If you are like me, you've tried to meditate in the wilds, but as soon as your eyelids close, they snap back open because you are sure you heard something! In these excursions we will either be on the forest/farm edge or, for the really adventurous, deep into the wilds. I will lead the group through a short, slow movement practice to ready our bodies for stillness. Then each person will be able to find their most comfortable space within eye- and ear- shot of each other as I guide everyone into their meditation. The group will be able to remain in mediation unperturbed by any branch cracking or strange bird call as I watch over with a wary and cautious eye as a shepard watches her flock.
Even if you have never meditated, this is a great way to begin because even if you need to fidget or get bored, you can always open your eyes and enjoy the forest around you (even take a nap) while you wait patiently beside your fellow classmates to finish. You can also choose to lay down on a blanket, lean against a tree, or curl up around your fav plant, so no need to be able to sit stick straight for hours on end.
Even if you have never meditated, this is a great way to begin because even if you need to fidget or get bored, you can always open your eyes and enjoy the forest around you (even take a nap) while you wait patiently beside your fellow classmates to finish. You can also choose to lay down on a blanket, lean against a tree, or curl up around your fav plant, so no need to be able to sit stick straight for hours on end.
Your Teacher
I came to Yoga over 10 years ago after injuring the discs of my lower back. As an active, outdoorsy 20-something who grew up playing sports and climbing trees, it was deeply humbling to be unable to move with ease. The yoga I found focused on gentle flows that emphasized maintaining length in the spine and ease of the breath. It didn't matter how far you pushed into the pose but how your body felt in it. Those first few months of recovery were slow, but the lack of expectation I felt in how I should look in the pose meant I gained an awareness and appreciation for the subtleness of the bodies different movements and how small changes could have big affects.
Since then, I have had many jobs that required a level of mobility and strength that I have only been able to maintain through my yoga practice. There have been times when I've been unable to practice yoga with the frequency I know I need and my lower back and body suffered for it. Yet, I return when I can knowing that yoga is a practice and not an end goal. There is no winning yoga, only doing yoga or being yoga.
Since becoming a small farmer five years ago, I have returned to my practice with renews interest as I quickly discovered that relying upon hand tools instead of tractors didn't mean that my shovel or my rake was my most useful tool but that my body was. I also found that being a small farmer meant being a business owner, a social media manager, a customer service agent, a website designer, a bookkeeper, and an event planner, all of which left little time for me to be just me, the girl that loved to hike along mountains, climb, trees, and just be instead of do. The practice of yoga is my way to connect with my body, listen to its needs, answer its calls, and fulfill its desires. Meditation is the way I connect to who I am, remember my deep soul and spirit, listen to what I need, and fulfill my own desires separate from the wants of the so-called civilized world we live in.
I came to Yoga over 10 years ago after injuring the discs of my lower back. As an active, outdoorsy 20-something who grew up playing sports and climbing trees, it was deeply humbling to be unable to move with ease. The yoga I found focused on gentle flows that emphasized maintaining length in the spine and ease of the breath. It didn't matter how far you pushed into the pose but how your body felt in it. Those first few months of recovery were slow, but the lack of expectation I felt in how I should look in the pose meant I gained an awareness and appreciation for the subtleness of the bodies different movements and how small changes could have big affects.
Since then, I have had many jobs that required a level of mobility and strength that I have only been able to maintain through my yoga practice. There have been times when I've been unable to practice yoga with the frequency I know I need and my lower back and body suffered for it. Yet, I return when I can knowing that yoga is a practice and not an end goal. There is no winning yoga, only doing yoga or being yoga.
Since becoming a small farmer five years ago, I have returned to my practice with renews interest as I quickly discovered that relying upon hand tools instead of tractors didn't mean that my shovel or my rake was my most useful tool but that my body was. I also found that being a small farmer meant being a business owner, a social media manager, a customer service agent, a website designer, a bookkeeper, and an event planner, all of which left little time for me to be just me, the girl that loved to hike along mountains, climb, trees, and just be instead of do. The practice of yoga is my way to connect with my body, listen to its needs, answer its calls, and fulfill its desires. Meditation is the way I connect to who I am, remember my deep soul and spirit, listen to what I need, and fulfill my own desires separate from the wants of the so-called civilized world we live in.