expanding our capacity for calm - a sacred summer pause in the magical mountains of montana
I’m so excited to offer a Sacred Summer Pause Retreat under the wide-open skies of Montana at the renowned Feathered Pipe Ranch August 15-22, 2026!
Feathered Pipe is very dear to my heart. It was where I took my own very first weeklong yoga retreat back in July 1997. To this day, I can still mentally transport myself back there in a breath. In fact, whenever I do a meditation in which I imagine a place where I felt the most relaxed and whole, Feathered Pipe is my go-to memory.
I can feel it now even just writing about it… I was walking from the bathhouse, where I just took a sauna, back to my yurt. I walked so slowly down the fragrant wildflower-lined path, under the endless sky, the soft song of birds and wind rustling through the aspens surrounded me while the wild mountains stood guard over my expanding soul.
It is truly one of the most embodied memories I have: grounded and expansive. I return to this feeling again and again to recreate a relaxed, heart-centered presence.
In short, Feathered Pipe Ranch is an oasis of tranquility, beauty, and connection. From my personal experience, I can confidently say that your biological rhythms will be reset here and your well will be filled. I am already feeling blessed to have the opportunity to teach on these beautiful grounds.
Feathered Pipe Scholarship Fund
Feathered Pipe Ranch is committed to making retreat programs available to anyone with a will to come. If you struggle to be able to pay the retreat tuition and also know that you would benefit from coming to Feathered Pipe, please know YOU ARE WORTHY and we hope you consider applying Partial scholarships ranging from $500 to $1500 are available and applied to the workshop tuition. Tuition does not include travel expenses to Montana.
Scholarship application period:
February 14 - February 28, 2026
Applicants will be notified by March 7, 2026
LEARN MORE
Enjoy a true spacious pause, held in nature, and a truly rejuvenating week together:
Located just outside of Helena, but feeling like it is in the middle of the wilderness, Feathered Pipe Ranch is nestled in the pristine northern Rocky Mountains surrounded by the Helena National Forest – almost a million acres of mountain wilderness. Feathered Pipe Ranch provides a spacious yet intimate setting for deepening your practice and connections.
All photos by Zane Williams.
Just imagine a full week held in the embrace of a welcoming community of old and new friends, feeling worlds away in the middle of nature's most stunning beauty. Our high-ceiling (log cabin-like) yoga lodge offers a panoramic view of the lake and mountainscape… another memory I call upon regularly even 25 years after my first visit.
One of the greatest benefits of the ranch is that they create such an inviting and intimate environment to go deep into our personal practice as well as connect with each other. Hosting only one retreat at a time, we'll be fed by great company, enjoy meaningful conversations and laughter, and share delicious, unforgettable, organic meals, enjoyed slowly both inside and outside dining gatherings.
We’ll savor a daily schedule of mindful slow flow yoga, restorative practices, yoga nidra, meditation, forest bathing and nature walks, and sweat lodge ritual. There will be space and time to practice in ways that are personal and nourishing to you.
There will be plenty of open time to explore, rest, and renew....book a massage, luxuriate with an afternoon sauna or hot tub, soak up nature on one of the many accessible hikes all around the ranch, enjoy resting, canoeing or swimming at the spring-fed lake while you are caressed by the gentle breezes blowing through the lush trees, or curl up in a hammock with a book. Whatever you choose, this is truly one of the most magical places on earth.
Reflections From the Ranch - Experiences From The Spacious Pause
“Jillian’s retreat at the Feathered Pipe Ranch was so deeply nourishing in a way that’s hard to put into words.
From the moment I arrived, I felt welcomed by the warmth of the staff, the delicious, nourishing food, and the quiet, natural beauty of the land that held us all.
Jillian’s compassionate, loving guidance allowed my body and heart to soften and my nervous system to settle. I especially loved the journaling and contemplation prompts provided each day, and the chance to create art, painting rocks and leaving them by the stupa. t felt creative, meditative, and deeply grounding. It was a truly sacred time together! I left feeling comforted, fully nourished, and deeply restored.”
-Adrienne
Feathered Pipe Ranch lends itself to reflection- peaceful, nurturing, calming waters, and raw landscape. This coupled with the gentle invitation of Jillian to land- arrive- and relax- will keep me coming back. I have never been surrounded by a group of staff that embodied loving kindness- the food was great, but the service and love used in preparing it was a thrill. And on the last morning I 100% treated myself to the leftover chocolate torte because that was a slice of heaven.
My journal came home filled with tidbits of notes, thoughts, prompted writing experiments, and raw emotion. Some that I've carried with me this year have been: *it's an ever new now; *listening plus compassion allows a new route; *heal so that you can hear without the filter of your wounds; and *there are no fixed places in living. I've held these thoughts in my hand to examine them over the last few months- and they have allowed me to enter into that sacred pause where I can reflect and not just react.
On the last day I took a picture at the stupa of my painted rock with "ease" and the "peace" prayer flag. These have been the background pictures on my phone ever since!
I was a little apprehensive for a solo trip- a week in a new place with no one I'd ever met before. That little fear was quickly put to the side as we dove into sharing around the circle and making the common connections that we all have. We were all there for different reasons but shared the willingness to be ourselves. I look back on those interactions with such gratitude and am so thankful for a place like Feathered Pipe that cultivates friendships.
—Grace W.
fresh from the feathered pipe kitchen
Beans Bourguinon
This healthy and hearty recipe from the Feathered Pipe kitchen is easy to make! This is a simple braised dish with complex flavors built on lots of red wine and a bouquet garni of thyme and rosemary.
