Yoga and Nature: Gifts of the Season
January 9–11, 2026
On Land Retreats, The Natural World, Yoga & Wellness
Program Start Date & Time: January 9th | 5:30 pm
Program End Date & Time: January 11th | 12:30 pm
Replenish your body, mind, heart and spirit and bring it into harmony and balance with the seasons through yoga and spending time in the natural world. Many of us spend more time staring into screens, and less time than we would like being present in our bodies, contemplating our deepest values, and connecting to the natural world. Without synchronization between body, mind, and environment, dis-ease of all kinds arise.
Through yoga, breath-work, contemplation, inquiry, reflecting on the gifts of each season, and connecting to the wildness surrounding Drala Mountain Center you’ll return to center, where you can reconnect to the simple magic and miracle of being alive.
As Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist teacher, writes, in Our True Home, “Around us, life bursts forth with miracles—a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops. If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere.”
These retreats are correlated with the unfolding seasons of the Rocky Mountains. Each one will have a seasonal theme. You can enjoy them together in any order or as stand alone retreats.
Level: Please have some familiarity with yoga.
Note: Our program will begin with orientation on Friday evening at 5:30 pm, and it will end on Sunday at 12:30 pm. Participants are welcome to stay for lunch and enjoy the land.
What to bring for the program?
Yoga mat (optional), journal or notepad, pen or pencil, walking shoes, water bottle, and a mug with a closed top for tea (optional).
Testimonials:
“Melissa’s warm, inviting presence welcomes her students to show up as they are—and in the simple act of showing up, to discover compassion for self and for others. Her work uncovers and strengthens resilience in body and spirit.” —Jenna Carson
“Melissa is a great teacher. I always left her classes feeling both muscles and mind opened a bit more than when I arrived.” —Matt Blumberg
“The yoga experience with Melissa has not only changed my body but her insight and perspective has changed my mindset—a true blessing.” —Nadia
Retreat Faculty
Melissa Lago
MA, MDiv is a Visiting Instructor in Yoga Studies at Naropa University in Boulder, CO. She was introduced to yoga as a child at home and at the Oak Grove School founded by Jiddu Krishnamurti in Ojai, CA. As a teenager, she dedicated herself to the study of Ashtanga Yoga and then branched out to […]
