A Sample Gathering Schedule

The precise schedule may shift with the season, the needs of the guests, and the practices emphasized during the retreat.

9:00–9:45 a.m. — Traditional Yoga Class
Begin the day with a guided practice of classical Āsana, the physical postures of Yoga, and Prāṇāyāma, the expansion of vital energy through breathing. The class establishes steadiness, openness, and physical vitality while preparing the body and attention for the day ahead.

10:00 a.m. — Juice or Smoothie
Come out of class to a fresh juice or smoothie prepared by one of the Ashram chefs while you were practicing. Gather with residents and fellow guests, settle into the day, and hear any practical guidance for what lies ahead.

10:45–11:45 a.m. — Guided Pradakshina Walking Meditation
Move silently through one of the Ashram’s forest Pradakshina paths. Pradakshina is the traditional practice of walking clockwise around a sacred site with sustained attention. Stone shrines, forest, water, and changing light become part of the practice as the group moves together through the land.

12:00 p.m. — Mitāhāra Lunch
Share a generous, nourishing meal prepared from vegan, whole plant foods and eaten in silence. Mitāhāra is the Yogic practice of receiving food with attention—eating in a way that leaves the body satisfied, clear, and well supported.

12:45–2:30 p.m. — Seasonal Sevā
Join residents in the shared work of caring for the Ashram. Depending on the season, this may include completing the meal cleanup, tending gardens, preparing firewood, caring for trails, maintaining buildings, or readying the land for the months ahead.

Sevā brings practice into the hands. By working directly with what the season and the land actually require, guests move from observing the Ashram to participating in its life.

2:30 p.m. — The Seasonal Turning: Solar Teaching
Gather with the resident community for an afternoon teaching, accompanied by a seasonal drink from the Ashram kitchen.

Drawing from Yoga, natural health, observation of nature, and contemporary science, this teaching explores how sunlight, darkness, temperature, food, sleep, movement, fresh air, and other natural conditions shape human health and well-being. It asks what becomes possible when we begin living more closely with the conditions our bodies were formed within.

3:30–4:45 p.m. — Traditional Sauna Practice
Enter the Ashram’s wood-fired sauna as a guided practice of heat, breath, mantra, stillness, and, when appropriate, cold immersion. Rather than casual sauna use, the group is led through an established sequence designed to deepen circulation, quiet the mind, and support the body’s natural processes of release and renewal.

Those not participating may use this time for quiet rest, walking, or reflection.

5:00 p.m. — Mitāhāra Dinner
Share a nourishing evening meal in silence as the active portion of the day gives way to its deeper conclusion.

6:15 p.m. — Living for the Benefit of Life
Throughout the natural world, life supports life. This evening teaching turns that observation toward the human being.

What is our place within the whole? What does it mean for a human life to become genuinely life-enhancing—and what changes when health, fulfillment, responsibility, and contribution are no longer treated as separate pursuits?

Through Yogic philosophy, practical reflection, and meditation instruction, the group explores what it means to live in a way that benefits not only oneself, but the greater life of which we are a part.

7:30–8:30 p.m. — Group Meditation
Those remaining for the evening join the resident community for an hour of shared meditation.

The gathering does not depend upon staying through the final meditation; day guests may depart earlier as needed. For those who remain, the evening offers an opportunity for sustained attention and deeper perception before the day closes.

8:30 p.m. — Closing & Optional Overnight Stay
The formal gathering is complete. Final day guests prepare to depart, while those remaining overnight return quietly to their accommodations.

Extend Your Stay

Guests may choose to arrive the evening before, remain overnight after the gathering, or both, depending on availability.

Optional Arrival Evening

Guests staying the night before may arrive in the late afternoon and settle into the rhythm of the Ashram before the main gathering day begins.

3:30 p.m. — Arrival & Settling In
Arrive, settle into your accommodations, and take some time to become oriented to the land and your surroundings.

4:00 p.m. — Ashram Tour & Orientation
Walk through the main guest areas of the Ashram, review practical guidelines, and become familiar with the spaces and rhythms that will shape your stay.

5:00 p.m. — Mitāhāra Dinner
Share the evening meal with the resident community in silence.

6:30 p.m. — Introduction to Meditation
Receive practical instruction for the evening meditation, including posture, attention, and the approach used within the Ashram.

7:30–8:30 p.m. — Group Meditation
Join the resident community for traditional ceremony and meditation in the Ashram’s cedar log temple.

8:30 p.m. — Evening Complete
Return quietly to your accommodations for the night and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Optional Overnight Extension

Guests staying the night after the gathering may remain through the following morning for Yoga, nourishment, and shared work before departing after lunch.

9:00–9:45 a.m. — Traditional Yoga Class
Begin the morning with a guided practice of Āsana and Prāṇāyāma.

10:00 a.m. — Juice or Smoothie
Gather for a fresh juice or smoothie and the daily meeting.

10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. — Morning Sevā
Join residents in the practical work of caring for the Ashram before the stay comes to a close.

12:00 p.m. — Mitāhāra Lunch
Share a final nourishing meal.

1:00 p.m. — Departure
Prepare to depart after lunch, bringing the extended stay to a close.