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Our Events at Highland Ranch

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At Highland Ranch, we like to provide folks with special reasons to get together. Come celebrate a holiday or hone your

riding or cooking skills and enjoy all the beauty and other activities that Highland Ranch has to offer.

Yoga and Riding Weekend Retreats

October 16 - 19, 2008

Deepen your presence on the mat and in the saddle

This retreat may be the perfect way to enjoy Highland Ranch and bring

your interests in yoga and riding together

"I brought home so many good memories of my stay at your ranch. I truly found the exact vacation I had wished for!  I rode my horse Winston yesterday, and tried the new 'hip moves'--- he responded so easily!! It made me laugh out loud!  Thank you so much! - I had a wonderful time."  Louise J. October '07

Susanne Cohen, HR's own Iyengar trained yoga teacheronce again brings her love of horses and passion for yoga together in an extended weekend workshop focused on experiencing and exploring the connections between yoga and riding.

Susanne Cohen

Susie has been practicing yoga since she was seventeen. She practiced and took classes for many years until her late 30's, when she became very dedicated to learning and practicing the art of yoga. Classes once a week led to class several times a week and, taking workshops whenever she could, she found herself interested in deeper study. She did her teacher training at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco and has been teaching since 2001. She is now pursuing certification as an Iyengar yoga teacher and has passed her first round of exams. She practices, studies and teaches yoga in the tradition of BKS Iyengar.

Yoga and Riding Clinic

The Clinic is beautifully designed and balanced to be enriching and complete and yet to allow enough time for participants to enjoy the beauty and peace of Highland Ranch.

The Clinic is open to all levels of riders and yogis. The number of participants is kept to less than ten to allow the instructors to address each participant's particular level of experience and expertise.  This clinic will help if you are learning to ride and want to start off with a sound understanding of your body and it's movement's effect on the horse as you ride. If you are a more experienced rider, you will focus on observing and offering adjustments that will incrsase your body awareness and refine the communication and connection you have with your mount.

For Susie, yoga and riding each involve a balanced seat, an open heart, a calm breath, a present mind, and a deep connection with all life. In this workshop you will have the opportunity to focus on and practice actions and awareness of the body on our yoga mats and then call up that same awareness and undertake similar actions later in the saddle. For instance, in the yoga studio, you'll practice hip opening poses and then later in the saddle you'll practice the same hip opening action and see the effect it has on your mount. It is exciting when your horse "gets" what you want to do and where you want to go by subtle cues in your balance and movement. When we can communicate with our horses without relying on the bit or the boot, we truly honor and foster the gift of strength and vitality that our horses share with us.

Daily yoga classes will focus on alignment, strength, suppleness and breath that invite the body’s responsiveness and well being. On Saturday and Sunday, you ’ll take your enlivened experience into the saddle for exercises and trail riding fostering a more conscious, open connection with our equine friends.

The retreat is designed for people of all experience levels in yoga and riding.  So, bring your own horse or ride one of ours free of charge.

A weekend retreat of yoga and riding instruction will help to:

• Improve your balance, flexibility and stamina on the mat and in the saddle
• Develop your body’s responsiveness and a more conscious attitude to riding
• Encourage harmonious work and play between horse and rider

Price and Accommodation

The cost of the weekend is $815/double occupancy and $925/single occupancy. Rates include:

Lodging in a well-appointed cabin with fireplace, full bathroom and porches with rocking chairs

• All yoga and riding instruction retreat fees
• Three nights lodging in a shared or private cabin with fireplace, private bath,
• All meals and beverages
• Use of a Highland Ranch horse or boarding for your own horse

• Use of all ranch facilities and amenities

Cancellation and Refunds

Cancellations occurring before 8/24/08 we will refund less a $50.00 processing fee. For cancellations from 8/25/08 to 10/3/08 THERE IS NO REFUND, however we will credit any payments over the deposit to another ranch stay or workshop in 2008 or 2009. For cancellations after 10/3/08 there is no refund and no credit. Workshop may be transferred to another person.

Please call Susie at (707) 895-3600 or send an email to stay@highlandranch.com for more information. 

"Barnside Yoga Poses"© by Susie Cohen

Return to "HR Home Page"                                                                             Return to "Wellness Program"  Page

April and October '06 Yoga and Riding Weekend Retreat Photos

Quotes from folks who attended the Yoga and Riding Weekend:

"To all of our new friends at Highland Ranch: Thank you for the perfect weekend. The three of us agreed that we couldn’t possibly have enjoyed ourselves more. Not only is your ranch the most beautiful place imaginable, but you made us feel so welcome and relaxed from the moment we arrived that we feel as though we had a month of vacation rather than a weekend." Deanna M.

"Now I have a complete different aspect and a different level of appreciation of horse riding. I was never conscious about influencing them (instead of commanding or forcing them). I never thought of consciously sending a queue to move different parts of their muscles." Yuko T.

"I had a wonderful visit, and that I felt truly transformed upon my return to Oakland. I look forward to seeing all of you, and the ranch, again. Thanks for making my stay so rewarding." Kaaren F.

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A Spring Renewal Yoga Retreat

Celebrate the Vernal Equinox!

with senior Iyengar yoga teacher

Janet MacLeod

March 19 - 22, 2009

Highland Ranch is proud and delighted to welcome back Janet MacLeod (jmacleodyoga.com) for a extended weekend yoga retreat in March 2008.

Janet has been a Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor for 20 years.  She teaches classes to the general public in San Francisco; teaches in the Teacher Training Program at the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco (IYISF) and conducts retreats and workshops worldwide.

