cuisine with its Spanish, Greek and Arab influences; to visit the ancient Greek ruins of Selinunte and see mythology come to life; to pair freshly caught seafood with your Sicilian vino; to soak up thousands of years of history and an enormous variety of cultural influences that will fascinate and fuel your imagination and intellect.
Special touches: we send you a JADE Travel mat to pack for your Sicilian yoga adventure, and a copy of Sicilian Splendors: Discovering the Secret Places that Speak to the Heart.
Fun facts: Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean; it’s home to the largest active volcano in Europe, Mt. Etna, at almost 11K feet; there’s only a mile and a half between Sicily and the Italian mainland.
Why you should #justbookit: According to Goethe: “To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything”. In addition to immersing ourselves in food, wine and Agriturismo, we’ll visit the coastal towns of Trapani and Marsala.