Spiritual splendor can be found at the Mount Madonna Center, a conference and retreat center located between Santa Cruz and Monterey in Northern California. A community designed to nurture the creative arts and the health sciences, Mt. Madonna follows the principles set forth by Baba Hari Dass, a silent monk and ashtanga yogi master. This blissful place of spiritual growth is sponsored by the Hanuman Fellowship, a non-profit organization created by the students of Dass in 1971.

The Grounds

Mt. Madonna is sprawled across 355 acres of mountaintop redwood forest and grassland overlooking Monterey Bay. The landscape of open meadows is dotted with mountain and water views that enhance the contemplative feel that is treasured amongst its visitors. Rustic cabins, tens, dormitories, and cottages are scattered throughout providing an array of varying accommodations. The rooms are in hotel-style buildings but with no phones or televisions. The cabins are located in a forest grove and have electricity and heat, but no plumbing. A community building, a library, conference center, and a bunch of seminar houses are where the residents and visitors spend time in study. The bubbling outdoor hot tub is a place for peaceful relaxation after a long day of yoga or hiking, or a space for socializing.

Mt. Madonna features a nice offering of outdoor enjoyments such as hiking trails, volleyball, tennis, and basketball courts. There is a charming pond (residents call it “The Lake”) for swimming, a gymnasium for volleyball and basketball, and massage and herbal steam bath facilities. The Kaya Kalpa Wellness Center offers ayurvedic spa treatments on site. Some offerings include massage, Reiki, aromatherapy treatments, and acupuncture.

Guests can also visit the ayurvedic store on site, which offers such items as teas, oils, herbs, and tinctures.

Daily and Weekly Activities

Every weekday morning at varying times, classes are offered in pranayama and meditation. Beginning and intermediate asana is offered every weekday morning with an all-levels class offered on Monday evening from 7:30–9pm. Yoga Philosophy classes are given on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in either the Bhavagad Gita or Samkhya Karika (ancient Upanishad texts.) Saturday is the day for yoga class and Sunday offers a Satsang with chanting, meditation, and Bhagavad Gita readings.

Retreats and Workshops

Visitors to Mt. Madonna can either participate in a special weekend or weeklong themed program, a non-specific personal retreat, or register for the yoga program, which can either be one of the five annual four-day retreats, a yoga-related weekend, or a yoga teacher’s training. Some of the current and coming programs include:

Upasana Devotional Meditation Retreat
Qigong and Body-mind Healing
Ashtanga Liberation Yoga Retreat
Passionate Midlife – a couple’s retreat
The Power to Heal Through Inner Medicine

A couple times per year, they offer a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training. They also offer a 500-hour training.

The personal retreat is perfect for those who don’t necessarily want to follow a particular program but would like use of the grounds, facilities, and daily classes. Lodging and vegetarian meals are offered, and you can decide how long you’d like to stay.

Mt. Madonna also offers a two-month stay called The Yoga, Service and Community Program. Individuals and families are welcome to join in this venture, which includes participation in yoga classes, community service (housekeeping, gardening, kitchen work, etc.), classes and group discussions in yoga theory, opportunities to meet or study with Baba Hari Dass, and free time for rest, study, and recreation.

Our Comments

Mt. Madonna is a versatile place of beauty and contemplation that seems to cater to all tastes. Someone steeped in yoga will probably enjoy the yoga intensives and those who just want an uplifting or educational getaway will like the weekend seminars. They offer more accommodation options than other places and the prices vary from a tent for $43 nightly to a single room with a bath for $124. Their daily offering of classes is not as extensive as others but the grounds offer a lot of recreational options to fill in the gaps.

Visiting Mt. Madonna

If flying to the center, the closest airport is San Jose but you can also fly into San Francisco or Oakland. You can catch shuttle buses from San Jose and San Francisco but Mt. Madonna staff is available to drive you to any of the three airports, plus Monterey Airport, for a fee. The center is located approximately two hours south of San Francisco, so if driving from the north, the best route is to start out on 101 south. From points south, take 101 north. Extensive driving directions, bus, shuttle, and taxi information is available on their website.

The center is open year round with weekend programs beginning with registration on Friday at 4pm and ending Sunday at noon, unless otherwise noted. The facilities can be rented for groups of five to 500.

The Mt. Madonna center is located at
445 Summit Rd
Watsonville, CA 95076

Direct Line to Programs Office: (408) 846-4064
Phone: (408) 847-0406
Fax: (408) 847-2683
e-mail: programs@mountmadonna.org