A Sacred Journey to Varanasi
A four-month pilgrimage of the heart, culminating in 8 nights on the banks of the Ganges.
Online gatherings begin December 2026 · Integration circle continues through March 2027.
Retreat Dates: January 20th - 28th, 2027
Step into the embrace of Varanasi, where life and death meet in an eternal dance upon the banks of the Ganges.
This is your invitation to journey with a small, intimate group of seekers (13 spots available) to explore the mysteries of living and dying in the city that has taught pilgrims how to die, and how to live, for five thousand years.
Along the way, surprise teachings and spontaneous moments of reflection will arise-woven into the rhythm of the journey, guided by spirit and the living pulse of Varanasi itself. Between sacred experiences, there will also be time to wander Varanasi's vibrant markets, discovering exquisite Banarasi silks, hand-woven treasures, and devotional offerings-each piece a story of artistry, lineage, and love.
Bathe Your Spirit in Beauty, Wisdom, Ritual, and Culture.
• Witness sunrise over the Ganges and the mesmerizing evening aarti ceremony - flames rising in devotion to the divine.
• Visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the radiant abode of Lord Shiva, for a guided darshan within its sacred inner sanctum.
• Visit the funerary ghats, where ancient rites of cremation unfold along the river’s edge. In quiet witness, we’ll behold the profound intimacy of life’s ending - an experience that invites reverence, reflection, and awe before the mystery of impermanence.
• Journey to Sarnath, where the Buddha first shared his teachings.
• Meet the master weavers of Banarasi silk, keepers of artistry spun from gold, silver, and devotion.
• Rest and renew with Ayurvedic spa treatments
A Pilgrimage into the Spiritual Heart of India
You already know something is calling you here to the river, to the fire, to the place where life and death have never been separate. Varanasi has received pilgrims at this threshold for longer than history remembers; step into that embrace now, into a city where living and dying are not opposites but partners, dancing together on the banks of the Ganges.
This is your invitation to answer the call.
This is not a tour. It is a pilgrimage, a course of study for the soul, and for the parts of you ready to renew your relationship with living and dying.
Before we travel, we gather online to prepare the ground: to meet one another, to learn the stories and rites we will witness, and to begin the inner work that a pilgrimage asks of us. Then, in January, we walk the lanes together and become part of Kashi, the ancient name for Varanasi, the City of Light.
We are led into the heart of this sacred place by our trusted local guides, by ancient ceremony, and by Mother Ganga herself. And when we return home, we do not return alone; we continue meeting, so that whatever has opened within you in Varanasi has somewhere safe to land.
Our home for the week is Guleria Kothi, a boutique heritage hotel on the ghats, where the day begins and ends with the silent and eternal flow of the holy river Ganges. A sanctuary of serenity and refined Indian hospitality.
This place is truly a luxury, and a welcoming refuge for pilgrim souls.
The Arc of Our Journey
Our Pilgrimage begins the moment you commit, and for two months before we leave and two months after we return we will continue to walk the windy road together. The week in Varanasi is the heart of our journey, but the four-month container around that week is what turns that deep immersive experience into lasting change. Pilgrimage, after all, is not about any particular destination, it is about learning to walk while knowing that every step along the way is Sacred.
Throughout the four months, we are held by:
A private online community: our own space, away from social media, where the circle continues between gatherings.
A shared thread for reflections, questions, dreams, and the things that arise as we begin to prepare for the journey.
Weekly prompts for self-reflection, following the arc of the journey from preparation through return.
Curated readings on Varanasi and the art of living and dying well.
Your three facilitators present in the community, reading, responding, and offering guidance as questions arise.
Preparation
Meet the circle. Reflections on Varanasi/Kashi, the Ganges, and the rites of passage we will witness. Meditation and reflective practice to prepare our bodies and our hearts. Practical preparation for travel.
Pilgrimage
Temples, ghats, ceremony, the cremation grounds, river time, silk, music, and service — with daily teachings and facilitation by our death midwives Birgitta and Cheserae and Dr. Eric.
Integration
Returning home is its own threshold. We meet to share, to make meaning, and to carry the medicine of Varanasi into daily life.
