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Welcome!
The Bhakti Retreat is a special weekend exploration into the sacred world of the heart. Facilitated by some of the most distinguished teachers of the Indian sacred arts, this retreat offers a unique blend of spiritual music (kirtan), poetry, meditation, dance and yoga, along with succulent vegetarian cuisine and one of the most pristine and sacred retreat settings in the NY area. In this way it offers you an ideal environment to connect with genuine spiritual renewal and inspiration. We look forward to joining with you there!
Overview
The retreat will begin Friday September 17th at 6:00pm with a keynote and kirtan by Sacinandana Swami. Both Saturday and Sunday early morning feature an enchanting “Mangala” Kirtan by GauraVani, with the yoga sessions in each of these mornings also featuring live musical accompaniment by GauraVani. The yoga, taught by Kirtan Smith, will be level 1/2 hatha-vinyasa yoga, suitable for all experience levels. There will be special guidance for those newer to asana practice, and more challenging options for the more experienced practitioners. During the late morning and afternoon, there will be sessions by the presenters with teachings, stories, meditations, music and art, all including interactive and engaging experiences. The afternoon will feature an open period where there will be healing arts, guided hiking, and plenty of time and space to relax, connect freely with others and appreciate the breathtaking landscape. Saturday evening will offer an enchanting kirtan performance by DASI Karnamrita. The retreat will close Sunday with a unforgettable ceremony, contributed by all the teachers, to enable us to take the experience home, and finally culminate with a closing vegetarian lunch-feast.
Date
September 17th (Friday), registration begins at 3:30pm
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September 19th (Sunday), closes at 1pm with lunch
Location
Menla Mountain Retreat & Conference Center is 1500 feet above sea level and set on a 320-acre private nature reserve, in Phoenicia, N.Y. It is located in a region of the Catskills renowned for its unspoiled beauty, variety of wildlife, abundance of rushing streams and rivers, and mountains.
The various meeting spaces and eco-friendly accommodations are designed to meet the highest standards of comfort. There is a gracious 4,050 square foot main hall seating 300 persons, with several break-out rooms. The guest rooms come with organic cotton linens, down comforters, and modern tiled bathrooms. The two dining rooms and an outdoor dining deck come with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and valley
Throughout the four seasons, visitors enjoy the fresh mountain air and savor the natural beauty of the valley’s exquisite landscape and abundant wildlife. It is a true retreat experience.
Travel info
- Two hours north of New York City
- Three and a half hours from Boston
- One hour from Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y. and Albany International Airport
- Fifty minutes from Rhinecliff Amtrak Station
- Three hours by bus from New York City on Adirondack Trailways to Phoenicia, N.Y.
Registration
To ensure you get the type of accommodation you want, and because there is limited space, we strongly encourage early registration. Please click the registration tab bellow to securely register online.
Registration fee: $300.00
Accommodation rates:
This includes dining (5 full vegetarian meals) and rooming fees. This rate vary according to the type of room
Single room: $340.00
Single room (couples rate): $280.00
Double with attached bath: $280.00
Double with common bath: $225.00
Dorm (3 or more per room with common bath): $190.00
Registered Yoga Teachers, Please Register Here
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 Sacinandana Swami
Based in Europe, Sacinandana Swami has been a monk in the tradition of bhakti for 40 years. He is noted for making a significant contribution to the practice of contemplation and meditation for modern practitioners of bhakti. He has published 7 books and offers and array of retreats, seminars and kirtan events annualy throughout the world. Fond of India’s sacred pilgrimage sites, he annualy goes there to seek personal inspiration. His pilgrimages have taken him all over the subcontinent, and he is particularly partial to the sacred land of Vrindavan, birthplace of Lord Krishna.
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 DASI Karnamrita
Acclaimed as one of the most beautiful voices in the Vaishnava tradition, DASI Karnamrita is an immensely talented vocalist and teacher of Bhakti Yoga. She has delighted audiences around the world since the release of her acclaimed album DASI: Prayers by Women.
Raised in an Ashram community in the United States, she has sung Bhajans and Kirtans since early childhood. At the age 24, she began formal classical training with her Guruji, Pandit Vidur Mallik in the small village of Vrindaban in Northern India. Under his guidance, she studied for nearly a decade, the ancient and rigorous art known as Dhrupad. Her singing and music combine into a rare and deep transformative sound.
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 Gaura Vani
Raised in both the US and India, Gaura Vani’s musical roots are deeply planted in both western and eastern musical styles. His many musical projects include Indian Devotional music, Rock and Electronica. Gaura plays a stylish version of Qawali harmonium and is a mesmerizing singer. While growing up, he studied sacred music in the timeless town of Vrindavan, India, where he learned ancient prayers in Sanskrit and Bengali and to sing and play traditional instruments like the harmonium and mrdanga drum. Twenty-five years later he continues to share the magic of soul-inspired music together with his kirtan ensemble, As Kindred Spirits, performing around the world from Europe to Asia to the Americas.
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 Divya Alter
Divya Alter is a truly inspiring spiritual teacher with over 20 years of experience studying and teaching Indian spiritual philosophy, yoga, sacred singing and Sanskrit throughout Europe, India and the US. Originally from Bulgaria, she studied and taught Sanskrit in Sweden and India, and has assisted in the translation of many ancient texts. She also completed traditional Indian vocal training while living in India. Her singing is as spiritually impacting as it is beautiful. She is a co-founder of Life Learning Continuum, a non-profit educational organization, through which she shares her deep knowledge and realizations around the world.
 Rasanatha
From Bombay to the East Village, Rasanatha das (Ramnath Subramanian) specializes in bringing the sacred teaching of India into modern living. He is a regular columnist for the Huffington Post, and has taught the Gita Cornell University and the University of Albany, as well as in various yoga schools, including JivaMukti and the Kripalu Yoga Center. He is also a recent MBA graduate from Cornell University, and is currently President and CEO of the Bhakti Center, in Manhattan. His presentation of the Gita relies upon his erudition in a wide range of topics, from economics, life sciences, history, current events, and yoga traditions.
 Kirtan
Kirtan was born in Los Angeles to dedicated yogi parents. His early childhood included daily study of Hindu scriptures, reading and writing in Sanskrit, mantra chanting and body surfing at Venice Beach. His first trip to India was at the age of 6, and a few years later returned for a year of intensive yogic studies at an Ashram. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in International Relations. It was there that he met Shiva Rea, his first Asana teacher. After graduating, he moved to Brazil where he continued to do yoga until his Brazilian teacher encouraged him to devote his life to sharing yoga. www.thecontentsoul.com.
Additional presenters to be announced soon!
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