Monthly Archives: September 2014

Yogi Dolittle: Back in Town!

Yoga

Day… Sorry I left without notice. I was in a transition–promotion at work, blah, blah, etc. I just needed a few days in Tennessee to reconnect. So that’s what I did for Labor Day Weekend. My friends and I packed up the truck and drove ten+ hours overnight to visit our friend’s who live in a mountain. Doesn’t that sound cool? To have friend’s who own hundreds of acres in the middle of nowhere?

reconnecting I’ve been there a few times, opting to camp by the spillway of their pond instead of with the wasps in the cabin loft. Over the spillway is a wooden deck where, as an early riser, I like to do yoga with the arachnids above me performing aerial silk acts and the minuscule snails schlepping along while my friends sleep. Since I was unmotivated to dig out my travel yoga mat (I should really invest in a YOGO mat), I improvised with my traction-less baja rug.

I don’t need to read the studies on nature’s therapeutic abilities. Something primal in me knows it’s where I’m meant to be just as yoga connects us to ourselves. As I sliced through the morning fog, saluting the sun that was somewhere behind me on the Clinch, I maintained a little mantra, a quote by writer John Muir my friend posted on Facebook before we left:

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity.”

I like that. Such truth: “Wilderness is a necessity…”

Later that day, on a walk through the property, my friend and I agreed that the smell of a dense, mossy forest seems more comforting that the prickly pined-scented ones. Now that I think of it, I should have used a big slab of shaggy moss from a fallen tree for a make-shift yoga mat. Can’t get more connected to wilderness than doing tree pose on a plant.

If you’re unaware, Sanuk’s yoga mat sandals–which they advertise the men’s as “beer cozies” and the women’s as “recycled yoga mats,” but I don’t care much about the sexist stereotypes and gender-biased marketing…especially for a product that feels the same, so I call mine “yoga mat flip-flops”–are really comfortable.

While I was listening to Jenny Lewis and drying off from my dip in the pond, a Red-Spotted Purple butterfly decided to show us how photo 1 (7)social it can be as it fluttered to me and my flip-flops. It stopped by my friend’s hat and slurped at his knee, then visited his girlfriend’s purse; the edge of the dock. Later, on the back porch of the cabin, a Red-Spotted Purple butterfly (and we’ll say it’s the same one for continuity purposes) showed up while I was reading The Shining and my friend doodled with his guitar.

It was like a Disney movie.

When I tell you I recently read about the benefits of paddle board yoga, know that this was a few months ago. And when I read about the benefits of paddle board yoga I didn’t think I’d ever try it let alone have the chance to, but that’s more due to my thalassophobia than fearing the true test of my core strength, however, when I first stepped on to the board it was surprisingly sturdy. In no time I was rowing alongside the water bugs.

And just as I had read, paddle board yoga is a true test for even the best yogis, so imagine the guy who solely home-practices. The board, built specifically for yoga, rocked while I planked. I’ll spare you the picture of me hopelessly attempting tree pose and then nearly falling. Notice how I chose to use “nearly” fell. 

crow attempt on paddle board
I managed to get my feet up for a millisecond, I swear

 Taking a wider stance led to a more successful downward dog:

downward paddle board
Apologies for the glare of my “Irish Tan.”

Now, my vacation in TN was fairly active with swimming, hiking, canoeing, yoga, so my body was bound to thank me in aches, but the paddle board hit everything–core, mind, my oft neglected forearms.

It feels good to be back. Back on the mat, yes (although there was only a slight relapse), but back to Day By Yoga.

Today reaffirmed that. Here’s why*:

Sometimes I forget people are actually out there reading my blogs. Thanks!

Namaste.

photo 2 (3)