She continues to study in the U.S. and in India with the Iyengar family. Janet has been an active community member holding positions on both the local and national Boards. She has relinquished these duties and is now happy to dedicate her life to the practice, study and teaching of yoga.

Spring Renewal Yoga Retreat

Sutra 1.36:        Visoka va jyotismati
"Here, the concentration is on the innermost core of the heart, wherein alone the sorrowless, effulgent light glows. That is the seat of the soul."

                                                                                                     BKS Iyengar
After the hibernation of the winter months, this retreat is intended to open you up to the beauty and renewal of spring.  In yoga asana practice, the emphasis on opening the chest bestows physical benefits, and also uplifts all aspects of the human being.  In this retreat, Janet will present a variety of poses bringing an openness to the chest and profound awareness to the heart center.

As BKS Iyengar explains in Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, by contemplating the heart, we reach "the sorrowless, effulgent light" of the soul.

Join Janet at Highland Ranch for an extended weekend of asana, pranayama, renewal and relaxation amidst rolling green hills and redwood forest and experience the Joy of Yoga!

The yoga retreat will consist of Janet’s daily asana and pranayama classes (12 total class hours). Participants limited to 20, so this will be an intimate retreat. Free time to relax and explore, delicious and nourishing vegetarian meals, and comfortable cabins with fireplaces and baths round out your stay.

Arrival is on Thursday, 3/19, 1 - 3 PM, Opening Yoga Class is 3 - 5 PM Departure on Sunday, 3/22, after lunch (1:30 PM)

(Book before September 1st to ensure these 2008 prices!)

Price and Accommodation

Room assignment will be based on availability. The entire payment is due at time of booking.

Dormitory Style (3 per room, shared bath)             ($565 total)

Double Occupancy (2 per room/day)                    ($715 total)

Single Occupancy (per person/day)                      ($925 total)

Retreat fees includes yoga, three nights accommodation, all meals, beverages, taxes and charges

A la carte extras which can be added during your stay are horseback riding ($75.00/ride), massage ($95.00/hour). Call in advance to book a ride and/or massage.

Day Use Option

Participants may choose to stay in off-site accommodations. The rate to attend all yoga sessions during the retreat and have lunch each day is $305.00.  You may also choose to come for any one day or half day (Thurs. and Sun.).

Full day (2 2-hour sessions with lunch)                            $105.00

Half day (1 2-hour session and lunch)                             $70.00

All HR facilities and activities will be available to you during your time with us on site.

Janet's 2007 Highland Ranch Yoga Retreat    

Cancellation and Refunds

Cancellations occurring before 1/11/09 we will refund less a $50.00 processing fee. For cancellations from 1/11/09 to 2/28/09 THERE IS NO REFUND, however we will credit any payments over the deposit to another ranch stay or workshop in 2009 or 2010. For cancellations after 2/28/09 there is no refund and no credit. Workshop may be transferred to another person.

For more information, please contact Susie Cohen, the Highland Ranch Wellness Program Director and resident yoga instructor at (707) 895-3600 or by email at sbcohen@sonic.net

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Halloween Family Weekend - October 31 - Nov. 2, 2008

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Gather some family friends together and come celebrate Halloween at Highland Ranch.  This is a weekend designed for kids and their parents.  We'll have all the usual activities and some special Halloween projects for children including pumpkin carving, baking and decorating spooky cookies, a candy scavenger hunt, a haunted haystack, a Halloween Costume Party with plenty of Halloween candy and a sumptuous Autumn Feast to get us all in training for Thanksgiving.

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Highland Ranch for the Holidays

November ~ December

Looking for a great place to bring your family together for the Holidays?  Highland Ranch is the perfect size for your family to get together and celebrate your traditions while letting the staff at Highland Ranch do all the dishes!  While you are out with your family riding the exquisite trails through the redwood groves, back in the kitchen, Rob and the ladies are preparing delicious Thanksgiving and Holiday feasts with all the trimmings.  Our off-season weekly rates coupled with our group discounts make Highland Ranch an affordable family vacation creating memories that will last for generations.

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Highland Valentine Special Package!

February

Bring your sweetheart for a romantic getaway at Highland Ranch anytime between February 9th and the 19th and we will have all the usual Highland Ranch activities available and also be featuring a special menu of romantic meals sure to please.

Also, let us know when you would like your complimentary bottle of champagne delivered to your cabin along with our delicious homemade truffle chocolates and other goodies. In addition, we are happy to be able to offer a special discounted rate on massages and please, whether you are a first-timer or an avid yogi, join us for a couples' yoga class that is sure to help bring you closer in a balanced and harmonious way!  Don't miss this very popular package and contact us before it sells out.

Highland for the Holidays:

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Highland Ranch is open for Thanksgiving, the December Holiday Season, New Year's, the Spring Holidays, Mother's Day, Memorial Day Weekend, Fourth of July, and Labor Day Weekend.

Consider . . .

Thanksgiving: falling leaves; majestic madrones ripe with red berries; rides through the fall woods; returning to a roaring fire, hot cider and a sumptuous roast turkey spread.

December Holidays: the clear, crisp air; long walks in the woods; blazing fires, egg-nog, hot chocolate and homemade goodies; champagne, streamers and good cheer to ring in the New Year.

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Spring Holidays: wander through the orchards in blossom, ride over green hills, ponder the daffodils, feed the ducks, and savor a holiday feast.

Fourth of July: boating in the lake, fishing in the pond, splashing in the pool, corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes, a ranch barbecue dinner enjoyed on the deck overlooking our orchards bursting with fruit, fireworks and cowboy music by the fire.

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