Menla Retreat (all retreats)
Friends/Family/Press/Program Staff 2026
This is for friends and family. Use the Quick add register button and choose the room and then choose the dates and room type. For friends and family adjust the price for friends and family rate to 50 a night, plus half the cost of meals.
Menla Create-Your-Own Getaway
Build a custom escape vacation by choosing activities à la carte. Only two hours from New York City, Menla lies in the heart of the Catskill Mountains. De-stress on more than 300 acres of private wilderness. Unspoiled natural beauty adjoins state land, creating endless opportunities for wildlife spotting and discovering secret hideaways. Let fresh air, light, […]
IN PRAISE OF LISTENING: Reading, Writing, Drawing, Slowing Down
With Christian McEwen
"Many an old story begins with the words, 'Long ago, when animals could speak...' Perhaps the corollary would be just as good an opening... 'Long ago, when people could listen.'" - Lyanda Lynn Haupt The word “listen” derives from the Old English hylsnan which means, quite simply, “to pay attention.” But in recent years such […]
Dragon Heart: A Women’s Retreat
With Alison Sinatra and Lynn Schauwecker
Awaken the feminine witness. Ignite the sacred fire within. Dragon Heart is an immersive women’s retreat dedicated to descending into the deepest chambers of the heart — where truth, instinct, and ancient feminine wisdom converge. In many traditions, the dragon is not a creature of fear, but a guardian of untapped power, the keeper of […]
UPLIFT Festival
With Tasha Blank, Michael V, The Yoga House, Reggie Hubbard, Chynna Dee Andrada, Ben Brown, Rose Stoller, Pamela Kalechofsky, Amy Reed, Joyce San Pedro, Alex Tse, Jenny Papo, Olga Choedron and Sheniqua Trotman
UPLIFT is a joyful and deeply embodied festival mindfully curated to inspire connection with community and self through Ecstatic Dance, Yoga, Sound Baths, Cacao Ceremony, Song Circle, Bonfire Sing-Alongs, Somatic & Wisdom Workshops, & more! Guided by an extraordinary team of facilitators, this sacred weekend is a living reminder that what we create together isn’t […]
Alchemy of Oneness: Sacred Dance & the Third Force
With Banafsheh Sayyad, MFA, LAc
Discover how compassionately weaving paradoxes together creates a third force — one that initiates ecstatic embodiment, healing, and transfiguration, a profound spiritual process Sufi mystics described as the alchemy of the heart, Rumi called the meeting place beyond opposites, and modern quantum physics understands as emergence through coherence and superposition. At a time when our […]
Cultivating the Joy of Silence
With Jayne Gumpel, LCSW, Michael G. Burbank and David Gumpel M.A
A Four-Night Silent Retreat at Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa In a world filled with urgency, noise, distraction, and endless stimulation, silence becomes a radical act of returning. Cultivating the Joy of Silence is a four-night immersive retreat rooted in the philosophy of Cultivating JOY: that suffering is part of the human experience, and that presence, […]
Lifting the Gaze
With Cyndi Lee
Lifting the Gaze is an opportunity to withdraw from the demands of your life and gather yourself together within the beauty of Menla and the warmth of community. Traditionally, a spiritual retreat is a time to touch your mind and touch your heart. It offers you a concentrated period of practice to help you get […]
Vajra YogaTM: The Wisdom Therapeutics Retreat
With John Campbell and Liz Sung
Join us for an experiential retreat exploring the theme of Wisdom Therapeutics through the rejuvenating and restorative body-mind practices of the Hatha Yoga and Indo-Tibetan traditions. In celebration of the late Professor Robert Thurman and his vision of bringing ancient wisdom into contemporary life, this retreat draws on the profound contemplative and healing traditions of […]
Finding Goodness in a World on Fire
With Lodro Rinzler
In a time when the world often feels chaotic, divided, and overwhelming, it’s easy to lose touch with our own sense of goodness—let alone the goodness in others. This weekend retreat, Finding Goodness in a World on Fire, offers a refuge of connection. Through guided meditations, contemplative practices, dharma talks, and heartfelt discussion, we will […]
Through the Gateless Gate
With Henry Fersko-Weiss
