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New Mexico

Finding Your Bliss in the Land of Enchantment for Women

Program No. 21742RJ
Experience the restorative traditions of Santa Fe as you learn about traditional healing techniques, hike the red rock country around Abiquiu and enjoy local cuisine with expert chefs.

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Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone? 800-454-5768
Select your type of room
Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Mar 17 - Mar 22, 2024
Starting at
2,349
Filling Fast!
Apr 21 - Apr 26, 2024
Starting at
2,349
May 19 - May 24, 2024
Starting at
2,349
Filling Fast!
Oct 20 - Oct 25, 2024
Starting at
2,449
Mar 23 - Mar 28, 2025
Starting at
2,349
Apr 13 - Apr 18, 2025
Starting at
2,349
May 18 - May 23, 2025
Starting at
2,349
Oct 12 - Oct 17, 2025
Starting at
2,349
Oct 26 - Oct 31, 2025
Starting at
2,449
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Mar 17 - Mar 22, 2024
Starting at
2,839
Apr 21 - Apr 26, 2024
Starting at
2,839
May 19 - May 24, 2024
Starting at
2,839
Oct 20 - Oct 25, 2024
Starting at
2,959
Mar 23 - Mar 28, 2025
Starting at
2,839
Apr 13 - Apr 18, 2025
Starting at
2,839
May 18 - May 23, 2025
Starting at
2,839
Oct 12 - Oct 17, 2025
Starting at
2,839
Oct 26 - Oct 31, 2025
Starting at
2,959

