Twilight Yoga Retreat 2025, Breitenbush Hot Springs – Recap

Twilight Yoga Retreat Breitenbush Hot Springs, Oregon, USA October 8–13, 2025

The Vade Mecum and Guide to Shri Mahendranath’s Fantastic Kosmic Kingdom of the Alakshya Nathas of Shambhala International: A Dreamtime Dossier for Those Who Want to Do Their Own Thing, but Do It Themselves. The Balance of Both Liberation and Enjoyment.

Natha Mandala Sahaja Marga—which means the Path of Ecstasy of the Nath Circle, called the International Nath Order.

The above is the introduction to Shri Gurudev Mahendranath’s Twilight Yoga I – Ecstasy, Equipoise, and Eternity, and it was our guiding light for the 2025 Twilight Yoga Retreat at Breitenbush Hot Springs.

A small group of six initiates and aspirants, led by Sri Vijayanath, dove into the central question: What is the balance of both liberation and enjoyment?

On this Path of Ecstasy of the Nath Circle, Sri Vijayanath asked us, “How much ecstasy could you receive?”

Is there a more exalted ritual flavor than this?

Oh wait… now add 24/7 access to pools lined with smooth stones brimming with water heated by the earth, under a clear new-moon night sky. There are cold plunges and hot saunas, walking paths next to the river—and it’s remote: no cell service or Wi-Fi for the duration, totally unplugged!

Seeing the celestial sky and Nature’s harmony both day and night beckoned us within and without.

We followed the usual pattern of gatherings: a silent morning sit and a group ritual with chanting and active attention on the focal point in the early evening—again, a yantra. As this was a Twilight Yoga event, we enjoyed three full days together, with arrival and departure half-days on either end.

“The Yoga of the Kaulas is twofold,
Being enjoyment and liberation.
Although our occult world appears to be
A firkin full of fantasy and fest,
It is because we seek the joy of life
And, from a mixed-up mass, extract the best.”
— Sri Gurudev Mahendranath
Levogyrate Tantra

Our focal point was an altar built up over the course of our time together, beginning with a juiced-up three-dimensional Meru Sri Chakra of Tripura Sundari as the ecstatic component. Offerings of flowers adorned her yantra-form for two nights. The skull of a high-flying bird was added on the third night as a nod to liberation.

Discussions were open, relaxed, and engaging. Ritual was hearty and harmonious; the ecstasy in stillness surrounded us and descended not just to fill the ritual space, but to weave its thread through the length of our stay and beyond. Other guests at the resort took note with curiosity and friendliness, and we gifted a copy of the newly published Scrolls of Mahendranath to their library.

Breitenbush was an unusual choice for a Nath gathering because of its restrictions: no fires—even candles or incense—limited food choices, and no entheogens or the like. But none of those limitations proved an issue, and the simple bonuses offered by Nature here were perfect and nourishing.

“The real truth is but the natural law by which we live. Though convention may not like it to be told, still, it will be, and humans know its joy, and neither law nor rule can make it hid.”
— Devi, Levogyrate Tantra, Sri Gurudev Mahendranath

In the near future, we plan to keep the Twilight Yoga Gathering at Breitenbush small and private. It was a blessing to be off-grid and to soak in bliss, both in and out of the healing waters.

After all the year’s effort, exaltation, transformation, exhaustion, contemplation, digestion, meditation, and beautiful sovereign kinship—words fall utterly short. There exist no adequate expressions in any language for most of the experiences co-created and shared in these curated and cultivated retreat containers.

In the spirit of Ecstasy, Equipoise, and Eternity,
Sri Vijayanath and Soma Devi