Program Tuition & Basic Accommodations: $2595
*Invite a friend(s) new to the Feathered Pipe and you both save $100!
Elise Browning Miller and Susan-Elena Esquivel are presenting a retreat based on Elise’s internationally acclaimed Yoga for Scoliosis workshop. This in-depth and immersive retreat will go more in depth with additional hours and personal accessibility to both teachers than the 20-hour Yoga for Scoliosis workshop with the bonus of a nature experience at Feathered Pipe Ranch.
The retreat is designed to present information and experience in the ways that Iyengar Yoga can be used to meet the challenges of scoliosis and other back issues associated with scoliosis. We will include an anatomical background on scoliosis, identify each participant’s scoliosis, and discuss cause and effect as well as psychological consequences of scoliosis.
Participants will then learn optimal yoga postures for scoliosis as well as how to adapt specific yoga postures to their scoliosis. By combining the yoga postures with breathing awareness, one can develop more structural alignment of the body and become more symmetrical and balanced. Through yoga, one can find the balance point that allows the scoliosis curve to coexist with gravity and activates the body’s natural plumb line. The classes will progress from beginning to more intermediate poses.
The retreat is open to students of all levels with scoliosis and back issues as well as a special teacher training option for CIYT’s and candidates for Iyengar Certification. Such teachers are welcome to bring their students with scoliosis so that both will have the opportunity to work together under Elise and Susan-Elena’s guidance. There is also an opportunity for teachers to complete a practicum following the retreat under Elise’s guidance and to become a Yoga for Scoliosis Teacher Trainer.
Daily Schedule:
7am — Breakfast
9am – 12pm — Yoga for Scoliosis
12:30pm — Lunch/free time
4:30pm – 6pm — Yoga for Scoliosis
7:45pm — Free time and or group activities such as hiking, photography, music.
*One evening program will feature a Q & A with Elise and Susan-Elena. Another evening will be devoted to long-time Ranch resident Howard Levin sharing the incredible story how the Ranch came to be.
Learn more about Feathered Pipe Ranch’s COVID-19 safety protocol.
WHAT ELISE & SUSAN-ELENA’S STUDENTS SAY:
“For most of my life, I believed that yoga was not for me because I have scoliosis. Each time I attended a class in which students were instructed to move one vertebra at a time or to align the spine, I felt excluded and somehow defective. I have an S-curve 0f 35 degrees at the top and bottom of my spine. Thank you for opening new doors of possibility for me.”
“Susan-Elena is an exceptional, multi-talented Iyengar teacher that I feel we want to have to carry out the name and lineage of Iyengar Yoga…I have been extremely impressed with her teaching ability in general as well as expertise and knowledge of how to address different back issues in classes.”
“I have scoliosis and, after reading your article last May, decided I would try yoga. I cannot even explain how it has helped me. I, along with my family, see a miraculous difference. My rib cage is not so protruding as it was and my posture has so improved. I am so happy with Yoga, and practice at home and also at a studio. It has changed my life physically and spiritually. I refer to my Mat as my magic carpet. It has become to me now a way of life.”
“I have been learning and practicing Yoga for fifty of my 68 years on this blue planet. Susan-Elena is by far, the most knowledgeable; experienced; kind; generous; and committed teacher I have had the good fortune to study with”
“I do the stretches prescribed by Elise for my particular scoliosis everyday. Within 2 months I was pain free. It is now one and a half years later and my back is stronger, more flexible and pain free. I still try not to sit too much, and I keep active by walking, swimming, biking and stretching. Elise’s coaching and tailoring of the exercise routine to my back curvature deserves the credit. Thank you Elise!”
Summer Vacation 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 yoga retreat and teacher training with Elise Browning Miller & Susan-Elena Esquivel at the Feathered Pipe Ranch. Glacier National Park is a glorious and scenic 3.5-hour drive north and west of Feathered Pipe, while Yellowstone is just a 4.5 hour drive south and east of the Ranch through some of the prettiest Western territory you’ll ever see.
ABOUT ELISE BROWNING MILLER:
Elise Browning Miller, M.A. in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of North Carolina, is a Senior Certified Iyengar Yoga teacher (CIYT) and is also certified with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). Elise resides in Carmel, CA and has been teaching yoga throughout the United States and internationally since 1976. As a founding director of the California Yoga Center in Mountain, CA, Elise teaches classes and workshops specializing in scoliosis and multiple back issues. Elise has successfully used yoga to minimize the effects of her own scoliosis and sees clients privately in Mountain View, Carmel and online for scoliosis and back related issues.
She has published numerous articles on scoliosis and other yoga related subjects in Yoga Journal and other national magazines. Elise has studied with B.K.S. Iyengar and the Iyengar family at Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIYMI) in Pune, India since 1978.
She has produced the book Yoga for Scoliosis – A Path for Students & Teachers, Yoga for Scoliosis DVD and booklet, the Yoga for Backcare booklet, Intermediate Yoga in Fiji DVD, and her book Yoga, Anytime, Anywhere.
Elise’s joyous personality and ease of communication endear her to students with a teaching style that is down-to-earth, precise, and nurturing.
Learn more about Elise: yogaforscoliosis.com
ABOUT SUSAN-ELENA EQUIVEL:
Susan-Elena Esquivel started dancing at age 5 beginning a lifelong fascination with form and alignment as well as the body/mind connection. She has been studying Iyengar yoga for the past 25 years. She is a Certified Iyengar Teacher (CIYT) at the Intermediate Junior II Level (now Level II) and a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). She is the director/owner of the Iyengar Yoga Center of Western Massachusetts. She is known for precision while taking a playful approach with skillful sequencing to all levels of study.
She completed Certified Senior Iyengar Teacher Elise Browning Miller‘s Yoga for Scoliosis Teacher Training Program and is a Certified Yoga for Scoliosis Trainer. Her classes are infused with the knowledge of spinal health gained in her apprenticeship with Elise from whom she learned the nuances of scoliosis and other spinal disorders. Easing the suffering caused by spinal imbalances is one of her main interests.
Susan-Elena was on the Iyengar faculty in Boston, Massachusetts from 2015 – 2020, where she studied and mentored with Certified Iyengar Teacher Trainer Peentz Dubble. She was mentored by Certified Advanced Senior Teacher Patricia Walden from 2015 – 2023. She participated in Lois Steinberg’s Therapeutic Intensives from 2021 – 2024.
Susan-Elena travels to India regularly to study with the Iyengars and is profoundly grateful to and deeply influenced by Geeta Iyengar. Currently, she continues her studies with Gulnaaz Dashti and Uday Bhosale both senior teachers from RIMYI.
Learn more about Susan-Elena: iycwm.com
PRICING & REGISTRATION:
Program Tuition & Basic Accommodations: $2595
*Invite a friend(s) new to the Feathered Pipe and you both 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
— 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 $50 one-way charge.
Arrival and departure: Please plan to arrive at the Feathered Pipe Ranch no later than 3pm on the arrival day (Saturday, 6 September) of your retreat so you can join us for a tour of the grounds before dinner at 6:30pm and our group evening orientation following dinner. Please arrange to leave the Ranch in the morning or early afternoon of departure day (Saturday, 13 September). Checkout is at 9am, and 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!