At a Glance

Take a break from the stresses of daily life and escape to Santa Fe and the Land of Enchantment on a women-only educational retreat. Join other women as you relax in high desert beauty, stimulate your mind and experience new cultures. Learn healing practices used by indigenous peoples, and discover the curative power diverse traditions from other cultures have brought to New Mexico. Learn how to prepare delicious cuisine, gain flexibility with yoga and hike through glorious landscapes.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to 4 miles over paved, uneven sidewalks and unpaved surfaces. Yoga appropriate for novices and experienced practitioners. Optional hikes of 1-5 miles on varied terrain with elevation gains. Elevations of 7,000 feet.
Small Group
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Learn about indigenous healing practices from a traditional healer.
  • Journey to Ghost Ranch and marvel at the colorful landscape on a private tour of O'Keeffe country
  • Enjoy private cooking demonstrations taught by local chefs.
Featured Expert
All Experts
Profile Image
Lois Ellen Frank
Lois Ellen Frank, PhD, is a Santa Fe-based chef focused on Native American foods. She is also a Native American food historian, culinary anthropologist, photographer and James Beard Award-winning author. She is a featured instructor of the Southwest Indian Nations at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, and is chef and owner — along with Native Chef Walter Whitewater of the Diné Nation — of Red Mesa Cuisine.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Lois Frank
Lois Ellen Frank View biography
Lois Ellen Frank, PhD, is a Santa Fe-based chef focused on Native American foods. She is also a Native American food historian, culinary anthropologist, photographer and James Beard Award-winning author. She is a featured instructor of the Southwest Indian Nations at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, and is chef and owner — along with Native Chef Walter Whitewater of the Diné Nation — of Red Mesa Cuisine.
Profile Image of Patricia Padilla
Patricia Padilla View biography
Patricia Padilla was born into eight generations of Curanderas — an age-old Hispanic healing tradition. She ran her own alternative medical clinic in Lyons, Colorado serving the community as an acupuncturist and herbalist for 20 years. She also published and wrote for a local weekly newspaper for 24 years. After a lifetime of treating patients and teaching about personal and community health, she now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she continues to work with people, writes, teaches and creates "one-of-a-kind" beaded leather bags.
Profile Image of Debbie Widrick
Debbie Widrick View biography
Debbie Widrick is a certified personal trainer with 35 years of experience in the field of health and wellness. She believes with her whole heart that developing a strong yoga practice is key to maintaining a strong healthy body and managing stress levels as we age. Debbie is a 200-hour certified instructor who teaches Viniyoga, Hatha, Restorative, power, and Vinyasa Yoga.
Profile Image of Ellen Morris Bond
Ellen Morris Bond View biography
Ellen Morris Bond has spent most of her adult years in northern New Mexico, graduating from the University of New Mexico Honors Program. She completed a Master’s Degree in Community Development at University of California-Davis. As a non-profit director, Ellen forged strong collaborations with local and regional organizations such as health councils, community foundations, tribal groups, hospitals, public schools, rural health clinics, and faith groups. She now volunteers with the local acequia/water organization and leads art and architecture groups at La Fonda of Santa Fe.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound (video)
by Katrina Parks
This documentary tells the story of how over 100,000 railroad station waitresses opened up the doors of the American West and the workplace to women and change history. A James Beard Award finalist. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/23102 (fees may be associated for a download)
Spider Woman's Granddaughters: Traditional Tales and Contemporary Writing by Native American Women
by Allen, Paula Gunn
A powerful collection of traditional tales, biographical writings, and contemporary short stories, many by the most accomplished Native American women writing today, including: Louise Erdrich, Mary TallMountain, Linda Hogan, and many others.
OM Yoga, A Guide to Daily Practice
by Cyndi Lee
Clear and concise, Cindi Lee's superb guide uses easy-to-follow illustrations to show poses.
Garden in the Dunes
by Leslie Marmon Silko
Our narrator, a precocious girl named Indigo from a nearly extinct Native American tribe, is adopted by a well-intentioned rich naturalist and his depressed wife. A thematically rich novel that illuminates the ways the two cultures interact with nature.
Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations: Traditional and Contemporary Native American Recipes
by Dr. Lois Ellen Frank
In this gloriously photographed book, renowned photographer and Native American–food expert Dr. Lois Ellen Frank, herself part Kiowa, presents more than 80 recipes that are rich in natural flavors and perfectly in tune with today's healthy eating habits. Frank spent four years visiting reservations in the Southwest, documenting time-honored techniques and recipes. With the help of culinary adviser and Navajo Nation tribesman Walter Whitewater, a chef in Santa Fe, Frank has adapted the traditional recipes to modern palates and kitchens. Inside you'll find such dishes as Stuffed Tempura Chiles with Fiery Bean Sauce, Zuni Sunflower Cakes, and Prickly Pear Ice. With its wealth of information, this book makes it easy to prepare and celebrate authentic Native American cooking.
Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN
by Tara Brach
In this heartfelt and deeply practical book, Tara Brach offers an antidote to today's ever-increasing onslaught of news, conflict, demands, and anxieties--stresses: an easy-to-learn four-step meditation that quickly loosens the grip of difficult emotions and limiting beliefs.
Ancient Peoples of the American Southwest
by Stephen Plog, Amy Elizabeth Grey (Illustrator)
This illustrated introduction provides an in-depth look at the ancient cultures that first inhabited the pueblos and cliff dwellings of the American Southwest. Organized chronologically, it features hundreds of maps, mostly black-and-white photographs and site diagrams.
Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place
by Buhler Lynes/Poling-Kempes/Turner
Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico is the first book to analyze the artist's famous depictions of Southwestern landscapes.
Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest
by Arnold Berke (Author), Alexander Vertikoff (Photographer)
This extraordinary book about an extraordinary woman weaves together three stories-the remarkable career of a woman in a man's profession during the late 19th century; the creation of a building and interior style drawn from regional history and landscape; and the exploitation, largely at the hands of the railroads, of the American Southwest for leisure travel.
A Thousand Voices (video)
by David Aubrey
From the proverb, “It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story,” this is a documentary that builds from thousands of voices to present one universal story of New Mexico’s Native American women. https://www.pbs.org/video/a-thousand-voices-ivvvsd/
A History of Spirituality in Santa Fe: The City of Holy Faith
by Ana Pacheco
Santa Fe city historian Ana Pacheco documents the rich religious and spiritual history of this high-mountain metaphysical community.
Edge of Taos Desert, An Escape to Reality
by Mabel Dodge Luhan
First published in 1937, this story reveals the spiritual awakening the New York socialite experienced through Taos, the Pueblo Indians and Indian Tony Luhan, whom she later married.





Important registration tip:
If you want to attend the live lecture, please do not wait until the last minute to enroll.
If you enroll after a lecture is complete, we’ll send you a recording of the event.