Join me in my travels more than 6,000 miles from home (an 11-hour flight, followed by a two-and-a-half hour drive) to the tiny Austrian town of St. Anton – to work out. The event was the eighth edition of the Mountain Yoga Festival. My travel companion, Ada, was my instructor in this discipline. And the “studio” was cozily ensconced in the Alps.
Explanation: I enjoy yoga, but a yogi I’m not. However, the appeal of four days of yoga and hiking under the guidance of some of the fitness world’s best, in surroundings straight from The Sound of Music and joined by an international group of 250 like-minded participants was irresistible.
My reward for making this around-the-world trek was discovered atop a peak. With yoga mats secured to our backpacks, Ada and I walked around-the-corner from our hotel, boarded a gondola from the valley to Galzig – a mountain in this Tyrolean region of the Lechtal Alps – and from there we hiked. After ascending the hillside trail with a group of about 20 others to an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet, the highest point of our climb, we unfurled the mats, laid down and with our eyes closed, tried to absorb our environs. A soft breeze brushed our faces, and the gentle rhythm of cow bells in the distance were the only sounds resonating in the soft rays of the partially obscured sun.
Listed in the festival program as Wanderung und Yoga (Hiking and Yoga), this soft-adventure expedition was guided by Geli, a certified hiking guide, and Sigrid, yoga and meditation instructor. Sigrid began in her signature calming tone, “Close your eyes and don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.” And she did – all of us. We proceeded to move into familiar positions including cat-cow and then during savasana, as if on cue, a full sun emerged during this meditative resting pose at the session’s end.
The route to Gampen, the mountain restaurant for lunch, was a picture-perfect Austrian memory – endless vistas and flowing streams to fields with horses, donkeys and cows. Our reward was a hardy meal – vegetable curry over rice – enjoyed at the eatery’s sun splashed terrace.
An evening earlier – the festival’s first – the entire group of wellness devotees attended the official opening. We started with the simple gesture of hands over hearts, followed by a 10-minute sampling of each instructor’s discipline. Each day began with morning meditation in a studio with floor to ceiling windows that showcased the mountains. And all matter of hiking was offered throughout. Here, it was possible to follow a custom-made curriculum, do almost everything or do less.
Ada and I followed a straight-from-the-agenda, personalized program. Being with my yoga instructor was a plus, but especially a couple of days into it when we again had to gondola to our workout space – a grassy slope for an impromptu private session. There, the two of us moved from one pose to another, which Ada adapted to my body regenerated from jet lag thanks to the Alpine air.
St. Anton set the stage for renewal. Known as the “Cradle of Alpine skiing,” the town long ago solidified this reputation having pioneered the world’s first T-bar, first gondola, first ski school and significant ski equipment development – an impressive history detailed in the village’s Museum St. Anton am Arlberg (est. 1980). So committed has the town been to the sport that if born there, residents can apply to become members of the prestigious Ski Club Arlberg, which has produced more than 80 Olympic gold medalists. Though home to only 2,300 locals, it greets more than 11,000 guests each day during ski season and has been a traditional tourist attraction for more than 140 years. It is this sport that helped the area evolve from a poor farming region to the sophisticated destination it is today.
Easily walkable and seasonally punctuated by overflowing flower boxes, scattered outdoor cafes and store after store with end-of-season sale offers, this end-of-August/early-September festival seemed perfectly timed.
Every St. Anton hotel was locally run, making attention to detail a significant goal of each lodging’s commitment to its guests. Our selection, Ullrhaus, opened in July 2021, reflected that clean, crisp, new-car-like freshness. An almost unheard of novelty for Americans, it was the kind of hotel where you could fully open the windows and patio doors for fresh air and in-room glass water bottles were empty because water from the faucet was not only drinkable, it came straight from the Alps.
Chef Michael Gfall’s talents were on display with each night’s exceptional dinner an imaginative feast. Sitting on our terrace, I listened to the sounds of a typical mountain village – the clip-clap of horse drawn carriages, hikers tapping the pavement with their poles and cyclists whizzing past. More importantly, I listened to my body, noting its sense of renewal.
At close: Three days of mountain hiking (highlight: a 4:45 a.m. sunrise trek), indoor and outdoor yoga sessions and health-inspired workshops filled everyone’s dance card from the opening to the ending ceremony. Ending much in the same way it began – an assortment of fitness-based specialties showcasing each instructors’ style – we stood in concentric circles, first standing toe-to-toe then with one’s hand placed on another’s back; and we connected. “Namaste,” a recognition of gratitude and respect, was the last word.
At departure I commented on the event, even its flawless not-too-hot, not-too-cold weather, to Iris, a festival organizer. She responded with a German phrase: “When angels travel, the sun shines.”
Angels and yogis . . . perhaps.
Mountain Yoga Festival St. Anton – Ninth edition, September 4-7, 2025