The fabric of the Feathered Pipe is woven of a profusion of radiant threads of place, people, and spirit – all intersecting in sometimes unexpected ways, creating a wellspring that fostered and continues to nurture prescient souls in the communities of yoga, meditation, and personal growth. Beginning as the Holistic Life Foundation in the early 70s, Feathered Pipe Roots traces the other-worldly history and interwoven tapestry of one of America’s oldest and most revered institutions in the world of yoga.
During the Nixon years I decided that living in America might bring about bad karma, and I could not cope with the ramifications of an event like Vietnam. So I decided to travel and find a spiritual teacher, to retreat to a cave someplace like in the Himalayas, and pray until the world changed (possibly a long wait). READ MORE
More than three-quarters of a century ago, a young and adventurous Liam O’Gallagher, who played a pivotal role inspiring Feathered Pipe’s evolution over the past 45 years, took a chance and hitchhiked from his home in the Bay Area out into the Mojave Desert to pay an unexpected visit to the writer, Aldous Huxley. He knocked on the door and was welcomed in by Mr. Huxley’s wife. READ MORE
During the first summer I spent at the ranch in 1972, when Jermain Duncan was still alive and before we found out how sick she was, we took a trip to California. During that trip, I actually visited the ranch that future Feathered Pipe presenter Dr. Andrew Weil later bought. READ MORE
We were living in San Francisco and had planned to get a place in Arizona to do a summer workshop. We decided one day to go and listen to Dr. Chaudhuri of the Institute for Asian Studies speak at a nearby church in Pacific Heights, San Francisco. We were sitting on the front porch steps of the church after the lectures, when William Staniger, later Golden, recognized me from our time in India together. READ MORE
Heidi was meant to be house sitting for Ike and Judith Lasater when they came up to teach our first yoga workshop in 1975, but had gone off to physical therapy school back east leaving Tom Ryan, her then boyfriend, to house sit. When Ike and Judith arrived home in California, they called and said they had just met the most amazing man, Tom Ryan. READ MORE
Laughing Water, who was still known at the time as Paul Superak, was originally brought to the Ranch by Judith and Ike Lasater, as LW and she had been roommates in college. He came as the cook for the first real workshop in 1975, which featured Judith Lasater, Gisele Fitch, and Felicity Hall who is now known as Felicity Green. READ MORE
Today I want to talk about our humble beginnings in 1975. We started the summer with just the group of us, Laughing Water, Tom Ryan, Heidi Goldman, William Staniger (later Golden), Janice Paulsen and myself who had big ideas, little money and no work. READ MORE
India Supera’s older sister VJ opens up about her life of wild adventure, travel-inspired service and the eternal bond of two sisters from California who were raised to cross boundaries and seek their own answers. Her life exemplifies a mantra we could all learn from, "The basics of a good adventure: Seek out the unknown. Come alive again." READ MORE
Pioneering international yoga teacher Judith Hanson Lasater reflects on the expansion of yoga in America, the unparalleled experience of motherhood and the memories that still make her smile after nearly 45 years of teaching at the Feathered Pipe Ranch. READ MORE
Laughing Water is a founding member of the Feathered Pipe Ranch and owner of Helena’s Real Food Store. He sat down to reflect on his marriage to India Supera and reveals how his personal passion for natural health became a lifelong business venture. READ MORE
With sun beaming through floor-to-ceiling windows of his treehouse-inspired abode overlooking the Feathered Pipe property, long-time Feathered Pipe Ranch caretaker Tom Ryan reminisces about memorable Montana winters, unshakeable determination and mishaps turned magic in this mysterious circle of life. READ MORE
Member of the core founding group and former director of yoga programs for the Feathered Pipe Foundation,, Heidi Goldman reflects on the early days at the Ranch, where her dreams of bringing body and heart-centered teachings to the world were inspired and facilitated. READ MORE
Our first big workshop was 44 people with Zipporah Dobyns, the astrologer. I went to the old airport to pick people up, and I was late. The Helena airport was so small they used to just put the baggage out on the tarmac and the parking lot was a cow pasture across the road, except for the 8 cars that could park in front of the airport. READ MORE
Many years ago, I had a black cat named Tuffy Ananda. All our cats continually killed birds, mice, squirrels, and other small animals...Now, many years later, I’m asking myself: are we like Tuffy Ananda? Do our actions flow from an instinct to kill each other, or can we begin to think and act in ways that spread good will, good thoughts and non-fear? READ MORE
Amy Stephan and Andy Vantrease sat down with longtime ranch manager Howard Levin in his one bedroom cabin, just past the Lake Tipi on the Feathered Pipe Ranch in Helena, Montana. After quieting the Hindi tunes and shifting seats—away from the armchair that “wasn’t for sitting”—the questions begin. READ MORE
"First Lady of Yoga" Lilias Folan and Marti Glenn, a powerful and dynamic duo who led retreats at the Feathered Pipe Ranch for 25 years, reflect on the gift of friendship with India Supera, the importance of creating space for women to show up as their full selves, and the lessons that continue to teach them to this day. READ MORE
Activist, Jungian analyst and renowned author Jean Shinoda Bolen shares laughter-inducing memories from early Feathered Pipe travel programs and sweet moments from three decades of friendship with India Supera. Plus, the importance of women’s circles and trusting the path that leads to the inner work. READ MORE
Whenever I think about Jananne nothing but love comes up in my heart and head. Our experiences together will always live in my memory. We did a cruise in 1984 called “Into the Arms of the Goddess” which we nicknamed “Into the Armpits of the Goddess” because everything that could go wrong went wrong. READ MORE
"Gone to Feathered Pipe Ranch. Back in a week." was the message on the answering machine of George Purvis, an Iyengar yoga teacher based in Dallas, Texas. That was the first time I had heard of the Ranch. Two months later, I found myself sitting in a welcoming circle with 17 other yoga practitioners, all with more experience than me... READ MORE
Feathered Pipe's dear friend R. Carlos Nakai is the world’s premier performer of the Native American flute. Here, R. Carlos speaks about music as a form of self-expression, sharing art as a catalyst for personal growth, and how teaching at the Feathered Pipe Ranch informed his life's direction and mission. READ MORE
India Supera, 73, completed her earthly life in Helena, Montana surrounded by her loving family on October 29, 2019. After receiving a terminal diagnosis with bile duct cancer in July, she said she was filled with nothing but gratitude for the full life she lived and wouldn’t change a thing. READ MORE