ordinarycreative

“There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”   – Rumi

I love yoga but sadly my “practice” amounts to about monthly mat experiences.

A friend invited me to experience yoga in perfect harmony!  Have you tried yoga hiking?  It was a brilliant combination with an added bonus: permission to talk during the hiking segments.  Being still and quiet is a challenge for me.

I didn’t know what to expect (ok wear… but I soon discovered shoes were acceptable).

We started with a short hike and transitioned to yoga in a beautiful open area off the trail.  A hawk seemed to welcome us to the forest by circling and soaring above our yoga circle.

The view of the blooming and budding trees from a new perspective (down dog).  Look at that pristine sky!  It felt like an empowering shift to appreciate the forest from down dog.  Full disclosure: no photo editing these iPhone photos!

We admired the trees, learned about energy portals and of course we leaned on the trees during certain poses.  I have been faithfully reading, The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo which offers an entry of wisdom every day.   On May 16 I read:  ”The tree grows with no one’s consent and no one’s applause.” The whole passage seemed to be a lyrical expression of our “yoga-in-the-woods” experience.

Did you know trees have long been recognized as life forms who bridge the three worlds: heaven (branches), earth (trunk), and the inner earth (roots). They have learned how to harmonize the three energies and they can assist us in doing so, too.

Yoga hike heart discoveries…  Simply beautiful.

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Back home I discovered an oriole!

And, a toad!

If you would like a song recommendation to accompany this post, check out Here Comes the Sun, by Yuna.  Of course its the familiar favorite but with a new brilliant twist.  Highly recommend!