Yeeehaw! Cow Girl YogaEvery year there are articles about doing yoga outside. I’ve written about it, too—as a detractor.
B.K.S. Iyengar says we need a clean, open space, free of bugs and other distractions to practice yoga–this often does not describe the great outdoors!
Flies and bees buzz around your head, needles and leaves fall in your eyes, creepy crawly things appear from the earth and then swarm your feet. On a New York rooftop, the noise of horns, engines, and shouting is often unnerving.
But here’s a kind of outdoor yoga I might get into: Cow Girl Yoga!
In Montana! Horses! Meadows! Wildflowers! Smell of saddle soap!
Big Sky Yoga Retreats in Bozeman, not far from Yellowstone National Park, offers 5 days in the wilderness to “improve your saddle skills” (hello!) as well as your asana practice and overall well-being.
Photo by Larry Stanley c/o Big Sky Yoga
BSYR says, “Imagine a week of yoga and horses – a girl’s dream come true. Explore how both can put you in touch with your potential and teach you a lot about yourself. We’ll practice yoga, spend time with horses, and kick up our heels in cowgirl-friendly Bozeman.” (Sorry, guys. Seems like this fun’s for girls only right now.)
First Cow Girl Yoga retreat of the year is May 31 – June 5. Followed by 3 more through the summer, as well as several long weekends.
The only downside is the expense ($2,750 for 5 days, plus travel and car rental) and the corporateness of it. It is after all, Cow Girl Yoga™. And you know how the combo of corporate and yoga gives me the willies.
(But then they just go over the edge by partnering with Dude Girl —an outfitting company for dudettes on horses and yoga mats–!)
in Culture.
hi there, thanks so much for your post on cowgirl yoga. Just wanted to address your comments about the corporateness: I am currently the founder and only “employee” of big sky yoga retreats, which I run out of my home office in between raising my 4 year old daughter. I trademarked cowgirl yoga because I believed in its uniqueness, and I’m glad I did because there have been a lot of spin offs right here in MT alone. I am invested in what I am offering on a personal level, and I lead every retreat, with help from others that I know and work with on a personal level all year round (riding instructors, yoga teachers). does this help to sway your opinion any? Namaste.
Hi Margaret,
Actually yes, it makes a big difference to know the backstory. How fascinating that there have been a bunch of spin offs. I guess it makes sense given your location–I’ve noticed more in the mainstream about yoga and riding, too–in Yoga Journal, workshops at Kripalu. Still it seems pretty unique.
Happy Trails!
Joelle
There are always multiple points of view. But, to set the record straight, there were actually several successful yoga/horseback riding retreats in Montana BEFORE Big Sky Yoga Retreats opened in 2007. So technically, BSYR could be considered “a spin-off” if that is the criterion. There are also quite a few run in Colorado if you are just interested in the yoga/horseback combo and Montana isn’t the deciding factor. Margaret just had the marketing savvy or commercialism or corporateness or whatever you want to call it to trademark the name “cowgirl yoga”. Yes, I agree that the “sponsorships” are way over the top and, as a Montana woman I believe that she sometimes walks a very thin line with her business marketing between being savvy and exploiting Montana and its natural charm to make a buck. But I also see that Margaret has the right to market her business however she sees fit.
You may want to check out some of the other yoge retreats offered in Montana, especially if the expense is an issue (air travel in and out of Montana is not cheap and, I agree, the cost of the BSYR is pretty steep – it is based in Bozeman and there’s a reason people in Montana call Bozeman “Boze Angeles”
Best of luck.