North Cascades Yoga and Meditation Retreat at the Inn at Mazama

The retreat is held at the Inn at Mazama, which sits in the heart of Mazama and close to hiking trails and mountain scenery. The Inn is the base for the whole weekend, and the group eats and practises there. The retreat is capped at 12 participants, so the yoga sessions stay small and there is room for hands-on adjustments.

The daily schedule is fixed but not packed. Friday starts with arrival and settling in at 3:00 pm, yoga at 4:30 pm, dinner at 6:15 pm and a circle at 7:30 pm. Saturday and Sunday both begin with meditation at 8:00 am, breakfast at 8:30 am and yoga at 10:00 am, followed by lunch at 12:00 pm and free time from 1:00 pm. Yoga runs again at 5:00 pm, dinner is at 6:30 pm, and Sunday adds a circle at 8:15 pm. Monday has meditation at 8:00 am, a light breakfast at 8:30 am, yoga at 9:15 am and a take-away brunch at 10:30 am.

Sunday includes a group hike, which is the one part of the weekend that takes the group out of the Inn and into the surrounding trails. The rest of the free time is yours to walk, read or rest.

Meals are cooked by Kathy Borgersen of Kathy B Cooks, who caters for retreat groups at the Inn at Mazama. She sources locally and provides organic food as much as possible. All meals are vegetarian, starting with dinner on Friday night and ending with a take-away brunch on Sunday.

Synergy Yoga School has been running retreats since 2004, when it held its first one at Sleeping Lady. The school runs several retreats a year, including this one in the North Cascades and others on Whidbey Island and at Sleeping Lady. The sessions cover yoga, meditation, breathwork and sound healing, with individual hands-on attention during practice.

What's included

- All yoga and meditation sessions - Breathwork and sound healing sessions - Circle time - Group hike on Sunday - Vegetarian meals from dinner on Friday night to take-away brunch on Sunday - Individualised hands-on attention during yoga practice

What's not included

- Accommodation (paid separately and directly to the Inn at Mazama) - Room taxes - Travel to and from Mazama - Travel insurance - Personal expenses