Program Tuition & Basic Accommodations: $2495
*Invite a friend(s) new to the Feathered Pipe and you both save $100!
Rhythms pulse within us and all around us. Breath and heartbeat, tides and seasons, cycles of body and mind. Through mindfulness practices, we become aware of and entrain to these rhythms, their cadence animating the living current, which is our nature — Sat Chit Ananda (being, awareness, bliss). Our eighth running of the homegrown Feathered Pipe Mindful Unplug is about deepening our exploration of these life affirming rhythms.
Along with reflective quiet time in the raw, wild nature of Montana’s renowned Feathered Pipe Ranch, the alchemy of mindful movement, all-levels yoga, meditation, community sound and rhythm practices (think drum circles!), dance, song, and poetry offers more than a transitory antidote to stress. It can imprint lasting, healthy habits to reveal a fresh way of showing up for life and for one another. It is a tangible reminder that contentment and peace are not only your birthright but are within reach regardless of the chaos and distractions all around. Above all, embracing these practices primes the heart for meaningful compassionate action in our families, communities, and a world that is yearning for more kindness and mercy.
This is a come-as-you-are retreat, with no experience needed for any of the practices we will share. Skillfully choreographed over a relaxing week that allows ample time both for personal solitude and community, past participants say that joy, inspiration, revelation, laughter, and camaraderie are hallmarks of the Mindful Unplug experience at Feathered Pipe. And there’s always a welcome surprise or two along the way.
For additional detail about this program, please also see our Mindful Unplug FAQs here.
Music, Rhythm, and Joy
For our 2024 running, we are over-the-moon elated, and honored, to announce that along with his musically gifted family, the leader of Montana-based Drum Brothers, Matthew Marsolek, will join us for the entire Mindful Unplug week! Widely known for his warm and engaging teaching style, Matthew shares a sumptuous variety of heart-opening sessions built around participatory sound, rhythm practices, and voice awareness. Simple guided exercises that open and free the voice, frequent song circles utilizing chants and songs gathered from his world music studies, and body rhythm practices are only a small sample of the rich palette of offerings this profoundly skilled teacher can share during our time together.
Mindful Movement, Meditation, Freedom Yoga, and Nature
Mindful Unplug den mother and emcee Anne Jablonski guides daily yoga and mindful movement, dharma inquiry, meditation, and inspiring early morning forest immersion practices. Acknowledging that you are the primary architect for your own well-being, she uncovers creative ways that inspire you to become more friendly and intimate with your own inner landscape and wisdom within. Anne brings warmth and humor to sharing yoga, meditation, and mindfulness practices, cultivating playful curiosity in your personal exploration of movement and contemplative wisdom traditions. Her intention is to have you return home with the tools and inspiration to reset mindfully and embrace a personal daily mindful movement and meditation practice.
The land itself is our common, sacred ground for the week and the preeminent teacher at the Mindful Unplug retreat. This program regards the natural realm not merely as an appealing backdrop that is separate from us, but as foundational to capital-k Knowing about our truest nature. A refreshing mountain lake inspires solace and reflection. Nearby trails in the surrounding National Forest weave through hills saturated with wildflowers and woods filled with aspen and aromatic pine. Mountains shape every horizon. Ravens, warblers, blackbirds, and pine siskins flit among trees and across meadows.
SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK
Our time together will include:
— Daily morning mindful movement/all-levels yoga* with Anne
— Regular morning song circles with Matthew
— Guided meditation
— Options for early morning contemplative forest immersion
— Sound, group rhythm, and drum circles with Matthew and family
— Dance
— Dharma conversation and small group life inquiry
— Opportunities for freeform yoga (“bring your own practice”)
— The third annual Mindful Unplug Poetry Salon
— An enchanting night sky meditation
— The best possible food, lovingly prepared by our talented kitchen team (special diet requests are welcome)
*23 Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Program credit hours are available for this retreat.
Learn more about Feathered Pipe Ranch’s COVID-19 safety protocol.
WHAT PAST MINDFUL UNPLUG EXPERIENCE ATTENDEES SAY:
“I will be forever grateful to everyone at the Feathered Pipe including all the guides for the finest, most welcoming introduction to the world of mindful meditation, yoga, and nature appreciation. It opened the door to my journey of self-exploration and enrichment.”
“What made this an extraordinary experience were the people in our group and the Ranch. This was one of the best times of my life . . . and the others were so interesting to talk with and had such great senses of humor and humanity.”
“It was a deeply restorative experience for me. The beauty of the place, the ease of staying there thanks to the excellent staff, and the thoughtful instruction all combined to transform me. I see the world around me differently now.”
“I see and experience my world differently now.”
“Matthew and Tracy’s drumming/chanting sessions were so transportive and ‘freeing’ and I hope they will remain a significant part of FP’s experience.”
“Thank you . . . for creating a really different kind of retreat that’s not like other more predictable workshops that all focus on one person’s view of how to be mindful or do yoga.”
“It has given me strength to power through another year. Despite the challenges to the planet and our politic body, that events like the Mindful Unplug happen and that people put so much effort into this kind of work gives me hope.”
