Why Pilgrimage?

Hi, I’m Cory - I enjoy many things, but three that top the list are travel, yoga and Buddhism. Fortunately for me (and hopefully you too!) I have the great good fortune to bring these three things together in order to offer you the chance to experience it with me. 

In 2009 I was teaching a yoga class at Flow Yoga Center in Washington, DC and after the class a woman appointed me. Her name was/is Marni and she started this whole thing (thank you Marni - we love you!). She asked if I would like to be the yoga teacher on a trip to Nepal. I said yes on the spot and in 2010 we went on the first Yoga Nepal adventure together. It changed the course of my life. 

Fast forward nine years and I’ve resigned my position with the U.S. FDA and moved to Nashville to open a Yoga Shala Nashville. In the interim I returned to Nepal four more times to co-lead this pilgrimage – each time taking on a bigger role. Then covid happened and Marni offered the business to me. After postponing for two years I finally returned in 2022 after what turned out to be, rather unexpectedly, a five year hiatus. Now, here we are in 2023 and growing!

So, you may wonder, why “pilgrimage”? According to Webster’s a pilgrim is “one who journeys in foreign lands – one who travels to a shrine or holy place as a devotee. .

These trips are not your average “yoga retreat” – what we offer is SO MUCH MORE. This is a chance to take your practice on the road in a whole new and deeper way. The places we go are tapped into the heart of ancient spiritual traditions. Because of that there is a built in energy that literally changes the way you feel and see the world around you. 

Not only that, but these places hold deep meaning to me and the other folks that will serve as your guides — we are your fellow pilgrims. We are deeply devoted practitioners of the traditions that you will experience. And it is part of our practice to share this experience with you!

So, regardless of the angle at which you look at it, this isn’t just an exchange of money, this is Pilgrimage as Practice – and it will leave you transformed.