A Summer Ouray Women's Yoga, Hot Springs, and Hiking Retreat

with Mary Susan Stults 

June 7th-11th, 2023

Locale: Ouray, Colorado (with a day adventure to Telluride, Colorado as well) 

Next summer... Yoga, hiking in the San Juan mountains, soaking in the hot springs, art and creativity, and so much more. 

Returning home.  Retreat to Ouray, Colorado next summer and enjoy a short week on the mat, on the trails, and soaking in the hot springs alongside other wonder women. 

Join us in the ever-charming and exquisite town of Ouray, Colorado and the San Juan mountains next June alongside a bevy of wonderful folks! Ouray, a town known as the Switzerland of the Unites States, is one of Colorado's crown jewels and for good reason.

Surrounded by emerald green and blue towering mountains, alpine lakes and waterfalls, wildflowers, trails, and endless adventure and beauty, Ouray is sure to capture your heart and provide plenty of nourishment for the body, mind, and spirit.

Join us in the most beautiful corner of Colorado on retreat for a deep and joyful dive into our yoga and meditation practices, nature, and into life lived well. 

Together we'll make the most of our days in a yoga, hiking, meditation, art, hot springs, and nature adventure retreat for all. We'll revel in and ground with daily yoga and meditation practices, hikes to enjoy some of the areas local gems and picturesque views, and a painting workshop or two. 

We'll nourish and treat ourselves with plenty of soaking in the hot springs, a day adventure to Telluride, an evening yoga nidra practice, and time to relax and unfold into the beauty of the present moment.

Deposit: 

$500 non-refundable deposit

Retreat Tuition: 

Private Queen Room (5 spots): $1679

Luxury Shared 2 Queen Room, 2 Beds, 2 Ppl (6 spots): $1479

Retreat savings: 

$100 with promo code THRIVE108

BYOB: 

Students are welcome to bring their own SUP board and paddle more if they wish. (Our paddle with be weather dependent) 

Questions: 

Please email us anytime at floatandflowllc@gmail.com

What's Included: 

Shared lodging or Private Lodging 

Daily Breakfast included at hotel

One Dinner

Daily yoga with Mary (1-2 practices per day) 

Daily vipassana guided meditation 

Two trips to Ouray Hot Springs Pool (we will carpool) 

Painting Workshop (1-2)

Yoga Nidra Practice

Journaling/Writing Workshop

Day adventure to Telluride to hike, enjoy town, paddle, explore, and adventure

Retreat gift 

Tea 

Wifi 

Incredible community 

Free parking at hotel

Al La Carte

Weather Dependent - Optional Stand Up Paddle Workshop on Trout Lake during our Telluride Day Adventure - Additional Cost

Ouray, Colorado 

Welcome to the Switzerland of America. 

Welcome to Ouray, the “Outdoor Recreation Capitol of Colorado.” Centrally located in Southwest Colorado, Ouray is the perfect basecamp for your explorations, offering a treasure trove of unique experiences all year long.

Situated in the heart of the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado, Ouray is known as the Switzerland of America.  Its rich history dates back to 1876 when the City was incorporated on October 2, two months after Colorado became a state.

Ouray is also The Outdoor Recreation Capital of Colorado with more than 60 activities that can occur right out your door!

Established in the late 1870s during gold and silver strikes, Ouray survived those boom-and-bust days because it's such a wonderful place to relax. Natural hot springs feed the Ouray Town Pool, where both locals and visitors come to soak in the therapeutic waters. It's said that Chief Ouray, the Ute Indian after whom the town is named, visited the pool often and held ceremonies in the local vapor cave.

Several waterfalls make for spectacular photos, and a popular activity for visitors is to take a short hike down to Box Canyon Falls, where the water thunders 285 feet from top to basin into a narrow canyon. The town's canyons, in fact, provide the location for one of the most popular winter events: ice climbing. Each January, Ouray proudly hosts the Ouray Ice Festival at the Ouray Ice Park, which features the easy access climbers relish.

Surrounded by deciduous trees such as quaking aspen and evergreens scrub oaks, the town also becomes a spectacularly colored canvas each autumn, drawing visitors who want a closer look at the brilliant foliage. The scenery, the sky-scraping San Juan Mountain peaks and a network of old mining routes are reasons the town is popular with off-roaders, Jeep tours and other backcountry lovers. The San Juan Skyway Scenic & Historic Byway is another popular way to see the area. 

