Lesson in Nature: #3 Well. I Didn’t See That Coming.

Oh, I heard it though. It sounded like a tribe of banshees outside my backdoor. The radio station announcers chimed in high-wind warnings between news stories. I should have known better, but I decided to go for walk regardless. It was sunny. Clear blue skies. It’s just a little wind. Moving air. What did I have to lose?  Ummm.  Potentially my corneas.

I stepped out of the car and felt as though I had entered an invisible mosh pit.  Seriously?  I wanted to push back, but there was nothing to push.  Plus, you kind of have to be a jerk to push a squirrel or a tree.

“Ok, I can handle this,” I thought. “Just 15 minutes. Some fresh air. Lean into it.”  About seven minutes into this adventure a gust of wind hit me across the face knocking my glasses sideways, causing my eyes to dry, automatically closing, and watering like a sprinkler system.  The wind was so strong I could not re-open my eyes. In my stumbling, teary, blindness a dog appeared from no where, unexpectedly goosed me, and then started growling and barking like I was a raw steak.  What was happening?!  Was I being attacked?  I couldn’t see anything and was spinning around in blind circles trying to get away from Fido.  I’m sure this was very comical from the outside (and in retrospect), but at that moment I was slightly terrified and also baffled that something invisible had started this whole chain of events.

Like the wind this morning; sometimes the most intangible forces are the strongest ones. We don’t see them but we know what they feel like; love, trust, fear, anger, connection, sunshine, wind.  I’m not suggesting you go for a walk on a high-wind warning day, but Nature’s got some great experiences that you’ll never see coming, and I can bet you they’ll be some of the most amazing memories of your life.

That Nature.  She can be quite the prankster sometimes.

Why Yoga, Nature, Spirit?

Welcome to the Jess Ryan Yoga blog, a forum celebrating our most sacred connections; connection to self, others, spirit, and the natural world.  My yoga practice and my nature practice are one in the same.  In gentle ways, they force me to be present.  In the awareness of a mountain stream’s quiet ripples or the slight pause between my breaths, I access the present moment connecting to grace, Source; something bigger than myself.  On a daily basis we are inundated with artificial stimuli, overlooking simple gifts given us in this present moment; our breath, our spirit, a sunset, dew laden grass.  It is in this present moment when our lives occur, yet, we constantly miss it, stuck in regret about things we didn’t accomplish or worrying about how to complete our to-do lists.  This forum is about learning to connect to the moment with the uncomplicated tools we have all been given.  Nothing brings us into the present faster than paying attention to our breath, our physical body, and the natural world.  Spend some time outside, go within, and see what unfolds.

Lesson in Nature #1: Nature Doesn’t Give a Flying Leap Who You Are Or How Many Friends You Have on Facebook

Lessons in Nature

I have learned a lot of things in nature; some practical, some metaphorical, some humbling and grounding.  Things that are easy to forget because we have created a concrete reality based on jobs, houses, status, and stuff.  We’ve forgotten how to be outside, how to be ourselves, and that we are part of something bigger.  Nothing like the forces of nature to remind us…

Lesson in Nature #1

Nature Doesn’t Give a Flying Leap Who You Are Or How Many Friends You Have on Facebook

The trees, majestic mountains, rolling oceans, awe inducing animals are all unaware of how cool, popular, or successful you are. Nature also doesn’t seem to care about how insecure you might feel, your bad self-esteem moments, or your lack of current employment; a potential bruise to the ego, but completely freeing in many ways.  You can be exactly who you are in nature.  No need to impress. No need to put on false pretenses and pretend to be someone you’re not. Hell, you don’t even need to put on make-up or do your hair. The birds don’t care, nor do the oceans, trees, or animals.  You’re perfect in this greater scheme of things.  Don’t forget it.

Stay tuned for more of Nature’s lessons.  She’s wise peeps.

Ask for Help

Asking for help does not mean we are weak or incompetent. It usually indicates an advanced level of honesty and intelligence. -Anne Wilson Schaef

I fell hard.  Landing upon a pile of slimy rocks with 50-degree mountain run-off rushing up to my waist, I tried crossing a river barefoot and landed on my ass.  Not my best decision.  Invigorating on one hand, a bruise to the ego (and butt) on the other.  My friend, smartly wearing his shoes, tried offering a hand and I didn’t take it. For some reason, rather than accept help, I’d rather look like a character out of a bad Three Stooges skit, flopping around in the water trying to maintain some sense that I was keeping it together.