Our Itinerary
Woven together like prayer beads on a mala, our days consist of opening and closing circles, meditation and gentle inquiry, quiet moments for reflection and local chai, and guided excursions to experience the deep wisdom carved into every corner of this mystical place. This itinerary is offered as a guideline, but ultimately entrusted to the eternal flow into which we will be immersing ourselves:
Arrival
Check in at Guleria Kothi. Evening welcome circle, introductions, and an orientation to the week ahead.
The Path of the Buddha
A day at Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first teaching after his Enlightenment. Visit archaeological sites, monasteries, museum, chanting and meditation with Buddhist monks.
The Sacred Heart of Kashi
We begin as pilgrims have for millenia: at Kal Bhairav Temple, asking permission and blessing to enter the city. Then a guided heritage walk through the ancient lanes: history, tradition, architecture, and the living spirituality of Varanasi.
Kashi Vishwanath and the Hospice
A visit to Kashi Vishwanath, the central temple and abode of Shiva. Visit a hospice where people come to die in the holy city. In the evening, front-row seats at the Ganga Aarti on Dashashwamedh Ghat, with a private Ganga pujan for our group.
Rudrabhishek and Pneuma Breathwork
Participate in an ancient Vedic rite while priests chant the Rudram, a ceremony of purification and surrender. Afternoon Pneuma Breathwork in the Vishnu Temple. At dusk, a walk along the river to the cremation ghats to quietly witness to the mystery of impermanence.
Culture and Crafts
Meet the master weavers of Banarasi silk, with time to wander the markets or return to the hotel for a restful afternoon. Evening: a live Kathak dance performance with master musicians in the home of the artists.
Anna Daan and Aromatherapy
A morning of Anna Daan, offering meals to local pilgrims, saints, and those in need, in the spirit of selfless service. An evening of learning from a family of Master Aromatherapists about essential oils for living and dying well.
Reflection and Closing
A restful day, with meditation, integration, optional shopping at local markets, private Ayurvedic sessions, or readings with a Vedic astrologer. In the evening, our closing celebration on the ghats, sharing circle, reflections, and music.
Departure
Breakfast, a communal gratitude practice, and farewells. Check-out by noon.
We will allow the river to carry us and follow her flow, visiting additional temples and ghats, and participating in rituals and offerings not described here.
Surprise teachings and spontaneous moments of reflection will arise, woven into the rhythm of the journey, guided by spirit and the living pulse of Varanasi itself.
Between sacred experiences, there will also be time to wander Varanasi’s vibrant markets, explore hand-woven treasures, and devotional offerings—each piece a story of artistry, lineage, and love.
Your home in Varanasi
A Boutique Heritage Hotel on the Ghats
Our home for the week is an 18th-century riverfront mansion, built of warm Chunar sandstone in the era when the Maratha Peshwas were raising the great ghats of Varanasi. Lovingly restored over several years and opened as a luxury heritage hotel in 2012, Guleria Kothi holds the quiet of old stone, antique furnishings, and local art, with the Ganges moving just beyond the windows.
For our circle it is the right kind of sanctuary: intimate rather than grand, rooted in the city's history rather than set apart from it. The holy Ganges is at our door; it is a place to rest deeply between days of pilgrimage, and to let what you have witnessed settle. We will be nourished with exquisite meals prepared at Ganga Teere, Gularia’s private restaurant, which serves authentic North Indian and Continental fine dining with views of the Ganges.
Your Retreat Includes
This retreat weaves luxurious comfort, soulful exploration, and profound spiritual immersion - a pilgrimage for body, heart, and spirit.
1 year membership to Threshold
India is an immensely powerful place. We have created a container hosted in Threshold, where we will prepare and integrate together. By joining our pilgrimage, you also receive a free 1 year membership in the Threshold community.
Local Support
We have local guides who have guided us before, local transportation arranged, and entrance fees covered for curated excursions.
Teacher Facilitators
Daily teachings, meditations, and space-holding by your facilitators.
Boutique Hotel on the Ganges
8 Nights at Guleria Kothi, with single rooms having a view of the Ganges.
Nourishing Meals
Breakfast, dinner, and high tea will be served daily during the retreat.
Curated Experiences
All ceremonies, temple visits, and excursions on the itinerary, including a front row Ganga Arti with a private Ganga Pujan.
