Time Away

Time away is so crucial to our mental health. We need time away from our routine, our comfort zone, our day to day and our people. I have been fortunate to have had several phenomenal ‘get aways’ over the years but it has been a few years since I have done this.

I started my time with a stop in Albany to meet a new friend, and fellow USNA mom, Lisa. We went to Starbucks to catch up a bit- she is a beautiful soul with a calm and authentic presence. We  then to an aerial yoga class which was so awesome! And our teacher Jennie Lee was a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. The class started with a lecture piece on anatomy and how the class would help with various injuries and pain.

I left there and went on to Stockbridge to an ‘Embodied Practitioner’ training.  We have been going to nearby Lenox for years as Steve’s parents have a time share there, and I have always wanted to try Kripalu and had never been. It was a truly wonderful experience – great facility (it is older so I thought it might be cold inside but it was toasty warm!!!), friendly staff, delicious food and solid yoga classes.

The training was phenomenal – led by two experts in the field of Body Positivity and Intuitive Eating.  We had a group of 21  and it was a perfect combination of personal work with professional training. I left feeling more empowered and embodied to carry this work to my patients.

One of the best parts of the training was the schedule – we had a few hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon, with a long lunch break. It left room for plenty of time for yoga, walks, journaling, sauna….self-care indulgence:).  I went to a Yoga Dance class which was so awesome! The instructor led us through some movements that helped to release old stories we hold in our bodies as well as free flow dance. Very freeing.

I also ‘spoiled ‘myself with a facial. Since work paid for the training, I thought I would use the excuse that I am in this lovely space, to do something I actually need more often but have only had a few times in my life.  Sad that I feel I need to have an excuse to do something like this but it is part of life with 3 kids in college.  When I was getting massaged and completely relaxing, my mind suddenly grabbed onto a fear thought about the boyz and all the things that could happen with them in school.  I was so aware of this shift. In my normal routine at home, I have these fears more often than I would like to admit, and I sometimes am not aware of them until I am down the road of some ‘fear story’ I am telling myself.  But in this setting, where I was so removed from daily worry and to dos, the contrast of a fear thought was drastic and noticeable. It enhanced my awareness of how these thoughts contract my energy and hold me hostage without even knowing it. Being away, in a different place and experience, allowed me to get this perspective and to see things in my ‘normal life’ in a slightly new way.  I was able to take some deep breaths, reminding myself to be present with the facial – to allow the calm and peace of the moment to flow through and heal the contraction of the worry thoughts.

Before leaving I took a short walk down to the lake to soak in more calm, more presence, more beauty.  Thank you to Kripalu, to my fellow embodied practitioners and to my phenomenal facilitators for feeding the love.

Many Blessings,

Suzanne