A Little More About Yoga In The Woods

I've written previously about woods yoga. Below are additional thoughts.  

The idea to have class in the park began in 2006.  A friend and I walked the trails discussing Richard Louv's Last Child In The Woods.  We made the connection between his thesis and yoga.  Within the month a class built momentum.  Since then we've experienced yoga in the natural environment which includes all kinds of weather and happenings.  A feisty house cat has joined us in recent classes.  Dragonflies land on uplifted fingers.  The breeze picks up at interesting moments.  The sun shines between clouds.  The sun and clouds can bring relief depending on the season.  We've discovered, unlike the Wicked Witch of the West, we do not melt in light rain.  There are days of misty rain and if you bend your mind a bit, you discover you're practicing within a cloud.  We've learned the ants prefer bread crumbs over our us but only one of us remembers to actually bring the bread crumbs.  As for the sand, some don't mind it at all while others spread a big sheet on the ground to keep clear of it.  Our meeting place is adjacent to a military base so the sound of artillery is something we've heard.  A Naval Air Station is 10 miles south so the jets fly close enough to give us the lesson on "all inclusive experience" but the noise isn't too much.  In essence, we're not insulated or sheltered in a climate controlled space. 

Our culture is blessed with the bounties of prosperity. People residing within cities and those who rely upon every modern convenience are sometimes disconnected with nature.  This can extend to the relationship with their own physical form.  Like many, I learn balance from experience with nature and find great treasures in environments unshaped by humans.   Feelings and insights can be gained.   I see the body as both a portable concentration tool and nature experience: a landscape of sites, sounds and sensation to explore. Eckhart Tolle and other great teachers say there is only life in the Now. The body and breath can be a very useful portal into the experience of presence. Nourishing breath, postures, practices and movements provide a structure for reconnection.  Each practice session is like a ceremony of reconnection with not only the Self but the Self and nature.