MYTHS TO LIVE BY
YOGA AND PSYCHE:
THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF HANUMĀN
A ONE DAY RETREAT
25 APRIL 2026
Deer Hill, Mancos, Colorado
with Joanna LaPrade, Ph.D. & Sarah Klein
Step into a day where myth, psyche, sacred ritual, and embodied Yogic practices meet.
Myth once served as a compass—a living guide to the inner landscape of the human experience. Today, the loss of a symbolic, animate worldview generates spiritual and psychological disorientation. This retreat offers an opportunity not just to learn about myth, but to experience how it restores meaning, offers guidance, and connects us to the sacred.
This one-day immersion revives that ancient orientation.
This retreat is a deep dive into:
Myth as a psychological and spiritual compass to address the modern disconnection from the sacred.
Embodied Yogic practices of mudrā, mantra, prāṇāyāma, meditation, and Asana.
Traditional Ritual- Vedic Fire Ceremony.
Practices that support reclaiming the symbolic imagination.
An in-depth study of Hanumān consciousness — the courageous-hearted, fiercely devoted monkey who embodies the power of faith, service, and inner fire.
A chance to deepen connection and grow alongside a like-minded community.
We begin our day with Joanna LaPrade, Ph.D., depth psychologist, author, and professor, who will illuminate why the psyche hungers for myth, why modernity has lost its symbolic vocabulary, and how turning toward ancient stories reawakens the healing power of imagination, belonging, and a living relationship with the archetypal depths.
We then move into a guided sādhanā with Sarah Klein, an embodied journey weaving mudrā, mantra, prāṇāyāma, and meditation to prepare and strengthen the subtle body.
Joanna will open Part I of the Hanumān story from the Rāmāyaṇa. The consciousness demonstrated by the god of devotion teaches us to trust the larger unfolding, navigate self-doubt, return to our innate power, and take courageous leaps of faith.
We pause the narrative to transition into Asana practice led by Sarah, integrating Hanumān’s teachings through movement, peak postures, somatic patterning, and subtle-body awareness so that the myth is not just understood but felt—imprinted in the body’s wisdom.
After lunch in our retreat setting, we reconvene for Parts II and III of Hanuman’s mythos, deepening our understanding of devotion through reverence, facing our shadows, and the cleansing nature of fire. The day concludes with a traditional Vedic fire ceremony led by Sarah, a sacred ritual of release and renewal. Participants will chant, offer into the flames what is ready to be transformed, set fresh intentions, and share reflections as the teachings settle into the psyche.
RITUAL: Vedic Fire Ceremony
STORYTELLING: The Tale of Hanumān from the Rāmāyaṇa
PRACTICE: Asana, mantra, prāṇāyāma, meditation
One Day Retreat - Myths to Live By
Tuition- $200
Date- April 25, 2026
Time- 9:30 am - 4 pm
Location- Deer Hill, 7850 RD 41 Mancos, CO.
Dr. Joanna LaPrade, PhD
Is a depth psychologist, writer, and educator whose work explores the intersections of Jungian psychology, myth, and the human experience. Integrating clinical expertise with a scholarly engagement with the symbolic imagination, she helps individuals cultivate a deeper, more vital relationship with their inner lives.
She earned her M.A. and PhD in Jungian and Archetypal Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where her research focused on myth, archetypes, and the transformative processes of the psyche. Her work is rooted in Jungian and post-Jungian thought and enriched by cross-cultural wisdom traditions.
As a clinician, Dr. LaPrade emphasizes the complexity of the psyche, guiding clients toward resilience and self-understanding through exploration of dreams, creativity, and myth.
In addition to her clinical practice, she is an accomplished writer and lecturer, with publications on depth psychology, mythology, and the contemporary relevance of Jungian ideas. Her book, Forged in Darkness, brings the enduring wisdom of myth and archetypes to modern readers seeking insight and transformation.
Dr. LaPrade has taught courses in psychology, mythology, and Jungian thought and is dedicated to creating spaces where symbolic patterns, ancient stories, and lived experience converge to foster healing and renewal. At the heart of her work is a commitment to helping individuals reclaim their depths, engage suffering with compassion, and discover new possibilities for growth and authenticity.
Sarah Klein
Is is the founder and director of Anu Yoga School, a 200- and 300-hour Yoga Alliance–certified training program established in 2007. She discovered her Yoga home within the Ashtanga lineage and was deeply moved by the devotion the practice requires and its power to become a moving meditation through breath, rhythm, and presence.
Sarah has been sharing Yoga since 2008 and approaches her teaching as both an honor and a responsibility. Her work is rooted in heartfelt transmission of Yoga’s teachings and in inspiring lifelong self-inquiry. She believes that through sincere practice, Yoga can help shift both personal and collective consciousness.
A dedicated student as well as teacher, Sarah continues her formal studies each year with primary teachers Bhavani Maki, Annie Pace, and Sianna Sherman, whose mythic and archetypal approach to practice has deeply influenced Sarah’s teaching. She has completed multiple 300-hour Yoga Teacher Trainings and is known for weaving Yoga Sūtra philosophy and sacred mythology seamlessly into embodied practice.
Sarah’s work bridges the wisdom of ancient teachings with lived, modern experience. She integrates Vedic practices such as prāṇāyāma, mantra, mudrā, meditation, storytelling, and subtle body awareness to make mythology experiential, relevant, and transformative. Rather than presenting myth as metaphor alone, she guides students to embody archetypal energies through movement, breath, and inner inquiry.