After sending my friend away, I independently clawed my way onto the large, dry rocks, and spent some time drying out.  After almost an hour, we had to leave by crossing the stream… and my shoes were on the bank.  In my mind I was determined to try this jaunt solo again.  Some of us learn the hard way.  I sat on a rock and buried my feet deep into the algae cover rocks unwavering in my attempt to find a way to cross without falling and without asking for help.  I could not find stable footing to stand and cross to the bank.  I tried for a few more moments until the thought of hiking in wet pants and terrible chaffing prompted me to ask my friend for a hand. I couldn’t do this one alone and knew I needed to ask for help.

Later that evening my friend kindly stated, “Just an observation. You’re not very good at asking for help.”  Clearly.  Sometimes we all need a friend to give voice to what we already know and extend a helping hand. When I was crossing the river, the only person I was letting down or hurting by not asking for help was myself.

I think there is something in many of us that believes the more we rely on others the more we appear vulnerable.  There is a fear that if we are vulnerable, there is a chance of getting hurt, being judged, being let down, or letting others down.  In truth, asking for help creates a sense of empowerment.  When we can communicate to others that we may not have the answers or know how to do something, we are sharing the gift of our authentic self with our friends, family, and co-workers.  We are showing that we are open enough to seek out answers and accept support from others.  When we can accept help from others it demonstrates a sense of confidence that we don’t need to know how to do everything to be good enough.

In the balance of life, when we can receive, we are better able to give knowing, without judgment that we all need help from time to time.  Sometimes we’re on the giving end.  Sometimes we’re on the receiving end.  It’s part of life.

The next time you feel struggle in your life (maybe you need help carrying the groceries, you need someone to watch your kids for an hour, or you need to figure out how to put filters on your social media) challenge yourself to put a voice to what you need and ask for help.  You’re giving others the chance to be helpful, you’re building a sense of self-empowerment, and you’ll be better equipped to assist when someone asks you for help.

The Best Thing You Can Do for The Earth…and You

There is a great deal of talk these days about saving the environment. We must, for the environment sustains our bodies. But as humans we also require support for our spirits, and this is what certain kinds of places provide. The catalyst that converts any physical location—any environment, if you will—into a place, is the process of experiencing deeply. A place is a piece of the whole environment that has been claimed by feelings. Viewed simply as a life-support system, the earth is an environment. Viewed as a resource that sustains our humanity, the earth is a collection of places.

We never speak, for example, of an environment we have known; it is always places we have known – and recall.  We are homesick for places, we reminded of places, it is the sounds and smells and sights of places which haunt us and against which we often measure our present.  From A Sense of Place by Alan Gussow

Alan’s got a good point.  A lot of us have good intentions: we recycle, we change our light bulbs, we want good things for the earth.  I’m not convinced these are the best ways to help.  Good, yes, but not the best. I think the best action we can take in helping the earth is cultivating our sense of place.  We’re so busy we rarely experience our moments and places deeply; overlooking the millions of miracles and blessings surrounding us in each moment.

Go out your front door, walk around your neighborhood, visit your local park or wilderness area.  Be still for a moment.  Close your eyes.  Smell the air.  Take in “the sounds and smells and sights of places.”  Let them become the backdrop for time spent with your children, your partners, your friends.  Let the place seep so deeply into your cells that the smell of wet grass reminds you of the summer of your first date or the sight of a Gold Finch reminds you of your best friend.  Our spirits are comprised of these memories; these places.

Help the earth.  Help your spirit.  Experience your Place.

The simple act of sitting outside with a good friend. Good for the Earth. Good for us.

Nature’s Invitation

“Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.” – Gretel Ehrlich

At 6am I looked at the mountain…and didn’t see it.  It was still there, just hiding behind a cloud of snow.  In stillness of a dark spring morning, the sound of Robins ushered me to the car, yoga mat and hot tea in hand.  Yesterday, I headed to Camp Sacajawea, on Casper Mountain, to share yoga with a group of high school students from Star Lane.

Yurts where the students slept

Seeing as my tagline is Yoga. Nature. Breath., I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to teach yoga to a group of ladies and gentlemen who had spent the night on a mountain…in yurts. Those kids are hardy, and for most of them it was their first time on cross country skis, sleeping in a yurt, and doing yoga.  I commend their teachers, Colleen Collins-Burridge & George Vlastos, who believe in the power and magic of the outdoors.

Being a teenager is not easy.  As an adult, I’m not sure we ever grow out of that sense of discomfort.  We are constantly faced with outside pressures, often succumbing to others needs and expectations and we let our thoughts and beliefs about those expectations lead our lives.  However, when we are outdoors, nature does not have any expectations.  In nature, we can be who we are; mad at our best friend, happy to receive the crisp clean air, open to being our authentic selves.  Nature doesn’t care: no expectations, no needs.  She invites us constantly to be who we are.

Thanks to the teachers at Star Lane who are giving their students the opportunity to be who they are.

Yoga in the lodge