“The forest bathing and night meditation were invaluable experiences. I love the way we were guided throughout the week to our own senses and bodies.”
“You have restored in me a newfound peace. I will be forever grateful for this week and I pray that I will be able to carry the lessons I have learned with this week with me for all my days on this earth. It was a rich and varied experience — beautiful and meaningful activities, interactions with people, and physically and emotionally healing. The food, lodging, natural beauty, staff — it was all so nurturing and stimulating.”
MINDFUL UNPLUG RETREAT TIP! Extend your time in peace and beauty while savoring Western hospitality by spending some time exploring the great West’s National Park treasures either before or after your Mindful Unplug week at Feathered Pipe Ranch. Glacier National Park is a glorious and scenic 3.5 hour drive north and west of the Ranch, while Yellowstone is just a 4.5 hours drive south and east of the Ranch through some of the prettiest Western territory you’ll ever see.
ABOUT YOUR MINDFUL UNPLUG 2024 GUIDES
Your guides for The Mindful Unplug have a longstanding affection for and intimate familiarity with the 110-acre Ranch. They treasure sharing and revealing its hidden gifts with guests through their respective specialties. In consort with the land itself, your guides for the week include:
A beloved ‘son of the Ranch,’ Matthew Marsolek has been braided into the land and spirit of the Feathered Pipe since early youth. He reminds everyone that no experience is necessary to participate: “If you have a heartbeat, you have a rhythm. If you can breathe, you can sing.” Matthew has studied West African and East Indian music for decades and is an accomplished guitarist, vocalist, and composer. He’s released recordings with the Drum Brothers and Mandir and produces original music for film. Matthew has also been a featured speaker at TEDX UMontana. He is the band leader of the Drum Brothers world fusion ensemble based in Arlee, Montana and has been at the forefront of the North American hand drumming movement since the 1990s. As a facilitator at events and workshops in the American Northwest and Canada, Matthew has shared music and rhythm with corporate teams, at-risk youth, bereaved children, cancer survivors, and students of all ages.
Learn more about Matthew: drumbrothers.com
Anne Jablonski has been a Feathered Pipe Ranch groupie for two decades and serves as President of the Feathered Pipe Foundation. She believes that deepening our relationship with the natural world is one of the most potent curatives for the reclaiming our attention in the digital age and that the Ranch is one of the best possible places to do exactly that. That’s what inspired her to co-create The Mindful Unplug in the first place! Strongly influenced by the liberating principles of “freedom yoga” — her teaching is informed and inspired by Erich Schiffmann — Anne says, “The golden treasure beyond mechanical yoga practice is the freedom unleashed from intuitive, intelligent, and continuous deep inner listening. It informs each moment and every decision about what to do next, on the mat. First it suffuses fresh life into asana practice, and soon the sticky mat becomes training ground for experimenting with self-trust in other parts of life.” She is a Yoga Alliance-registered teacher (E-RYT-500, YACEP), teaches at Sun & Moon Yoga Studio in Arlington, Virginia, and considers herself a semi-successful rat race survivor in training.
Learn more about Anne: yogasetfree.com
PRICING & REGISTRATION:
Program Tuition & Basic Accommodations: $2495
*Invite a friend(s) new to the Feathered Pipe and you each save $100!
Registration deposit required: A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to secure online registration. Full payment is due eight weeks before the start of the program.
Tuition fee includes: Triple Occupancy Main Lodge, Shared Yurt/Deluxe Wall Tent/Sai Condo, or Single Tipi/Tent, plus meals and use of all amenities – our bathhouse, sauna, hot tub, as well as all the Feathered Pipe Ranch facilities and grounds. Upgraded accommodation are available.
Additional lodging upgrade pricing: Click here
Full description of accommodations options: Click here
The retreat will include:
— 7-nights indoor or outdoor accommodations (upgraded accommodations require an additional fee)
— All daily classes and group sessions, suitable for all
— Delicious and lovingly prepared international cuisine
— Shuttle service from/to Helena Regional Airport on arrival/departure day
— Full access to the extensive Feathered Pipe grounds (including the hot tub and sauna)
Not included:
— Airfare
— Any/all excursions off-campus
— Bodywork & Massage
— Montana Accommodation Tax $25
— Staff gratuities
— Laundry
Shuttle service: Shuttle service from/to Helena Regional Airport on arrival/departure day is complimentary (free) for all registered guests. Please note that if you are needing pick-up or drop-off on any other day, that there will be a $35 one-way charge.
Arrival and departure: Please plan to arrive at the Feathered Pipe Ranch no later than 5pm on arrival day (Saturday, 13 July) of your retreat so you can join us for a 5:30pm tour of the grounds before dinner at 6:30pm and our post-dinner evening orientation. Please arrange to leave the Ranch in the morning or early afternoon of departure day (Saturday, 20 July). Lodging checkout is at 9am; guests are welcome to stay at the Ranch until their flight leaves that day.
Interested, but still need more information? Visit our FAQ page, drop us a message including your contact details here, or give us a ring at (406) 442-8196.
Thanks and look forward to seeing you!