Your Guides
Throughout the journey, you will be lovingly guided by Birgitta and Cheserae, death midwives and teachers who walk with deep presence and devotion. With daily teachings, wisdom, tenderness, and grace, they will hold space for reflection, inner work, and heartfelt inquiry - creating a sanctuary of trust for both individual and collective transformation. You will be invited to explore the sacred thresholds of life and death with courage, compassion, and wonder.
BIRGITTA
KASTENBAUM
Birgitta is a Holistic Life Coach, Women's Community Leader, and a modern medicine woman: merging the sacred with the practical in day to day life. Helping people reconnect the human heart and spirit back to nature is a central thread in her work.
As an End of Life Guide and Doula, Birgitta educates and supports individuals, families, health care providers, and organizations in reimagining death and dying.
The sacred privilege of walking people home has shaped Birgitta's perspective of life as precious and love as invaluable. This perspective fuels her desire to support others in finding meaning and joy in their life.
CHESERAE
SCALA
Cheserae has spent over a decade studying the process of mystical death through transpersonal psychology, and learning about how to support and facilitate end of life care. Since her youth, Cheserae found herself drawn to the subtle, the sacred, and the extraordinary.
Inspired with a new vision of what is possible in death and dying, and having forged new alliances with Hospice, community leaders, and colleagues, Cheserae has committed to sharing this work with families, groups, and individuals.
She currently works as a death doula, and offers end of life support, bringing the sacred and beauty into the end of life.
Her newest project involves sharing the sacred use of essential oils in tending for the dying, and focuses both on the oils for the dying as well as those for supporting the caregivers.
DR. ERIC BAUMGARTNER
Dr. Eric Baumgartner is a father, pilgrim, and clinician who has spent 27 years studying and practicing medical traditions worldwide. From a lineage of physicians, he ultimately found his path in Eastern and natural medicine. He holds a Master’s in Traditional Eastern Medicine from Emperor's College and a Doctorate in Acupuncture and Eastern Medicine with a Family Medicine focus from Pacific College of Health and Science, with subspecialties in Women’s Health, Pediatrics, Mental Health, Neurology, and Orthopedics. He practices functional medicine, acupuncture, herbalism, and nutrition at Alquimia Wellness in Ojai and also teaches and works with patients globally.
He has trained with respected clinicians including Dr. Yvonne Farrell, Dr. Will Morris, Dr. Jeffrey Yuen, Dr. Daniel Kalish, Dr. Jill Blakeway, Giovanni Maciocia, and Chris Kresser. Since 2009 he has studied under Juan Ruiz Naupari of the Pneuma Institute and is an active facilitator of Pneuma Transpersonal Psychology and Pneuma Breathwork.
Called into service as chief formulator for Essential Medicina, Dr. Baumgartner maintains a deep, ongoing relationship with the plant world and many of the super-herbs featured in the products.
In his spare time he is an organic tree gardener, wildcrafter, kitchen alchemist, and backcountry naturalist.
Your Investment
Your investment covers the full four-month program: preparation, pilgrimage, and integration, with lodging, meals, ceremonies, guides, and transportation in Varanasi taken care of, so that you may simply be in devotion.
Early Bird Bonus
The First Five Pilgrims
Those who commit early help to create the circle. To honor that, the first five to register receive two private sessions, one hour each, with the people who will be facilitating this journey:
Your Invitation to Be in Devotion
First and foremost, we are trying to create a sacred circle of shared respect, reciprocity, and wisdom. All of us have our own unique medicine and teachings to offer. If you have something you would like to share to assist us in creating a beautiful experience for the group, such as a talk, an activity, etc., please let us know.
This is a fully curated immersion. Lodging, meals (breakfast, high tea, and dinner), ceremonies, guides, transportation, and itinerary are taken care of to allow you to be in devotion.
Welcome: Check-in is January 20th after 2pm. We start our shared journey the evening of the 20th in presence, harmonizing our group.
Check out & Goodbye: We end our time together on Jan 28th at 11am after sharing breakfast, a communal gratitude practice, and a closing circle.
Optional spa and wellness treatments will be available throughout the trip.
Before securing your spot, please note the following:
To indicate your desire & commitment to joining, please make a non-refundable deposit of half the investment total by November 10th.
Please note that airfare to and from Varanasi is not included.
Travel to and from the Varanasi airport is included with advance notice of your travel itinerary.
Contact
Mail: [email protected]
Tel: 805-633-0920