The Moody Gardens yoga retreat returns Oct. 23-25 with Doug Keller, four hatha sessions, water yoga and hotel packages in Galveston. Reserve your spot.
The Moody Gardens yoga retreat returns Oct. 23-25, 2026, with internationally recognized teacher and author Doug Keller leading a three-day weekend built around mobility, breath and renewal. Four featured sessions at the Moody Gardens Convention Center anchor the weekend, with hotel packages, water yoga and spa savings available for guests who want to stay through Sunday.
The Moody Gardens Yoga Retreat Weekend runs Friday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 25 at the Moody Gardens Convention Center in Galveston. This year’s theme, “Yoga is for Vitality and Renewal,” centers on four hatha yoga sessions with Doug Keller covering shoulders, joints, low back and breath, plus morning stretches, water yoga and optional hotel packages for two.
This retreat is less about holding a perfect pose and more about understanding the mechanics underneath it.
Each of the four featured sessions pairs instruction with guided practice, so you leave knowing why a movement works and how to keep using it at home. The focus is on improving mobility, easing stiffness and building practices that support strength and ease at any age.
“Vitality isn’t just for the young, and neither is yoga,” Keller said. “The practices of hatha yoga were designed from the very start to support and enhance our natural vitality.”
Doug Keller has spent decades teaching yoga teachers how to teach.
An internationally recognized instructor and author, Keller returns to Galveston each year for this retreat, bringing an anatomy-forward approach that works for longtime practitioners and newcomers alike. Yoga Alliance continuing education credits are available for yoga teachers attending the weekend.
Four sessions, three days, one clear through-line from shoulders to breath.
Friday, Oct. 23 | 7-9 p.m. | Simple Keys to the Shoulders
The retreat opens with a look at shoulder movement and its connection to breathing. You’ll learn fundamental techniques for improving shoulder mobility and reducing tension, then close the evening with relaxation, chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne.
Saturday, Oct. 24 | 9-11:30 a.m. | Dynamic Alignment is About Healthy Joints
Keller explores how the feet, knees and hips work together, and how better joint movement can improve flexibility while reducing stiffness and discomfort.
Saturday, Oct. 24 | 2-4:30 p.m. | Your Low Back and Your Breath
This session focuses on the relationship between spinal movement and breathing, using yoga practices designed to promote greater freedom of movement and support low back health.
Sunday, Oct. 25 | 9-11:30 a.m. | Essentials for Shoulder Freedom
Building on Friday evening, this session takes a deeper look at shoulder, wrist and elbow movement, and how healthy shoulder mechanics connect with the neck, back and hips.
The four featured sessions are the backbone, but they aren’t the whole weekend.
Morning stretches, water yoga and additional wellness activities fill in the hours between sessions, giving you room to move at your own pace. Retreat guests also receive 20% off spa services at The Spa at Moody Gardens with their retreat wristband, which makes a post-session massage an easy addition to Saturday afternoon.
Most retreats ask you to choose between a wellness weekend and a real getaway.
Here you get both on one property. The Convention Center gives the sessions a quiet, open space with room to spread out, and everything else sits a short walk away: the hotel, the spa, the restaurants and the pyramids. There’s no driving between a studio and a hotel, no hunting for parking twice a day and no reason to cut a session short to make a reservation across the island.
It also means the downtime between sessions is worth something. You can float through the Aquarium Pyramid on Saturday afternoon, book a massage with your retreat wristband discount, or simply take the long way back to your room. Late checkout at 2 p.m. Sunday gives you time to shower, eat and ease into the drive home instead of rushing out the door after the final practice.
Staying on property turns a set of classes into an actual retreat.
Two Moody Gardens Hotel packages for two are available for the weekend:
Two-night package (check-in Friday, Oct. 23): all four yoga sessions, Aquarium Pyramid admission for two, late checkout at 2 p.m. Sunday, chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne Friday evening, and healthy snacks and smoothies Saturday morning. Rates start at an average of $311.50 per night, excluding taxes and fees.
One-night package (check-in Saturday, Oct. 24): the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning yoga sessions, Aquarium Pyramid admission for two, late checkout at 2 p.m. Sunday, and healthy snacks and smoothies Saturday. Rates start at an average of $344 per night, excluding taxes and fees.
A few practical details to plan around.
Dates: Friday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026
Location: Moody Gardens Convention Center, One Hope Blvd., Galveston, TX 77554
Parking: On-site parking is available at Moody Gardens
Bring: Your own mat and any props you practice with, plus a swimsuit for water yoga
Teachers: Yoga Alliance continuing education credits are available
Galveston in late October is about as good as Gulf Coast weather gets, and this retreat makes the most of it. Whether you come for a single session or settle in for the full three days with a hotel package, the weekend is built to send you home moving better than you arrived. Tickets, the full schedule and package details are all on the Yoga Retreat Weekend page.
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