I just got back from being on a weeklong vacation to the Midwest. There was a lot of driving involved, but in-between the driving we had a great time. We stopped at some colleges for my son to check out, had a lot of fun staying at a friends skyscraper condo in Chicago, and ultimately ended up at Camp Lookout outside of Frankfort, Michigan. The camp was our ultimate destination. My wife, son and I were going there to to be Mentors and help teach qajaq (greenland kayaks) rolling and paddling at the Qajaq Training Camp. It’s a great event, and actually the qajaq rolling part is a lot like yoga, except underwater and upside down. 🙂
Anyway, I just had such a fun time at the Camp, and I realized one of the main reasons is that all the worries and thoughts that occupy my everyday life were gone, and I was with my family and a bunch of great friends. We paddled across a lake to get to the camp, so access to the outside world was tough. No email, car, money, cellphone, city noise… Once you start really thinking about it, in our daily lives we have a lot of stuff that takes up or mental space.
When all that stuff is removed from our minds what we basically have left is what is always present within ourselves — our heart and our goodness…our True Selves. I really think of yoga the same way I think of vacation. It should take you somewhere, it should connect you to your True Self, it should be fun, and if at all possible you should do it with friends and/or family.
Below is a 30 minute video yoga class that uses the focus on the shoulders to help clear the mind and help facilitate a temporary vacation from “regular” life. Enjoy! John