Last updated: September 3, 2021
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Montezuma Well Yoga
The scenery, geology, and resilient plants and animals at Montezuma Well can be simply awe-inspiring. Since it’s not always possible to visit the Well in-person, we came up with some nature-inspired yoga poses to help you relax and stay grounded wherever you are.
Pro-tip: Head outside to do these poses and create your own unique poses inspired by your surroundings.
Pro-tip: Head outside to do these poses and create your own unique poses inspired by your surroundings.
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Bee Pose
Did you know Montezuma Well has a pollinator garden? This garden provides habitat for bees, butterflies, birds, and bats to do an important job: As they visit flowers to feed on nectar, they carry pollen from plant to plant. This movement of pollen fertilizes plants and produces fruits and seeds. Learn more about pollinators here!
Pose: Sit on your shins and heels, hands resting on your knees, sit up tall and buzz like a bee!
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Flower Pose
There are a wide variety of wildflowers found at Montezuma Well. The months of April and May are generally the best time to see wildflowers, then again in early fall if summer monsoons bring much needed rainfall. Learn more!
Pose: Come to a seated position with a tall spine, lift up your legs, balance on your sitting bones, touch the soles of your feet together, and weave your arms under your legs. Imagine you are a blooming wildflower!
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Well Pose
Montezuma Well is a limestone sinkhole, continuously fed with water from an underground spring. Water that falls from rain or snow on the nearby Mogollon Rim trickles down through the rock until it reaches the spring. The pressure from vents pushes the water up to the surface. Learn more!
Pose: Balance on your bottom with your legs up (knees bent or straight). Straighten your spine, bring your arms straight by your sides, and gaze forward. Imagine you are the Well holding 15 million gallons of water!
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Spring Snail Pose
The spring snail is one of the seven endemic species (native plants or animals that are only found in one place) that live at Montezuma Well. They carry their house on their back and will tuck themselves inside their shell to stay protected. Learn more!
Pose: Sit on your heels, slowly bring your forehead down to rest in front of your knees, rest your arms down alongside your body, and take a few deep breaths.
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Sonoran Mud Turtle Pose
The Sonoran mud turtle is the only native turtle species living in Montezuma Well. This area provides excellent habitat and food for the turtle. It's diet includes aquatic insects and snails, as well as frogs, birds, lizards, and snakes, all of which are plentiful at the Well. Learn more!
Pose: Sit on your heels, slowly bring your forehead down to rest in front of your knees, place the palms of your hands flat out in front of you, and take a few deep breaths.
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Rattlesnake Pose
Many different species of rattlesnakes call the Verde Valley home. An important part of the desert ecosystem, they help control rodent populations. Do you know what to do if you see one of these amazing creatures? Learn more!
Pose: Lie on your stomach, place palms flat next to your shoulders or in front of them, press into hands, lift head and shoulders off ground, and hiss like a snake!
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Twisted Juniper Pose
The one-seed juniper tree is an evergreen conifer with needles and cones (berries). This resilient tree has deep roots that can take hold in cracks within our limestone rock formations. Learn more!
Pose: Stand tall with feet hips-width distance apart, shift weight into one foot, wrap one leg around the other, bring your bent arms out in front of you, wrap your arms together the opposite way, and slightly bend your knees. Ground your standing leg into the earth and grow your roots!
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Tree Pose
There are a wide variety of trees found at Montezuma Well. Some are evergreen conifers with needles and cones (berries), others are deciduous with leaves that fall every autumn. Learn more!
Pose: Stand tall like a tree, raise one leg, bend at the knee and place the bottom of your foot on the inside of your other leg (avoiding the knee). Once you find your balance, lift your arms above your head and grows your tree branches!
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Flying Bird Pose
A bird-watchers paradise, hundreds of species of birds can be found at Montezuma Well at different times throughout the year. These birds take advantage of the year-round water and food sources found at the Well and Beaver Creek. Learn more!
Pose: Stand on one leg. Extend the other leg behind you. Bend your torso forward and take your arms out at your sides, pretend that you are gliding through the air like a bird!
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Hanging Bat Pose
The caves at Montezuma Well are home to different species of bats, including the Townsend's big-eared bats. Each spring, the cave dwellings serve as a nursery for baby bats to roost. Learn more!
Pose: From standing, with feet planted hips width distance apart, bend your knees as you slowly fold forward, grab onto opposite elbows and sway like a hanging bat.
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Cloud Watcher Pose
The weather at Montezuma Well is constantly changing. During late summer - early fall, we experience afternoon thunderstorms and heavy rains. We call this monsoon season, an important time for the desert to receive much needed moisture. Learn more!
Pose: Lay flat on the ground, with arms to your sides, legs stretched out and gaze at the sky. Take deep breaths as you watch the sky, what shapes do you see in the clouds?