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Deep in the Leogang Mountains of Austria, between pine forest and meadow, sits the forest spa of Naturhotel Forsthofgut. Its eco-friendly architecture mirrors the purity of the setting, and the balance is evident on arrival, even to the most impervious guest.
Yoga is one of the oldest disciplines for gaining mastery over the body and mind, building sustainable habits through movement that keep us supple, strong, and able to meet tension head-on. At Naturhotel Forsthofgut it is woven into the waldSPA, with sessions for all levels four times a week: Hatha, Yin, Power Vinyasa Flow and Yogalates across the schedule, so the register runs from the slow and restorative to the properly athletic. Trained teachers guide each class through gentle and dynamic asanas that open the body within a setting already inclined to expand the view.
The signature is the forest itself. Forsthofgut has built six yoga shalas deep in the woods, platforms of local spruce, chosen for its give underfoot, positioned for mountain views and near-total quiet, with birdsong and the scent of pine standing in for a soundtrack. One shala takes a teacher and four students; another is kept for solo practice; the rest seat two to four, and double as spaces for waldSPA treatments or a privately booked forest breakfast. Picture the summer sun rising through the pines as you begin the day with outdoor Sun Salutations, lungs filling with Alpine air. When the weather turns, the panoramic indoor studio holds up to 18, soft snow drifting across the glass as you work through the spine.
The yoga sits inside a wider forest philosophy, the hotel calls waldSPÜREN, feeling the forest, its own reading of the Japanese shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing. It belongs, too, to a broader passion for action: a 300 m² waldSPA Fitness floor of Technogym equipment open around the clock, up to five trainer-led classes a day, and a weekly programme that runs from fascia work and stretching to Nordic walking, guided hikes and the new Reformer Pilates. Then there is woodcamp, where trainers swap treadmills for forest trails, dumbbells for tree trunks and gym rings for branches. The through-line is the same: the forest as the gym, the studio and the teacher at once.
Whatever the season, the practice frames the outdoors, whether as a warm-up before a long mountain hike or a set of closing stretches to take the sting out of a hard day's exercise. Enjoyed here, yoga completes a neat metaphor, as without, so within, asking us to notice the order in the landscape as we look for it in ourselves.
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Get the insider news and lowdown on what we've been up to, where we've been, and who we've met along the way. Be the first to discover new places and get the scoop on our favourites.