6 Day Walk Lightly Yoga Retreat in Whitefish, Montana

Facilities

Retreats are different than vacations, as you do not have to plan meals, excursions, and schedules. Your basic needs are met and a flexible schedule that honors the natural rhythm of the day provides balance, nourishment, and rest.

Yoga retreats also offer an opportunity to explore the deeper and often unfamiliar aspects of yoga and meditation, allowing you to reach a greater level of self-understanding and respect. Sharing these practices and experiences with a group increases your awareness and empathy, as you interact with others, and often leads to lifelong friendships. Retreats are also a powerful reminder of how important it is to remain consistent in your practices, whatever form those may take. We believe 90% of yoga exists beyond the yoga mat.

Yoga means “to yoke” or “to unify”; it is a mindset that we generate through practice on the mat and reflect through the choices we make in everyday life. Yoga is existing in a continuous state of attentiveness, openness, discernment, and compassion; it is minimizing our destructive impact on the earth (i.e., to walk lightly) and strengthening our relationships to Self and others. Some of the best yogis we know do not practice yoga on the mat; they live mindfully. Therefore, this retreat is an opportunity to practice and reflect upon these ideas and the choices we make, whether for the first time or the millionth time, both on and off the mat.

Walking Lightly Ranch is the perfect place to do this! We hope that you feel nourished upon returning to your everyday life: more connected, mindful, inspired, and balanced. One of the signature aspects of Shivatree retreats is the structure of their days, as always, your days will coordinate with the rhythms of nature by sharing invigorating yoga practices in the morning and calming practices in the evening, eating locally sourced and organic meals with your largest meal in the middle of the day, immersing yourselves in nature and providing plenty of time for true rest and reconnection to oneself and one another.

If yoga is not your thing, in addition to perhaps trying new things like yoga, there will be plenty of other ways to participate and receive a well-rounded retreat experience. Do not stress; your yoga o’hana is down-to-earth, kind, and mindful; we are not judging the quality of your downward dog or your ability to sit in meditation. Even if you may be judging yourself; we all know how it feels to begin yoga and the challenges that arise as you continue yoga, it is called practice for a reason!

Schedule

Day 1: Tuesday

• 17:30 Orientation
• 18:30 Dinner followed by yoga class

Day 2: Wednesday

• 07:00 Pranayama and meditation class
• 08:00 Breakfast
• 09:30 Yoga class
• 12:00 Lunch
• 13:00 Free time, excursion to Whitefish, massage, or on-site hike
• 17:00 Yang Yin yoga class (gentle movement and Restorative yoga)
• 19:00 Dinner
• 20:30 Nidra yoga class

Day 3: Thursday

• 06:30 Yoga class
• 08:00 Breakfast
• 09:00 Departure for Glacier National Park
• 18:30 Dinner at the ranch
• 20:00 Restorative and Nidra yoga class

Day 4: Friday

• 07:00 Pranayama and meditation class
• 08:00 Breakfast
• 09:30 Yoga class
• 12:00 Lunch
• 13:00 Free time or massage
• 17:00 Yang Yin yoga class
• 19:00 Dinner
• 20:30 Nidra yoga class

Day 5: Saturday

• 07:00 Pranayama and meditation class
• 08:00 Breakfast
• 09:30 Yoga class
• 12:00 Lunch
• 13:00 Free time or optional excursion
• 17:00 Yang Yin yoga class
• 19:00 Dinner
• 20:00 Nidra yoga class

Day 6: Sunday

• 07:00 Yoga class
• 10:00 Brunch
• 11:00 Departure for airports

During this retreat, there will be one day trip to Glacier National Park, where you will drive the “Going to the Sun" Road, hike, and perhaps take the ranger-guided classic bus ride. You will enjoy Trail of Cedars, Avalanche Lake, or another hike, and may take a boat ride on Lake McDonald. You are responsible for purchasing your own lunch at Glacier.

Walking Lightly Ranch is located in Whitefish, Montana and is situated on 400 acres, surrounded by thousands of acres of state and national forest reserves. The property hosts a lodge, guest barn and yoga studio along with hiking trails, gardens, and a swimming pond. The barn is an independent structure and solely contains guest rooms, whereas the lodge is quiet but more trafficked as it contains guest rooms, library, fireplace, kitchen and dining room.

Unless you have signed up to share a room with a loved one, you will be given a private room in your preferred choice of lodging, space permitting (requests honored in the order in which they are received). Temperatures tend to range between 40 and 65 degrees at this time of year, so please pack accordingly. You are able to extend your stay on the ranch prior to or following the retreat for an extra fee, but you will need to arrange those reservations directly with the ranch.

Nearby places

• Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) - 30 minutes

+−

During this retreat, you will be served organic, locally grown food prepared with love by the on-site staff. A sample meal would include homemade sourdough bread, fresh green salad with local apple balsamic vinaigrette, and minestrone soup with homemade ice cream for dessert.

Fruit, premium coffee, and teas are available all day long. You are welcome to bring your own snacks, but no one has ever gone hungry on a retreat at Walking Lightly.

The garden

The vibrant organic garden and orchard is the first-choice food source at Walking Lightly. You can enjoy abundant crops of kale, green vegetables, and whatever else they can wrangle into the short Montana growing season.

Walking Lightly continues to build the soil each year with compost made on-site, taking the growing cycle from soil to plate and then back to the soil. Being grown with organic and natural materials, food gives the fuel to being healthy and vibrant as well.

The greenhouse

In 2007, Walking Lightly added a greenhouse onto the south facing side of the main lodge and now they continue to grow food all year round. It is a wonderful thing in the middle of a long Montana winter to enjoy fresh produce. From micro-greens to hand pollinated peppers, Walking Lightly always has something growing and on the way to the table.

Sample menu

Breakfast

• Sprouted raw granola with blueberries and cardamom nut milk
• Green drinks prepared fresh from the garden or greenhouse

Lunch

• Garden vegetable miso or minestrone soup
• Quinoa with tat-soy, bok-choy, and Asian vinegarette
• Steamed Brussels sprouts with dulse and coconut oil

Dinner

• Sweet potato soup
• Vegetable medley and brown rice
• Garden or greenhouse salad with cilantro tahini dressing
• Raw cacao and carob mousse with dates

• Enjoy outdoor activities such as kayaking, whitewater rafting, and horseback riding
• Join optional excursions to the quaint town of Whitefish
• Massages available as an add-on

• Morning Vinyasa yoga classes or workshops
• Afternoon Restorative yoga classes
• Daily meditation or yoga Nidra classes
• 5 nights accommodation
• Daily organic breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• 1 day trip to Glacier National Park

• Airfare
• Kayaking
• Horseback riding
• Whitewater rafting

Recommended Airports

• A reservation requires a deposit of 25% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 15 days before arrival.