A tour of the Bachelor-Syracuse Mine offers a look at what it was like to be a miner, as do displays at the local museum. One may also enjoy a historic tour either by carriage or walking with a ghostly tour guide.

Historic buildings, a wide range of affordable and comfortable lodgings (some with their own hot spring pools), unique artisan shops and galleries, and delicious, diverse restaurants (and the beloved Mouse's Chocolates) keep visitors coming back.

Hot Springs: 

We will enjoy two trips to the Ouray Town Hot Springs Geothermal Mineral Pools for some post yoga and hiking soaking and relaxation.

Ouray Hot Springs geothermally heated mineral pools range from 104 degrees in contrast to 75 degrees fahrenheit or 40 to 24 degrees celsius. Located in the heart of the San Juan Mountains, certainly used by Ute Indians. Ouray is a true gem of the Rocky Mountain Region consequently referred to as the “Switzerland of America”. 

The hot springs pool, surrounded by 13,000-foot snow-capped peaks, also has five separate geothermally heated pools. As a result, the pool has an adult only soaking section, two fast water slides (over 48″ to ride or pass the deep water test), the obstacle course and climbing wall in the activity pool (over 12 years old or pass the deep water test), 8 lap lanes for a workout pool, two family and soaking, geothermal and playing pools.

This year-round hot springs, most noteworthy, has been operating since 1927. It is certainly large, holding 750,000 gallons of sulfur-free mineral water. Similarly, other great minerals also include iron, manganese, zinc, fluoride, and potassium. First, the original source of hots springs is a mile up the river, near the Ouray Box Canon waterfall (another must-see) and Ouray Ice Park (the first man-made ice climbing park in the world with international ice climbing), where hot water comes out of the ground as a result of 150 degrees Fahrenheit or 66 degrees celsius. 

Another source, located next to the pool 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 49 degrees celsius. Finally, the cold water source is a result of domestic city water also a local spring known as Weehawken Spring consequently is used for lap lanes and activity pools.

The City of Ouray owns and operates the pool, so visit The City of Ouray’s Website. Above all, our family-friendly swimsuit required hot springs, is beloved by soakers due to the quiet adult areas as well as our spa featuring massages.

Yoga:

We will be practicing a strong, dynamic, and compassionate yoga practice and flow marrying together the traditions of Iyengar and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. We will slowly and mindfully weave our way through alignment-based practices each day taking time to workshop asanas and come-see-come-look moments giving students the opportunity to demo postures as we practice. Expect longer holds, break-downs of alignment and postures, and a focus on the breath. Classes are appropriate for all levels from beginners to advanced practitioners and teachers. We ask students to be truly curious and expect to take a deep and joyful dive into the practice and your own inner ecology and wilderness.

Meditation: 

We will be practicing guided Vipassana and Mindful Meditation during the retreat including breath meditations, heart meditations such as the Loving Kindness/Metta Meditations, and compassion meditations.

Hiking:

We will be getting out for a couple of hikes during our time on retreat. They will be moderate in difficulty. We will hike in Ouray, and also squeeze in a hike in Telluride to a more hidden waterfall. Please bring good and supportive hiking shoes, a daypack to hike with, a reusable water bottle, a hat, sunscreen, and layers as we know Colorado weather can change in a flash.

Day Trip to Telluride: 

We will be getting out very early one day to head out to Telluride to get on the water for a morning Stand Up Paddle workshop and adventure on Trout Lake before heading back into town for a hike to a hidden waterfall and some time to explore town.

Lodging: 

The St Elmo Hotel - A Historic Hotel in Ouray, Colorado 

The St. Elmo Hotel is a majestic restored, turn-of-the-century Inn located in the heart of Ouray, Colorado, a national historic district.

Step back in time and relive the glory days of Colorado's colorful past at the St. Elmo Hotel in Ouray, Colorado. Once bustling with gold and silver seekers, Ouray today is a picturesque hamlet, surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks in the majestic San Juan mountains of southwest Colorado.

Decorated with a Victorian flair and full of period antiques, our Inn consists of 10-room Colorado Bed. Our Breakfast Inn delights guests with a full buffet breakfast every morning served in the sunny breakfast room. We provide Wi-Fi connection to all our guests.

Our mission is to encourage you to spend a memorable time exploring beautiful sights. Spend your day by discovering a new hiking trail. You can also visit the fine shops present in the area.

Soak yourself in the outdoor hot tub and relax while surrounded by the beautiful San Juan mountains.

