Recommended Retreat Spots
By Theresa Shay
As you plan a retreat for yourself, the place you choose to spend your time can contribute richly to your experiences. To help you find your way, here are some favorite retreat spots.
TriYoga Retreats
If you love TriYoga®, you may already be tracking the special places where TriYoga retreats are held, including our upcoming summer retreat June 14-16, 2024, at Light on the Hill Retreat Center. TriYoga International also recently opened SoHum, its dedicated TriYoga program facility near Georgetown, Kentucky. Though SoHum does not provide housing or meals like other retreat centers, a pilgrimage to TriYoga’s property feeds the soul. The experience of being in a place built as a hOMe for the radiant energy of TriYoga touches the depths of your being as soon as you set foot on the land. The next program at SoHum will be April 19-22, led by Yogini Kaliji, TriYoga’s founder.
Retreat Centers
On the east coast of the United States, three large yoga retreat centers host multiple programs all year long:
Himalayan Institute (Pennsylvania)
Kripalu (Massachusetts)
Yogaville (Virginia)
These vibrant spaces hold programmed retreats on yoga, meditation and other personal growth and wellness topics. The teachers who pass through these facilities are often well known. All of the centers offer the option of a personal retreat if you seek a pleasant place to go where yoga and healthy living are integral to the place and the activities happening there. Himalayan Institute and Yogaville follow yoga’s principle of ahimsa (non-harming) and serve vegetarian meals.
Light on the Hill Individual Retreats
Light on the Hill Retreat Center will host TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania’s summer retreat in June in their lodge. In addition, the center offers six individual retreat cottages and huts, tucked away in nature. While one is staying at the cottages and huts, Light on the Hill offers guided or partially-guided personal retreat experiences if desired. This center “provides a sacred space where seekers can find peace and solace away from their everyday worldly pursuits.” Located on 236 acres of woods, streams, gorges and walking paths, Light on the Hill stands out in this way: “While Light on the Hill is considered a place of spiritual refuge, it is not affiliated with any single religious organization. Seekers of all backgrounds and beliefs are welcome.”
Private Retreat Homes
While there are many beautiful, privately-owned homes on sites such as AirBnB, three locations in Central Pennsylvania stand out for being spaces that were built with personal retreats in mind.
Meadow Sweet Cottage – located in east Penns Valley
Sandstone Sanctuary – a secluded mountain sanctuary in Centre County
Woodcliff Cabin – Though this location is no longer offered on public sites, friends and friends of friends (that’s you) are welcome. Email Misha, the owner, kryzytski (at) gmail.com . The availability calendar can be found here.
Perhaps a special place down the road some day ☺
Nature
The most accessible retreat location is the natural world that surrounds you. A hike in the woods, a sit by the stream, some time watching birds resets the system in as much time as you have to give it. Even stepping outside your house or office for ten minutes to take in the natural air refreshes. This is because the life energy, known as Prana, is easily felt in nature. Whether you choose to find your connection to nature out the door of your home or by traveling to one of the facilities mentioned here, let the peace of the natural world remind you of the peace of your natural state – your soul that is SatChidAnanda: existence, knowledge, bliss.
Theresa Shay is the founding director of TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania, where she teaches weekly yoga and meditation online and trains others to teach TriYoga®. Each week, she shares wisdom cultivated from decades of TriYoga study and practice.
Learn more about her here. Theresa can be reached at Theresa@PennsylvaniaYoga.com. Find her on Instagram @theresa_of_triyoga for more inspiration and light.