56 YOGA JOURNAL
- BOULDER, COLORADO
Boulder’s vibrant mindfulness community
has been growing since the 1970s when
Tibetan meditation master Chögyam
Trungpa Rinpoche—the 11th incarnation
of the Trungpa Tulku—established Naropa
University, a Buddhist liberal arts college,
and Shambhala Mountain Center in a
valley above town. While Rinpoche’s legacy
has been rocked by scandal, Naropa and
Shambhala remain pillars of Buddhist
values and mindful practices. Senior yoga
teachers Richard Freeman and Amy Ippoliti
call Boulder home. Bonus: The Hanuman
Festival, held each June, attracts top yoga
educators and teachers such as Sreedevi
Bringi and Seane Corn.
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NORTH
AMERICA- KRIPALU CENTER FOR YOGA
& HEALTH, STOCKBRIDGE,
MASSACHUSETTS
With an international network of 2,000
instructors teaching more than 700
programs to 30,000 guests a year, education
is front and center at this verdant campus in
the Berkshires. For the past decade, Kripalu
has led the way in groundbreaking research
on yoga and trauma in collaboration with
experts from Harvard Medical School and
Brigham and Women’s Hospital. - FEATHERED PIPE RANCH, HELENA, MONTANA
Teacher and Yoga Journal cofounder Judith Hanson Lasater has been hosting yoga retreats at
this spacious ranch since 1975. “It’s like summer camp for yogis,” she says: “Jaw-dropping scenery
in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, magnificent food, fresh spring water, twice-daily
yoga classes, and a week steeped in the silence of nature.” To pay respect to the sacred Native
American land the retreat rests on, founder India Supera created the Feathered Pipe Foundation
to help preserve ceremonial traditions of the Cree people. Feathered Pipe continues to foster
humanitarian efforts that give life to new nonprofits while maintaining missions such as the
Veterans Yoga Project and the Tibetan Children’s Education Foundation.
4. ESALEN INSTITUTE,
BIG SUR, CALIFORNIA
This cliffside retreat opened in 1962 with
a series of workshops on yoga and personal
growth. Key countercultural figures such
as Joan Baez and Joseph Campbell were
among its early guests and lecturers.
Today, renowned wellness leaders and
yoga teachers like Andrew Weil, Dean
Ornish, and Janet Stone share expertise on
trending topics, including the energetics of
consciousness and meditation as medicine. - SEDONA, ARIZONA
Sedona is known for spiritual vortexes—
powerful energy centers where visitors
can allegedly pick up on sacred
frequencies. Healers and enlightenment
seekers worldwide travel to its towering
red-rock spires hoping to tap into higher
consciousness. Each March, the three-
day Sedona Yoga Festival draws thousands
of practitioners with its lineup of 200
classes and performances by kirtan artists
such as Johanna Beekman. Regulars tout
an intimate setting where you’re likely to
run into presenters (think ISHTA Yoga
founder Alan Finger0) in the halls, as well
as dedicated workshops on trauma-
informed yoga.
5. MAUI, HAWAII
A strong contemplative community
and the island’s healthy lifestyle are
among the draws that have led Ashtangis
such as Nancy Gilgoff, David Williams,
and Ram Dass to make their homes
here. The Kahanu Garden in Hana is
home to the Pi’ilanihale Heiau, the
largest Heiau (shrines) in Polynesia and
a place of worship dating back to the
13th century. Hawaii’s spiritual emphasis
on nature makes it a destination for
those seeking to feel the mana (spiritual
energy) of the land.
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TOP: ZANE WILLIAMS AT ZANEWILLIAMSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM; BOTTOM: TONDA/ISTOCK