Trips That Will Change Your Life: Same Idea, Fresh Twists


Other Places to Get Your Yoga Fix


KRIPALU CENTER: Nestled in the Berkshires, this former Jesuit seminary (with roots in Philadelphia) offers a year-round menu of thrice-daily hatha classes led by on-staff instructors, along with weekly workshops conducted by visiting yoga gurus such as Iyengar teacher Joan White and Philly-born Simon Park, and yoga celebs like Rodney Yee and Shiva Rea. Accommodations are spotless and spare; the natural surroundings — snow-covered hills in winter, a wide lake for summer swims — are divine. From $152 per person, per night, including meals, access to facilities, and staff-led classes. Some workshops and treatments in the ayurvedic day spa additional. Four and a half hours from Philly. 57 Interlaken Road, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 866-200-5203, kripalu.org.

[sidebar]FEATHERED PIPE RANCH: Stay in a log cabin, tipi, tent — or yurt — at this gracious, camp-like 30-year-old retreat in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, where guests come for weeklong workshops with true-believer teachers like Iyengar purist Patricia Walden and Erich Schiffmann (Ali MacGraw’s famed instructor) — and for delicious, wholesome fare. The foundation operates classes at three more locations as well — a ranch in Montana, a Mexican fishing village outside of Puerto Vallarta, and the beachfront Hotel Na Balam on Mexico’s Isla Mujeres. From $1,495 per person, per week, including meals and the workshop. About 15 minutes from Helena Regional Airport. Colorado Gulch, Helena, Montana, 406-442-8196,  featheredpipe.com.

INWARD BOUND: Think of this Washington, D.C.-based company as a yogic travel agency, and instructor-owner Jane Fryer as your guide. Small groups sign up for trips to Nosara Beach, Costa Rica, Round Hill, Jamaica, and Locanda Gallo, Italy, and days that begin with meditation continue with yoga, and may or may not include Pilates, Nia (a sort of spiritual aerobics) and surfing lessons. From $1,495 per person, per week, including accommodations, classes and meals. Airfare not included. 800-760-5099, inwardbound.com.