Testimonials

Solace and Serenity

Feathered Pipe Ranch

“Grace, gratitude and heart. This sums up the experience of yoga and people at the Feathered Pipe. I can’t imagine a more magical wilderness setting for yoga. The Feathered Pipe Ranch is a place where you can melt into nature and get re-centered about what’s important. You will leave a transformed human being.”

-April Nelson Woodside, California

Sherri Baptiste

Strength and clarity were sound and real rewards of this beautiful June 18-25, 2011 Montana Retreat together. Midway through our week in Montana together I felt a powerful shift take hold in each one of us. As India Supera referred to it, "Each Baptiste Retreat that we share is a main event." A main event that takes us to the next levels and chapters of our life with more inner freedom and personal choice. We find more responsible choice in the direction of our lives, with a deeper sense of the big picture. Understanding and inspired vision are fully realized and become one in life.

Feathered Pipe Ranch nestled between the deep earth, backdrop of mountains and trees; with it lake and rich environment provided us with a stunning setting that is so pure. It is a place that carries a tangible light, loving support and energy for us. I feel that the Baptiste Inspired Retreats and Journeys, along with the amazing collaboration of amazing guest teachers such as Brooke Medicine Eagle this time truly offer a world-class level of experience that we keep with us forever. Others are also inspired by what they see and hear in us upon our return home. I do feel blessed to be with each one of you as we journey through life on this spiritual and most interesting adventure of life together.

You; the group of participants are really students of life. You show up from all walks of life with a consistency of enthusiastic openness, and trust that allows the work to begin and carry forward with each amazing day, retreat and event together. You are consistently a wonderful group! and everywhere that we go together people notice this about you. They tell me every time, where ever we go together that you are an amazing group. Staff and others we meet on the path at these retreats and events always love having you with them and being with you. I get such complements on the Baptiste Groups where ever we go, and from all of the teachers that I bring to you. Bottom line you are all much loved for who you are, and deeply appreciated!

Thank you all so much for showing up on this path. It’s a good path to be on as we move forward into the next chapters of Life together.

- Sherri Baptiste

About six weeks before my annual retreat to Feathered Pipe Ranch, I start counting down the days until I can just 'be' and let go of all my day to day obligations, responsibilities and deadlines. This ranch is a place where I have been getting my groove back for nearly 12 years now and each year seems sweeter, softer and more endearing to my heart, soul and spirit. Feathered Pipe Ranch, along with my dear friend and teacher, Erich Schiffmann, carries a special kind of magic that is felt all of us who are privileged to spend an entire week with him. It's the place where we all can decompress and get in touch with our very own grace and bliss. I love it. As long as I can come, I'll be there, every summer.

-Pat Olchefski-Winston El Paso, Texas

"The Feathered Pipe has been integral to the renaissance of yoga in this country. In their magnificent surroundings, they offer classes with the finest yoga teachers in the world. The Feathered Pipe sits far away from traffic, noise, and telephones. It's an inspiring center of learning. The ranch also serves delicious food."

- John Abbott former CEO Yoga Journal

"When the van drives under the arch entry to FPR and I see the lake, my heart sings. Whether I am climbing up Buda rocks, watching the chipmunks, marveling at the wild flowers, meditating in India’s garden, watching the wind in the aspens visible from the yoga room, feeling the cool morning air as I hike up the loop trail before breakfast, eating lunch at the tables on the lawn in front of the lodge, doing asanas with great teachers, or enjoying conversations with former and new fellow retreaters, I love Feathered Pipe Ranch and plan to come every summer as long as I live."

-Jody Blazek Houston, Texas

"To say my time at Feathered Pipe Ranch was transformational is an understatement. It was camping there during Erich Schiffmann's workshop that I developed the concepts for my first novel: Bear Speaks. It was also there that I was moved to secure a publisher for my writing. Now, I consider a yearly retreat at Feathered Pipe a vital, nourishing part of my yoga practice, as well as a continued inspiration for further writing. The folks I interact with there every summer have become treasured "family," in the most meaningful sense of that word. I hold my thoughts of FPR with me all year - the place has made an indelible impression on my spirit."

-Laura Carpini Santa Monica, California

"The Feathered Pipe Ranch with it's clear fresh Montana air, the lush mountain forest of fern and fir, the lovely sun sets over the lake and the calls of the kingfisher, songs of the warblers were as much of my lovely retreat experience as the community of human spirit and deeply nurturing yoga and meditation I found there at the retreat last fall. It is a place I go back to in my heart and imagination for renewal and beauty."

-Paula Thiede Helena, Montana

"The daily hikes are a blessing, the week was so healing. I feel alive thanks to the Ranch. The staff, India’s stories, the food, the lake, the bonfires, the sweat lodge- what a great experience. Thank you!!!

-Katie Litzenberger

Erich Schiffmann's Retreat

"The magical forests and mountains of Montana holds a special place called Feathered Pipe Ranch. Arriving through the rustic countryside I come upon green lush lawns, a small lake jumping with fish, picnic spots and a large log lodge. All of that is pretty wonderful, but the experience of being greeted by people who receive me like a member of the family is truly wonderful. The remarkable people who run this retreat center help me and all guests feel secure, comfortable and celebrated.

What is the most fun? Hard to say...the intimate, majestic room used for yoga is open to views of the gardens, clouds, mountain storms and has a great sound system. My cozy room, the nourishing meals. The hiking paths through forest, streams and fields of wildflowers are the best early in am or for sunset-moonrise. I also spend a lot of time down on the little swimming dock with my watercolors, the light and breeze is ever changing. Every where is a meditation space, even the dining room filled with happy "campers".

Magical, holy, stimulating, friendly... all of this nourishes my soul. I think I have spent 14 summers as a camper, sometimes I think I should try another place, but when I arrive, I know for certain this is where I am renewed."

-Gayle Ross De Geurin Houston, TX

“A journey to Feathered Pipe it’s like coming home—literally and figuratively. It’s a time to soul search; listen to your inner voice and discover peace. Everything about the ranch supports your personal journey. The surroundings are breathtaking, the bodywork first-rate, and meals are healthy, plentiful, and delicious! Best of all is the yoga instruction; delivered by some of the best instructors in the United States. The Feathered Pipe experience is truly transformative!”

-Anne Hanenburg Spokane, Washington

Blacktail Ranch

"I can't think of a better place for welcoming ourselves back to ourselves than  Blacktail Ranch, which offers a safe and supportive environment where we can gather together in community and nourish the inner landscapes of our mind, body, spirit and community. Blacktail offers the perfect time-out from the hustle-bustle of daily life with its colorful Montana vistas of light, land and sky, great food, supportive staff and a relaxed schedule of meditation, yoga, periods of silence, community sharing and plenty of time to just be, where we can  rest, restore and come home to ourselves."

-Richard Miller, Ph.D

"Experiencing Blacktail Ranch for the last four summers has changed my life in so many ways. Besides the beauty of the land, it is the presence of the ancestors in spirit who still dwell there and smile upon us... that remind us of the true timelessness of life. One day we too, we will be the ancestor spirits dwelling on the land and smiling upon those still dancing in the meadow by the hogan!"

- Melinda Abeles Mariposa, California

Haramara Sunset

Haramara

"Coming to Haramara is like coming home. My body returns to the earth , my mind mesmerized by the rhythms of the ocean and my spirit flies in this magical place. Yoga is a way of life and Haramara is where we can reeducate ourselves to live in balance."

- Rodney Yee