COVID-19 Updates
Updated June 10, 2020
During the last three months, the Himalayan Institute and its residents, members, and students throughout the world joined together with the utmost care, compassion, and professionalism in implementing and observing public health best practices concerning social distancing, travel restrictions, and overall health risk mitigation in response to COVID-19. Since temporarily suspending in-person retreats and programs in mid-March, the Institute doubled-down on its already comprehensive cleaning and safety protocols at our Honesdale retreat center while offering immensely popular online educational opportunities through a myriad of live webinars with the Institute’s faculty.
While we certainly longed to see you here in person, it was very uplifting to stay connected with you digitally as we monitored COVID-19 developments on a daily basis, and made plans for our eventual reopening. Recognizing that we all have a shared responsibility to follow best practices for everyone’s health and peace of mind, we’ve now implemented extensive safety protocols for our retreat center guests given our assessment of current reopening guidelines from federal, state, and local public health agencies. This includes a commitment to the Pocono Promise—a shared commitment by large and small businesses in our region to protect the health, safety and well-being of employees and customers.
As a result, we are pleased to announce that the Institute will reopen for in-person retreats and programs beginning on June 25th while our PureRejuv Wellness Center will begin offering health services by appointment on June 12th.
As you’ll see in the safety protocols, there are many things behind the scenes that we are doing to keep you safe such as additional deep cleaning throughout our retreat center. However, here are a few specific things you’ll notice when you join us for a program:
- Meals will be served to you instead of self-serve buffet
- Proper physical distancing will be observed in teaching spaces and the Sri Vidya Shrine
- Wellness checks will be performed upon your arrival
- Keyless entry to the main building (you’ll receive your code upon arrival)
We invite you to visit our program calendar online to view a listing of our upcoming Mission Programs. We will be adding additional programs as we finalize our schedule for the second half of 2020 so please check back often!
The Institute’s PureRejuv Wellness Center is currently taking appointments for integrative medicine and ayurvedic health consultations, chiropractic care, yoga therapy, and building resilience sessions for service dates beginning June 12th. You can also request to be placed on a waitlist for massage therapy as we expect to resume these services shortly after June 12th. Please call us at (570) 647-1500 to book your appointment.
Of course, we understand that you may not be able to join us here in Honesdale as soon as you might prefer. In the meantime, here is a list of some of the ways you can follow the Institute’s activities and teachings online such as timely, practical, and inspiring educational webinars:
- Year Long Meditation
- Wisdom Library
- Social media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
- Online Webinars
We invite you to come and experience opportunities to grow, relax, find inner peace, and share with like-minded souls, on our beautiful campus. We are thrilled to be able to welcome you back!
In Service,
Greg Capitolo, Mission Programs Director
Brian Fulp, Retreat Center Director
COVID-19 Care Package
Our care package to you—meditations, classes, and inspirational messages for building mental, emotional, and physical resilience in these unprecedented times. Free for everyone—share with your loved ones.
