Forest Bathing & Yoga Asana
Awaken Your Senses, Deepen Your Practice
Step into a day of nurturing your well-being, deepening your practice, and fostering community connection. This special Mountain Experience day visit weaves together two featured offerings—a rejuvenating Forest Bathing walk among the redwoods and a unique yoga asana (postures) class inspired by the teachings of Baba Hari Dass—along with shared meals and personal time to rest, connect, and explore as you wish. This day presents the opportunity to slow down, breathe deeply, and experience the heart of community life in one focused day. Those wishing for a more immersive journey may extend the retreat by joining us for A Weekend in Community.
Forest Bathing
Called shinrin-yoku in Japan, forest bathing is an ecotherapy practice that supports health and wellness through a sensory experience in the forest and other natural environments. Our nervous systems are built to resonate with set points derived from the natural world. When we reconnect with our natural habitat and awaken all our senses, we can experience a sensory extravaganza that helps us feel fully physically alive. Through the care and attention to the environment around us, the practice promotes the well-being of both people and the land.
During this nature immersion led by Maria Best, you will be guided on a safe, gentle walk through the majestic redwoods with a clearly defined sequence of invitations to slow down and encourage your senses to open and experience the environment. All you will need to do is accept the invitation, and Mother Nature will do the rest.
Babaji’s Asana Series
Join Shantam Galuten for a unique yoga asana class inspired by the teachings of Baba Hari Dass (Babaji). This class reflects the way Babaji led asana in the early days, based on a sequence he once described as “a good daily routine.” Movements are slow and controlled, concentration is on the three energies of mind, body, and breath, and the series includes a brief resting pose after every few postures.
Beginners will appreciate the clear, simple methods, while experienced students are invited to extend the breath and experiment with retention. As Babaji wrote, “In doing asanas, the body movement should be slow and thoughtful, in harmony with a slow inhalation and slow exhalation… The more slowly one breathes, the more one becomes aware of the movement of the breath. Combining this awareness of body movement with awareness of deliberate, rhythmical breath allows for a synthesis of body, breath, and mind, which is the essence of all Yoga practices.”
Shantam came to this approach after decades of intense, exercise-style asana. Upon discovering a binder of Babaji’s writings on asana, his understanding and practice were transformed. As he began teaching the sequence, longtime practitioners remarked how much it resembled Babaji’s early classes. Drawing on feedback from senior students, Shantam refined the practice into the class offered today.
The day’s program will also include:
- A guided tour of the Mount Madonna campus (weather permitting)
- Brunch & dinner in the shared community dining hall
- Personal time
- Option to stay for arati (ritual of light) after dinner at the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple
- Option to book a wellness treatment at Kaya Kalpa Wellness Center (fees additional, advance reservations recommended)
To participate in this special class, please register for a Mountain Experience day visit or book a Personal Retreat for A Weekend in Community.
Please note: this forest bathing experience and yoga asana class are appropriate for ages 13 years and older.
Sample Schedule
| Saturday, November 15 | |
| 10:00am | Arrival & Check-in | 10:00 - 11:00am | Brunch | 11:30am - 1:30pm | Forest bathing (weather permitting) | 1:30 - 3:30pm | Personal time | 3:30 - 4:45pm | Babaji's Asana Series | 5:15 - 6:15pm | Dinner | 6:00pm | Arati | 7:00pm | Program Concludes |
Schedule subject to change. Registrants will be notified.
To read more about the powerful benefits of forest bathing, see these articles published by National Geographic:
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Forest bathing can boost children’s mental health & de-stress your kids with a forest bathing adventure (Please note: this forest bathing experience and yoga asana class are appropriate for ages 13 and older.)
Presenters
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Maria BestMaria Best is a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide, as well as a Board Certified Professional Organizer and Feng Shui Practitioner specializing in Biophilic Design. She lives in Salinas, California, an abundant agricultural town nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Coastal Redwoods and spends countless hours visiting the forests and the seashore. Maria is committed to her partnership with nature to enhance the well-being for both people and our land.
Passionate about volunteering in her local community, Maria works with high school students in the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) program, a multi-disciplinary approach to architectural design that empowers students in creating harmonious spaces on their campuses. Maria also volunteers as a Purpose Workshop Facilitator with the Blue Zones Project Monterey County.
Maria recently published her first book, Come to Me Called the Sea.
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Shantam GalutenShantam has been teaching yoga for more than 25 years, offering instruction in asana (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), and meditation. A lifelong member of the Mount Madonna community, he received the name “Shantam” from Babaji at age seven. His father first met Babaji at the Homestead retreat in 1974, and Shantam grew up visiting Mount Madonna many times—camping, playing, and even spending an extended period here with his family while his father taught music to the children.
Today, Shantam serves as a pujari (officiant) at the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple. A multi-instrumentalist, he supports and leads kirtan (devotional singing) and occasionally performs piano in jazz ensembles around the world. Having completed Yoga Teacher Training at Mount Madonna and elsewhere, he now teaches in Mount Madonna’s YTT programs, continuing the tradition that shaped his own practice from an early age.
