You’re invited to join a long weekend away in the mountains to restore, reconnect, and explore . . .
Surrounded by the quiet winter beauty of the North Cascades, this retreat weaves together some of the things I love most — yoga, meditation, mindful movement, time in nature, and Nordic skiing. The Methow Valley is truly a snow-covered winter wonderland, with miles of peaceful trails just outside the door of your cozy room at the Inn at Mazama.
Each day will include grounding practices: mindfulness meditation, yoga to wake us up, stretch us out, release tension, and restore our whole selves. We’ll be nourished by meals from a favorite local chef, with time for both rest and outdoor adventure.
No ski experience is needed—lessons and rentals will be available. This Retreat is intentionally limited to a smaller group (max 15 students), so we encourage you to book sooner than later (our 2025 Fall Retreat sold out in 30 days!).
I am so pleased to co-lead with my dear friend Richard Guevara, fellow winter enthusiast, and deeply knowledgeable and caring yoga instructor. We invite you to join us on Retreat to slow down, reconnect with your body and breath, and be restored by winter’s stillness and quiet.
Accommodations:
Accommodations at the Inn at Mazama are cozy and inviting, offering down-to-earth comfort. Relaxation amenities include a 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. Tuition rates are below but more detail can be found about each room when you head to our booking page.
What’s Included:
3 nights accommodations (options for Private or Double Rooms)
3 meals per day starting with dinner on Friday night and ending with breakfast on Monday morning
Daily yoga practices
Daily mindfulness meditation practices
Personal retreat time (having time to nap, explore, walk, read, and just be)
Additional Costs:
Nordic skiing equipment rentals & lessons
Tuition:
Private Rooms:
ASPEN (1 queen bed) - $1,440
BIRCH LOFT (1 queen bed) - $1,480
FIR KING (1 king bed) - $1,570
PINE (1 king bed) - $1,605
Double Rooms with 2 beds (very limited availability):
FIR DOUBLE (2 queen beds): $1,190 per person
Double Rooms with 1 bed that must be shared:
PINE KING (1 king bed) - $1,190 per person
All rates are per person.
Your Guides:
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.
Richard Guevara:
Richard is known for his authentic, non-judgmental teaching style and compassion-centered philosophy. His classes are playful and begin with and build upon the fundamentals as he believes it takes time to truly learn something well. With that, you can expect to move at a smooth pace that doesn’t feel rushed and gives you time to find what is exactly right.
Richard is a local Seattle teacher and known for his accessibility, humor, and ability to empower his students through one of yoga’s oldest messages, “compassion first.” Richard is always seeking more knowledge, which led him to San Francisco to train with his beloved teacher, Annie Carpenter, of Smart Flow Yoga. Smart Flow is a methodology that focuses on alignment of the shoulder girdle and pelvis to bring balance to the body, mind and spirit. With over a decade of experience in his field, Richard continues to bring change to his students and his community through love and compassion one student at a time.
You can expect joyful playfulness in Richard’s classes, as well as movement, sweat and breath. He often fuses classical Hatha style with strong Vinyasa flow.
