A winter retreat brought together community members for a new years ritual with four local health and wellness practitioners.
The retreat, held last month at Heart of Yellowstone Ranch, saw Dr. Lynn Horton, Martine Grant, Meghan Gaspers and Tiffany Feeney lead a two day series of workshops and events centered around “accessible, practical approaches to well-being during the winter season.” Participants from Byron, Cody, Cowley and Powell, as well as Colorado, attended the event.
Programming for the event included trauma-informed and gentle yoga practices, walking meditation, art therapy, somatic experiencing and nutrition education.
“The retreat was a true collaboration among a diverse group of wellness practitioners who came together with a shared vision: to create an experience that was both accessible and deeply supportive,” Grant said. “Each practitioner contributed offerings rooted in their unique skills and areas of expertise, which allowed participants to explore wellness from multiple perspectives.”
Grant has worked as a yoga teacher for over 20 years. She teaches locally at Age of Aquarius in Cody, Chair Yoga at Indigo Thrive in Powell, Chair Yoga at the Powell Library, or Pints & Poses at Sage Wine & Spirits, as well as the Powell branch of Club Dauntless. More information about Grant’s yoga and wellness practice can be found at wyearthseedyoga.com
“During a particularly difficult period in my life, yoga found me and ultimately changed the direction of my life,” Grant recalled. “The practice helped reduce stress and anxiety, improved my sleep, and gave me tools to build emotional resilience. The impact was so profound that I began to see yoga not just as a practice, but as a calling.”
Grant pursued that calling, attaining her 200-hour yoga certification as well as additional certificates in Yoga for Kids and Trauma Informed Yoga, because “I initially … believe(d) that if young people learned these skills early, they would be better equipped to navigate life’s challenges,” she explained. “That belief led me to leave a career as a marketing executive and become an educator in an inner-city business high school.”
Gaspers, a Cody-native with 17 years of experience in yoga, massage and somatic therapies, agreed.
“I believe every body carries its own story,” she said, “and every nervous system has its own rhythm.”
Describing the retreat a s a“humbling” experience, Gaspers said she was honored to have taken part in “the time of year we are quiet, contemplative and still.”
The group said many attendees noted the environment itself “contributed to a sense of ease and presence throughout the weekend.”
Horton, a board certified family physician with over 40 years of experience, led sessions about whole food nutrition and curated a menu with her sister, a chef, for participants.
Over the course of her career in the Indian Health Practice in Sioux City, SD, Horton said that she noticed a pattern in which an overburdened health care system was unable to address “the root cause or symptoms of chronic disease of illness,” including fatigue, mental health, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Following her retirement last year, Horton elected to give her energies over to functional medicine, which she explains, “uncover the root causes of illnesses.”
Like Grant, Horton said her own health journey informed her late career pivot. During the retreat, she provided three lectures on gut health and intermittent fasting.
Horton stressed the importance of well-rounded and informed health care decision-making, noting that while sensible nutrition was a key pillar of health, it could not solve all of a patient’s problems.
“If I believe someone is experiencing something (outside of my window of expertise), I am going to refer them to work with a primary care provider or specialists, and help them to close those coverage gaps.”
Feeney, a fellow Cody native, said that she hoped to convey to “that we are all yogis and artists, and by starting a very simple practice in either discipline, or both, you can heal yourself.”
Feeney led art therapy exercises at the weekend retreat.
“Studies are now showing that engaging a creative act for just 20 minutes a day has been scientifically proven to improve ones mental and physical health,” she explained.
Feeney works as an art teacher and the education curriculum director of the Cody Arts Gallery and Creative Center.
She has taught yoga since 2010, but been practicing since 1989. She teaches at Firefly Yoga and Wellness. In 2021, she graduated from Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) as an Integrative Healing Practitioner (IHP).
Art formed one of many rituals the group practiced, with Grant recalling a Burn and Release ceremony, which closed the event.
Calling it a “powerful” moment, Grant explained that “This experience invited participants to reflect on what no longer serves them, write it on paper and place it in the fireplace – to consciously let go as they look ahead to the rest of 2026.
“Witnessing women speak openly about their fears, challenges and (the) patterns they were ready to release was deeply moving,” she continued. “It takes courage to name these things aloud, and the supportive environment created by the group made those moments of vulnerability feel safe and meaningful.”
Horton said she was pleased by the tunout and hoped to participate in more retreats in the near future.
Grant, who had recently participated in a separte wellness retreat, agreed and stated, “These experiences highlight the growing interest and demand for wellness retreats, particularly those rooted in community, accessibility, and meaningful connection.”
