I was introduced to yoga as a 7-year-old, when my dad brought me to his class when my babysitter cancelled.
I’ve taken thousands of yoga classes since. While I always feel revitalized after, finding time to squeeze in a yoga class during a hectic day can actually add stress.
My favorite way to practice yoga is on a yoga retreat, where I’m removed from the time constraints of daily life, with no work meetings, no meals to cook, and no kids to put to bed.
I’ve experienced numerous yoga-focused vacations across the United States and you needn’t be an expert or lithe and limber to participate. I’m middle-aged and appreciate that yoga is centered around mind-body connection, prioritizing physical and emotional wellness over perfect abs.
After a few pressure-free days filled with yoga classes, healthy food that someone else prepares, and communing with nature, I feel ready to face life’s challenges.
Meet five yoga retreats across the country that are sanctuaries for mind, body, and spirit.
In this article
Lake Austin Spa Resort in Austin, Texas
Lake Austin Spa Resort is an all-inclusive yoga and wellness resort directly facing the shores of its namesake.
Guests stay in one of 40 cottages and bungalows, all of which come with perks such as vitamin C-infused shower heads and pillow menus. Three healthy meals, served in the dining room or on the deck, and a range of optional daily yoga and fitness classes, such as Pilates and Tai Chi, are part of the deal.
When I visited last spring, I enjoyed the traditional Hatha Yoga class in the morning and the early evening candlelight meditation with sound bowls that helped me get a great night’s sleep. The most challenging class was floating yoga on the lake, requiring every ounce of core strength I had to balance on a floating mat.
I also swam in the pools and borrowed one of the kayaks to paddle on Lake Austin, which is a dammed portion of the Lower Colorado River.
After eating my chef-prepared dinner each evening, I enjoyed the pre-bedtime group activity, mahjong lessons one night and hands-on basketmaking the next. I never wanted to leave.
Kripalu in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Kripalu’s Zen-like atmosphere and bucolic Berkshire scenery was an elixir from the moment I arrived.
While Kripalu offers year-round thematic yoga retreats centered around topics ranging from awakening joy to pain relief, I booked the self-guided Retreat & Renewal package, with the flexibility to participate in as many or as few yoga classes as I liked.
A range of levels and styles of yoga classes are offered throughout the day, suitable for complete beginners as well as yoga teachers. A snapshot of my typical day started with a sunrise yoga class, a mid-morning mindfulness workshop, and a solitary afternoon hike followed by a pre-dinner Vinyasa class. In the evening, I joined a meditation class or read in my room.
Three daily buffet meals come included and feature minimally-processed foods, much of it sourced from nearby farms. Breakfast, you should know, is a silent meal to encourage self-reflection at the start of the day.
Kripalu has 272 simple rooms, from singles with a private bath to shared dormitory accommodations, suiting a range of budgets. Classes, workshops, activities, and room and board are included in the rate.
Hemlock Neversink in Neversink, New York
The Catskill Mountains are a magnet for New Yorkers who crave a respite from urban stress. It’s also where you’ll fittingly find the low-key Hemlock Neversink, one of my favorite places to restore and refresh, just two hours from my New York City apartment.
There are 33 comfortable rooms spread across five buildings on 230 pristine acres of forest and meadows, each decorated in a simple style favoring functionality over frills. Cozy touches include wooden writing desks and down-filled bedding.
Several different styles of yoga classes are held daily in the wood-beamed movement studio with a stone fireplace, including energizing vinyasa flow and restorative yin yoga. I’ve met guests who spend much of their day practicing yoga and others who prefer to never see the inside of the movement studio, adding to the “you do you” vibe. Hemlock also hosts yoga-specific retreats throughout the year.
All classes and activities are included in the room rate. Meals at the on-site restaurant, Bittersweet, are extra.
Between yoga classes, head to the goat sanctuary, home to adorable resident rescue goats.
Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in Vista, California
Cal-a-Vie is an exclusive health resort with 32 spacious guest suites and villas, plus three palatial guest houses with five or six bedrooms. All are decorated with 17th and 18th century French antiques that the owners have selected. Entire buildings, including a restored 400-year-old Chapel where yoga classes are held, have been imported from France.
Add the scent of lavender that grows on-site and you’ll understand why I feel transported from SoCal to the South of France, minus the jet lag.
Cal-a-Vie offers 3-, 4-, and 7-night packages that include yoga classes, mind-body awareness workshops, accommodations, and activities from swimming to pickleball. Gourmet cuisine, included for all guests, isn’t about deprivation; the focus is on lean protein and fresh produce from their own garden.
With approximately 95 fitness classes offered each week, including every type of yoga from trapeze to classes focused on the face, there’s freedom to choose what works best for you.
Themed programs, such as Yoga and Breathwork Week and Mental Reset Week, also present the opportunity for a more focused yoga practice.
Civana Wellness Resort & Spa in Carefree, Arizona
Civana Wellness Resort & Spa is in the Sonoran Desert, where towering saguaros punctuated with vibrant desert blooms paint a striking picture. I found the surrounding silence to be a balm even before my first downward facing dog. The name of the town is also as fitting as it gets: Carefree.
Civana is a fluid, self-directed wellness destination rather than a structured retreat, encouraging guests to engage at their own pace. Guests have access to more than 100 weekly classes spanning movement, meditation, and breathwork. Many styles of yoga are offered, including restorative, aerial, and wall yoga. When I joined, the outdoor yoga under the starry night sky was unforgettable.
There are 144 uncluttered rooms and suites, each furnished in a contemporary style favoring a neutral color palette. You may book a stay either à la carte or on an all-inclusive plan with accommodations, dining, one spa treatment per night, and unlimited wellness classes.
The Shortcut
Kripalu's self-guided Retreat & Renewal package is the best option for first-timers: flexible scheduling, no pressure, and one of the lowest price points on this list.
Cal-a-Vie offers roughly 95 fitness classes per week, including yoga styles most people have never tried. It's the ideal choice for yogis who want to go deep.
Civana is the only property here with an à la carte option. Consider it if you want wellness access without committing to a full all-inclusive package.
Lake Austin and Cal-a-Vie offer the most full-service retreats. Hemlock Neversink is a better pick if you want the option of yoga without the entire experience built around it.
Staying at a hotel with a working farm is another way to reconnect with yourself and your environment.