The adult-only hotel features a sauna, hot tub, and unique rooms featuring antique furnishings. The hot springs are less than a 15 minute walk away, and Box Canyon Falls is a 5 minute walk away from the hotel. Bon Ton, offering Italian Cuisine, features dinner daily. 

https://stelmohotel.com

Questions: 

Email floatandflowllc@gmail.com

Retreat Guide:

Mary Susan Stults

www.marysusanstults.com/

Been hanging out on the yoga mat since 1991. 

Born in Fort Payne, Alabama, Mary Susan Stults was raised in Cedar City, a town in southwest Utah about an hour from Zion National Park. An avid nature lover, she grew up exploring the many hiking trails, rivers, rocks, mountains, canyons, and the endless outdoor beauty of Utah and Colorado with her family and friends. Despite growing up landlocked Mary Susan grew up with a deep love and appreciation for the ocean and water and that passion has only grown with each passing year. After moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2001 to attend the University of Colorado-Boulder, she made Colorado her mountain home for over 20 years until she traded the mountain life for the island life and moved to Hawaii in 2018 to the Garden Island Kauai.

Mary Susan’s yoga and meditation practice and path began with her mother as a child at home in 1991 and continued in the studio at the age of 14 in 1997 with the practice of Ashtanga Yoga as taught by Sri. K Pattabhi Jois. Mary practiced Hatha, Ashtanga Yoga, and Iyengar Yoga as taught by BKS Iyengar throughout highschool and early college and in 2002 began practicing at Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor's studio, the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado. 

Years later, Mary Susan had the blessing and great fortune to be introduced to Master and Mentor-Teacher Maty Ezraty with whom she studied intensively, mentored with, and assisted until her recent passing. Over thousands of hours and many years of study, mentoring, and practice, Maty influenced Mary Susan’s practice and life on and off the yoga mat greatly and will forever be her greatest teacher and influence. Maty encouraged and influenced Mary to delve and dive deeper into the yoga practice and approach both the daily practice of yoga and life from the subtle body. Over the years Mary has had the opportunity to practice and learn with many wonderful yoga and meditation teachers aside from Maty including Dharma Mittra, Judith Hanson Lasater, Richard Freeman, Seane Corn, Peter Doobinin, Carrie Owerko, James Brown, Jack Kornfield, Annie Carpenter, and many others. She looks forward to studying with Chuck Miller and Dona Holleman in the future. 

Mary Susan teaches internationally and in the U.S and is a certified and experienced Yoga & Meditation teacher, educator, and practitioner, a WPA/Paddle Into Fitness Certified Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) and SUP Yoga teacher, certified Kids Yoga teacher, certified Adaptive Yoga teacher, and is known by all for her enthusiasm, heart, and positive outlook. Mary teaches a knowledgeable, dynamic, refreshing, and compassionate alignment-based yoga practice that intelligently weaves together the traditions of Iyengar Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga. Many describe her energy as contagious, finding Mary’s nurturing, wise, soulful, & patient style of teaching to be welcoming & supportive to all. For Mary Susan being a student of the practice of yoga is as important as being a teacher, we are students first, and teachers second. 

Please expect the practice and Mary’s teaching style to be greatly influenced by and reflective of Maty Ezraty, Sri. K Pattabhis Jois, and BKS Iyengar, as well as from her 30 plus years of practice, classes are open to anyone ready to practice and explore more deeply. Mary Susan invites all students to soften and let go of expectations, to stay curious and compassionate, and to embrace and befriend an explorer's mindset within our own inner ecology. Mary approaches and understands yoga as a spiritual practice and discipline and a healing art. We learn to trust our own intuition and innate wisdom, "we do not learn to be intuitive, we already are." The Yoga practice is a an opportunity to return home, and a re-remembering and recognition of our wholeness, our beauty, our true nature, and of the truth that we are always evolving, transforming, and are under constant construction; there is infinite room for learning, progressing, and creative expression. The practice offers a moment to awaken and a continuing opportunity to return home to the beauty of our own being and self. As a friend says, "This practice intends to provoke us & to inspire the bigger questions triggering one’s own awakening…the truth is-It is never complete, it is never finished, it’s infinite."

Mary Susan wholeheartedly believes that Yoga, Meditation, and Stand Up Paddleboarding, and SUP Yoga are for everybody, and is passionate about sharing these gifts, as well as her love of nature, adventure, travel, living well, environmentalism, ocean conservation, and the outdoors with all folks and ages.