Dear Friends,
Spring has sprung! As April is fully underway, our team is starting to prepare the Ranch to welcome you to the beautiful season ahead. The winds have been wild this winter, so even just clearing the deadfall and debris is already quite the chore! Between this, starting to build the forest bathhouse and lounge, and opening up all the buildings, the spring work is full on. Luckily our team is up to the task.
Through this newsletter, we’d like to share a few items to connect you with the community and to help you be able to experience Feathered Pipe online and in person.
Feathered Pipe Kitchen
In Feathered Pipe Kitchen blog news, Suzy shares her ocean-adventure-inspired recipe for Seaweed Salad and explains how even far from the salt waters in Montana one can create this treat.
Feathered Pipe Message Board and Community Forum
We’ve sent out invitations to join our Feathered Pipe Message Board to all 2026 retreat registrants. You must be registered and signed in to post to your specific retreat, but all posts are viewable without having to login.
We encourage all those interested to join as a means to connect with others ahead of time in order to arrange carpooling or help one another with pre- or post-workshop (travel) planning. Being able to fly into other nearby airports greatly increases flight (and lower cost) options, but with limited to no public transportation to Helena it can mean you’d have to rent a car or hire an Uber. By connecting with others who may want to do the same, you can coordinate ride shares and hopefully expand your options while also making new friends along the way!
The Community Forum/Message Board is also a great place to find out the most current information and ask questions about Feathered Pipe. Our team including Eric, Marissa, and Diana will regularly monitor the forum to offer up-to-date information. We welcome your input and suggestions about how we can improve this new community service.
Feathered Pipe Scholarships – Round 2
Our second round for Feathered Pipe Scholarship applications for award amounts between $500 and $750 is open from April 15-May 3, 2026.
We will notify recipients by May 6 If you’re offered a scholarship, you will need to register for the retreat by May 20 and pay a non-refundable $500 deposit. Any remaining balance is due eight weeks before the retreat starts with awarded scholarship applied to remaining balance due.
*Scholarships apply to a specific workshop, and may not be applied retroactively to existing registrations.
Scholarships are available for the following programs:
— It’s ALL About Love: A Deep Journey Into Embracing Love – Lanita Varshell & Diane Ambrosini, June 13 – 20, 2026
— Balance On The Path: A Yogic Journey of Self-Actualization – Patricia Walden & John Schumacher, July 5 – 11, 2026
Main Hall Online Series
A taste of what it means to come home to yourself with Augusta & David Kantra, April 18, 10am PT / 11am MT / noon CT / 1pm ET
Join Augusta and David Kantra for an experiential session blending gentle Qi Gong with a practical, insightful talk on the “thieves of happiness” — the patterns that quietly pull us away from presence — and the simple, powerful antidotes that bring us back. This workshop offers a grounded, heart-centered introduction to the kind of awareness, movement, and meaningful reflection you’ll experience on retreat.
— Augusta and David Kantra are mindfulness teachers, therapists, and advanced yoga instructors who have been teaching and practicing together for over 40 years. Blending psychology, mindfulness, and embodied movement, their work is known for being deeply practical, compassionate, and accessible. They create spaces where insight meets lived experience — helping people reconnect with what matters most and move toward a more meaningful, wholehearted life.
A Softer Side of Yoga with Lanita Varshell – April 25, 11am PT / noon MT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET
We invite you to join the Feathered Pipe Main Hall Series featuring Lanita Varshell as she offers a gentle, welcoming approach to yoga for every body, even those who never dreamed they could practice yoga!
— In this session, Lanita will share techniques and the philosophy from her signature MIMSY – Meditation in Movement Soft Yoga practice — one tailored for those like her who are older, larger, slower, health-challenged, or simply in need of a gentler, safer way to move. Expect guided breathing, deconstructed classical poses, and a warmth that makes yoga feel truly accessible to everyone.
Lanita is a revered senior therapeutic yoga teacher and is an influential voice in leading plus-size, body positive, accessible, and adaptive practices.
Thank you to Jennifer French and Diane Ambrosini for teaching our past two Main Hall Series events. It’s such an honor to have these incredible teachers offering their classes for free to our community. As a reminder, you can view all of the Main Hall Online events to date on our website.
With love and gratitude,
Crystal Water
Executive Director of Feathered Pipe Foundation
*Featured image credits: Melina Meza