The 2018 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! And unicorns, of course.
So #justbookit, and let us know if you need a gift certificate.
LUXE Cowgirl Yoga Costa Rica, January 6-13, 2018
Cowgirl Yoga, pura vida style. This will be our 4th time starting off the New Year in Costa Rica with our friends at Equisol. *Hurry, only two spots left!
If you want: to check off that bucket list item of riding a horse on the beach; daily swims in the most stunning infinity pool overlooking the ocean; morning yoga while being serenaded by howler monkeys.
Riding level: beginners welcome, but we suggest some riding experience for our rides in the jungle, on the beach and to a waterfall. This retreat also emphasizes the horse-human connection and the connection between our time with horses and our time on the yoga mat, so it’s more than riding: groundwork, meditation and mindfulness, hands-on horse time (as in horse massage!). And if we’re lucky…swimming with the horses too!
Fun facts: We have a free day when you can take a surf lesson, zipline through the jungle, be a beach bum, or visit a coffee farm. The girls at Finca Austria make the best cappuccinos this side of Italy. Howler monkeys sound like dinosaurs (well, what we think dinosaurs must’ve sounded like.)
Why you should #justbookit: Yoga, horses and beaches. What more is there to say? Also, check out 10 Costa Rica Questions for further enticement.
Cowgirl Yoga & Hiking in Patagonia, March 3-10, 2018
We are absolutely thrilled to be heading to Argentina for the first time 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 2 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 first retreat to offer both hiking and riding.
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.
Check out our Cowgirl Yoga & Hiking Patagonia FAQs!
LUXE Cowgirl Yoga & Creativity, May 17-20, 2018 – SOLD OUT!
*We added another weekend – May 10-13! Come celebrate Mother’s Day in Montana!
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 amazing 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 7-10, 2018 & September 20-23, 2018
Where it all started – the original Cowgirl Yoga.
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; Lisa teaches her famous before bed restorative yoga on this one – come in your pj’s, and bring wine.
Why you should #justbookit: we do 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!
B-LUXE Cowgirl Yoga, July 12-15 & July 26-29, 2018
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 2-5, 2018
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.
Culinary Cowgirl Yoga California, August 16-20, 2018
Food, Horses and Yoga. If I had to name my top three passions, that’s what I’d say. Therefore, I am always coming up with new ways to savor and share them on retreat. I’m pretty excited about this new retreat that’s evolved from this mélange of my life’s primary pleasures.We’ll be taking Cowgirl Yoga to new heights next summer, and we even had to add an extra day to do that justice.*Hurry, only 4 spots left!
If you want: to stay and do yoga on a working goat/sheep dairy and farmstead creamery – love animals and artisan cheese? then this is the place for you; to tease out those gorgeous flavors that might otherwise elude our palate (you know, like that scent of grapefruit in your sauvignon blanc, or the pomegranate and fall leaves in your pinot noir) with the help of food and wine educator/taste bud wrangler Dory Kwan; farm-to-table food galore; lots of get up and go riding.
Riding level: Riding experience is required for this retreat. We ask that you be comfortable at all three gaits, at speed; have an independent seat, and soft hands; are experienced riding on open trails, outside of the arena, and comfortable with Western tack.
Fun facts: we will attempt goat yoga! How can we not if we’re staying on a goat farm? Dory, our taste bud wrangler, is a badass horsewoman.
Why you should #justbookit: it was featured by Yoga Journal in 8 Ultra-Luxe Yoga Retreats We Can at Least Dream About (don’t dream it, just do it!)
Yoga & Yellowstone, September 14-17, 2018
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.
Cowgirl Yogatography, September 27-30, 2018
Look at horses differently. See more. Expand your vision. All this and more in a retreat that combines yoga, horses and photography. I call it a new travel genre: an active and creative vacation.
If you want: to let your creativity run wild and free in Montana; to get to know your camera and what it can do; to explore how yoga and meditation can awaken your artistic streak; to see what happens creatively when you spend some time nurturing yourself and soaking up nature.
Special touches: after you have a few days behind the camera, our Yogatography guru Larry will turn his lens on you and send you home with some snaps with your fave horse. Maybe in a yoga pose (you, not the horse). A Saturday night slideshow that showcases your new talent.
Fun Facts: our gorgeous equine models are members of the Cowgirl Yoga herd, plus some Fjords, Clydesdales, and a donkey named Walter.
Why you should #justbookit: if this slideshow from our 2016 retreat doesn’t convince you, not sure what will.
Yoga & Vineyard Tuscany, October 14-20, 2018
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 Rome 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.
Why you should #justbookit: Um, because Italy. And yoga in a medieval castle. And wine. And butter soft Italian leather, and cappuccino, and gelato, and…and…
Check our our Yoga & Vineyard FAQs!