About the Retreat:
Step away from your daily routine and into a long, rejuvenating weekend surrounded by the majestic North Cascade mountains. Join us for yoga, hiking, meditation, and deep relaxation as we embrace the vibrant beauty of the changing seasons. Whether you're a seasoned yogi or new to practice, come as you are and enjoy some well-deserved rest. Leave the hurry-up intensity of the city behind and embrace a weekend of self-care, connection, and community.
September in the Methow Valley offers endless mountainous views, immersing us in the spectacular beauty of the changing seasons. This year, we'll gather at the Inn at Mazama on the valley floor, just 30 minutes from North Cascades National Park. At 2,000 feet of elevation, Autumn arrives a bit earlier here, bringing warm days and cool nights. It's the ideal time to pause, reflect, and rejuvenate our spirits amidst the awe-inspiring natural landscape.
Our retreat combines the stunning vistas of North Cascades hiking with the grounding essence of yoga and meditation. Maria and Amelia (learn more about your Retreat leaders below!) will guide you through practices to cultivate balance, ease, and grace as we transition through the seasons. Yoga and movement sessions will rejuvenate your body and mind, while mindfulness meditation fosters self-kindness and introspection.
Our yoga sessions will include a variety of practices to suit your needs, including strong hatha practices for stability; recovery stretching and myofascial release for relaxation; and gentle restorative yoga for nurturing your body and restoring balance.
No previous meditation experience is required—just bring your curious mind and open heart. Maria will guide you through foundational yet transformative mindfulness techniques to integrate mindfulness into your daily life.
What’s Included:
3 nights accommodations (options for Private or Double Rooms)
3 meals per day starting with dinner on Thursday night and ending with breakfast on Sunday morning
Daily yoga practices
Daily mindfulness meditation practices
Two optional guided hikes
Personal retreat time (having time to nap, explore, walk, read, and just be)
Accommodations:
Accommodations at the Inn at Mazama are cozy and inviting, offering down-to-earth comfort. Relaxation amenities include a small pool, hot tub, rustic sauna, and fire pit; all ready to help you unwind. Delicious nourishing meals will be provided by our local Mazama chef to fuel your long weekend away in the mountains. All rooms include a private bathroom. Private room rates & Double room rates are available.
*Please note that only the Fir Double Room has 2 Queen Beds, all other rooms have 1 bed.
Tuition:
Early Bird Rates (book by May 31 for our lowest available rate - tuition increases June 1):
Fir Double Room (2 Queen Beds) = $1,090/person SOLD OUT
Aspen Private Room (1 Queen Bed) = $1,340/person SOLD OUT
Birch Loft Private Room (1 Queen Bed) = $1,380/person SOLD OUT
Birch Loft Double Room (1 Queen Bed - must be shared) = $1,030/person SOLD OUT
Pine Double Room (1 King Bed) = $1,080/person
Looking for more spacious accommodations to share with 2 or more people?
Send us a note: mariabliss@yogabliss.org to inquire about cabins on the premises at Inn at Mazama.Fir Private Room (1 King Bed) = $1,470/person SOLD OUT
Fir Double Room (1 King Bed - must be shared) = $1,080/person SOLD OUT
Your Leaders:
Maria Bliss:
Maria is a passionate yoga teacher and has enjoyed owning a yoga studio in the Seattle area for over 20 years: Yogabliss.org. She holds numerous certifications in the yoga world and has relished mentoring many newer yoga teachers on their own paths. Maria’s love for movement began as a young dancer when she experienced a sense of physical freedom, self-expression and deep discipline that fed her soul. Her desire to share this passion led her to realize her gifts as a teacher of dance, fitness, and many other physical modalities as the years unfolded.
While dancing in a regional ballet company, Maria was introduced to yoga for strengthening, stretching and healing. Yoga soon became a form of self-study and life practice for her. Years later as a young wife and mother, her weekly yoga class became a dedicated and grounding practice that helped her navigate the beauty and challenges of life.
A deep curiosity for spiritual exploration and personal growth brought Maria to meditation nearly 30 years ago. Her path of practice led her to study Mindfulness Meditation with many of the great modern teachers. The late Michael Stone helped Maria establish the personal practice that inspired her to embark on the two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification offered by esteemed teachers Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.
Currently, Maria finds her deepest calling as a both student and teacher of Mindfulness. Her classes focus on the breath as an anchor for fluid movement that is steady without rushing. Maria is known for skillful alignment-based instruction and intelligent functional movement sequences that offer students the freedom to listen, explore and enjoy! Whether on the mat or on the cushion, Maria brings her vast understanding of the practices, her own lived experience and her sweet sense of humor to each practice. She encourages going deep and getting juicy when it feels right, slowing down and backing off when it doesn’t. Always allowing time for noticing, resting, and connecting.
Maria teaches weekly yoga and meditation classes, extended practices & workshops and is delighted to lead retreats so that she can share these powerful practices more broadly.
Amelia Rehm:
Amelia has been guiding students and sharing her passion for yoga since 2016. As the former Studio Manager at Yogabliss, Amelia and Maria have been collaborating for years and are thrilled to continue their work together, this time outside the studio walls!
Amelia leads classes that are well paced; allowing students time to explore each posture and its nuances, without rush. Strong, slow, and deep, Amelia’s sequences will challenge students physically and mentally; encouraging practitioners to go inward and be present. Students will always be offered ways to amplify or modify their practice so that each individual gets what they need and finds that special space where effort and ease are in balance.
Students often express that they value Amelia’s clear and detailed instruction, while not taking the practice or the postures too seriously! Self-compassion is at the center of Amelia’s teaching and you will find that thread woven throughout strong hatha classes, mellow flows, easeful restorative, and soothing self-myofascial release sessions.
Amelia’s teaching is inspired from within the yoga world, and outside of it. Cecily Milne of Yoga Detour©, Kathryn Bruni-Young of Mindful Strength©, Jules Mitches of Yoga Biomechanics©, and Tiffany Cruikshank of Yoga Medicine© are teachers Amelia has learned from and is studying with, as she relishes a beginner’s mindset and is a forever student.