This unique retreat draws from two profound traditions, End-of-Life Doulas and Zen Buddhism. They offer different perspectives, but share a deep commitment to exploring fundamental questions: Who are you really? What does it mean to die? and, How do you live—and even die—with a deep sense of meaning? The end-of-life doula approach carries wisdom that […]
Return to Self: A Weekend of Renewal
With Lynn Schauwecker, Jennifer Muir and Alison Sinatra
Menla invites you to step away from the demands of everyday life and enter a sacred space of reflection, healing, and renewal. Nestled among the forests, mountains, and pristine natural beauty of the Catskills, this retreat offers an opportunity to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and deepen your relationship with the natural world. Held on […]
Embodied Awakening: Coming Home to the Wisdom of the Body
With Master Mingtong Gu
A Living Exploration of the Four Noble Truths Through the Body When wisdom lives in the mind and leaves the body, even the most dedicated healers begin to feel tired. You may recognize this quietly. You serve. You hold space. You offer clarity, care, and guidance. And somewhere beneath your skill, training, and devotion, the […]
FRIENDS OF FUNGI FORAGING: FALL WEEKEND RETREAT
With John Michelotti, Aubrey Carter, Erwin Karl and Delta Hunter
Join the Catskill Fungi team for a weekend of fun, wonderment and enlightenment as we delve into the forests of Menla, and engage the fungal residents there. Take a hands-on approach to learn how to identify common fungi in the forest. Through using your senses, you will be acquainted with multiple species and confirm your […]
Dzogchen Retreat: Revealing the Great Inner Connection
With Dr. Nida Chenagtsang
Join world-renowned Tibetan Medicine doctor, yogi, and Yuthok Nyingthig master Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, for a rare Dzogchen retreat. This retreat offers an accessible yet profound path to Dzogchen, the Great Perfection teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. Rooted in the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage, the program includes teachings on Trekchöd for cutting through conceptual fixation to experience the […]
Embodied Awakening: Somatic Release and Emotional Integration
With Cirak
This experiential retreat invites participants into a deeper relationship with the body as a gateway to emotional completion, presence, and inner freedom. While many approaches to healing focus on understanding emotional patterns intellectually, unresolved emotional energy is often held in the nervous system and body. Through guided somatic journeying and mind+body awareness practices, participants learn […]
Clearlight, Darkness, and Nonduality
With Andrew Holecek
The path to the Clearlight—or prabhāsvarā in Sanskrit—points to the indescribable essence of ultimate freedom, a nondual reality only accessible through direct experience. Enlightened beings speak of this radiant transparency as the very nature of mind. Join Andrew Holecek for a transformative retreat where the subtle teachings of yogas, tantras, and texts like the Book […]
Tibetan Yoga Wellbeing: Heart Practices, Life-Force & Longevity
With Alejandro Chaoul, PhD and Mauricio Obón Dent, M.D.
Menla, the Land of the Medicine Buddha, welcomes you to a four-day retreat exploring the sacred life-force practices of Tibetan Yoga (Tsa Lung Trul Khor), woven together with contemporary insights into heart health and longevity. Through gentle movements, breath retention, and meditative awareness, these ancient practices invite you to experience the subtle body as a […]
Traditional Tibetan Medicine for Meditators
With Christiana Polites
Sowa Rigpa for Healing the Body and Nourishing the Mind Sowa Rigpa, the traditional Tibetan science of healing, has always understood the body and mind as inseparable — and the path of healing and liberation as interdependent. This hands-on workshop brings that understanding into direct, practical focus for anyone drawn to meditation and contemplative life […]
Wake Up Sleepy Buddha: The Buddhist Path in Practice
With Noel Coakley
This retreat introduces core Buddhist practices beyond mindfulness in a way that is accessible, experiential, and rooted in traditional wisdom. It is welcome to both newer meditators and those with an established practiced who are looking for a clear orientation or refresher. The retreat offers a grounded, experiential introduction to the broader Buddhist path, emphasizing […]