The Great Outdoors

Last week, I spent 9 days in the woods of Massachusetts earning Level 1 Mindful Outdoor Guide certification at Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, MA <insert many expletives about how beautiful that area is at this time of year!!> . Our classroom was the forest and I was joined by ~50 people that get as excited as I do at things like the sight of a patch of vibrant moss.

I went looking for a framework to better describe what the hell I am doing when I’m outdoors ogling nature in order to better answer questions like “What do you do?”, “What’s your medium?“, “Can you lead me in meditation?”, “Can I join you when you’re building things in the woods sometime?” and other questions of the sort that I typically respond back with a blank stare and “UUUUHHhhhhhhhhhh.”

I looked locally for programs, but found them primarily focused on “the great outdoors.” You know, out where you have to put effort into going. Hiking, backpacking, identifying plants and animals, wilderness rescue. That’s not really my mode of operation - or accessible at this time in my life. I just like to walk in a leisurely fashion, noticing and connecting with whatever shows up (both outwardly and inwardly), and it makes me feel better.

The program was phenomenal - planned and executed to a T - and building blocks for guiding mindfulness outdoors were received, but what I wasn’t expecting was an even more profound connection with nature AND with other humans. That last piece was especially fascinating given much of our time was spent in social silence.

The transition back to Seattle was pretty harsh. Everything was very loud, bright, and busy. The second day home, however, I woke up early, put on several layers of clothing, grabbed a blanket, and sat outside with coffee. The sky was filled with stars (I had no idea this was happening in the big city!). The clouds moved slowly, gently. Planes and satellites blinked past. The lights from Bremerton Harbor twinkled across the Sound - just like the fire had each morning at Kripalu. I breathed in. I breathed out. I felt home again.

The plan is to tiptoe into guiding . If you are interested in ogling nature with me, please reach out and I’ll keep you posted on dates.

Finding my footing back in the city underneath a tree of fiery leaves.

Our classroom in The Berkshires. Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health, Stockbridge, MA.