What I Learned at Summer Camp (aka Creating Everyday Bliss Retreat)

by Erin Vehige

I have a tendency to spread myself thin. I have multiple jobs that take me all over the St. Louis Metro area. Sometimes putting on 100+ miles in one day. And if I tally up all of the time I spend driving, preparing, researching, showing up, teaching, answering questions, meetings, writing, editing, etc. I’m sure I’m putting in close to 70 hours a week. I know many people who do more and many people who do less, and yet, they still feel the pull of work over the amount of leisure time given to themselves. Because work doesn’t stop with the work you get paid to do. There is still cooking, cleaning, laundry, putting laundry away, yard work, family obligations...you know what I mean. 

All this to say that I knew I needed a break, but I didn’t really know what that break would look like. Despite being a yoga student for many years and a teacher for 5, I had never been on a yoga retreat before, but I felt like that was what I needed. I’d admired from afar people talking about retreats and restoring themselves and feeling refreshed and like a new person, but it always seemed a little too far out of my reach. I would say things like “I don’t have the money.” “I can’t take that much time off work.” “I need to fix my car instead.” Other expenses and time commitments would get in the way. But this year was different for me. I realized I couldn’t afford NOT to do something just for me anymore. So I did a crazy thing...I turned 40.

Yeah, so that’s not so crazy, but I decided to do it in a big way. I said yes to not only one, but TWO yoga retreats with a European vacation nestled in between. The day after I returned home, my big birthday hit and I celebrated the beginning of a new decade by sleeping most of the day. It was a beautiful thing I never allow myself to do...until I went to adult summer camp (aka a yoga retreat called Creating Everyday Bliss with the godmother of yoga, Judith Lasater and her amazing daughter Lizzie). And bliss I did find, but how do you bring that back home? 

(All statements found in quotations below that appear without direct/immediate attribution come from Judith Lasater. Some are direct quotes; others are quoted how I remember and may not be exact).

9 Things I Learned at Summer Camp

1. “You should only be fasting when it’s your night to cook.”

   The evening before the sweat lodge day, Eric, a sweet and generous staff member at Feathered Pipe Ranch where the retreat was located, mentioned that it was a good practice to fast the day of the sweat. I had had a light breakfast and was planning on following the recommendation of fasting during lunch but as I emerged from the yoga room into the dining hall, I was brought face-to-face with the best comfort food ever: Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup. It felt like I was being tested. Could I resist? What would happen if I ate? Would it be okay? I decided it was a sign from the Divine that I HAD TO have it. So I did. The seat next to Judith was open; I sat down, and eventually told the table the story above. Judith turned to me and first said something like, “One doesn’t fast when their at the Ranch.” (Seriously the food is TOO good). Then she said the above, “And really, you should only fast when it’s your night to cook.” Eat the meals made with love. Enjoy and savor food created from the heart. And use fasting as a way to get out of cooking! Ha!

2. “Yoga will ruin your life”…(in the best way possible)

   “Yoga changes the life you’re having so you can open to the life that is yours. Yoga is not really about love and light; it’s more about darkness & fear. You have to meet your own fears before you can release them…It’s like peeling an onion.” ~Judith Lasater

3. Tada Drashtuh Svarupe Vasthanam 

   Pantanjali Yoga Sutra 1.3 translates from Sankrit to “Then the seer abides in its own true nature.” This sutra was our mantra for the week of Restorative Camp with Judith. We chanted it before every class to center ourselves in the practice each morning and afternoon. At first the sutras can seem out of reach, but with a little attention, they begin to come alive. It is probably worth noting the sutras that come just before this third one. 

   Sutra 1.1: atha yoga anushasam “Now the discipline of yoga (is being presented),” and Sutra 1.2: yoga citta vritti nirodhah “Yoga is the resolution of the agitations of the mind.”  So in simple terms, once we come into yoga, we begin to reveal who we already have been. Yoga is not about changing you; it is about taking away the labels, the masks, the have-tos, should-dos, and need-to-dos in order to reveal the masterpiece that is our True Self, True Nature. Like the sculptor Michalangelo only revealed what was already in the stone. Two of his most famous quotes speak directly to this: 

   “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” 

   “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

   So, too, are we masterpieces that can be revealed when we let the outside layers be chiseled away with the practice of yoga, and more importantly, the practice of rest. Yes, rest is a practice.

4. “Alignment before Range.”

   While we heard this phrase again and again over the week in regards to our physical bodies, some of us also came to the conclusion that “alignment before range” can really be applied to many things. 

   In the Body:

   Another one of Judith’s many sayings is “Your body is smarter than you are” so allow it to do its thing. 

   ~It is okay to have your legs wider apart when doing backbends because the shape of our sacrum may be wider than others. 

   ~Let your shoulders come up by yours ears. How else are you going to get the secret stash of Oreos in the back of the top cabinet?

   ~Let your back hip come with you in Triangle Pose. Also keep your front leg straight and don’t collapse in the side waist or drop the top shoulder to reach the floor. 

   Off the Mat — The Duck Index:

   ~Remember as a kid, or maybe you’ve seen kids, throwing bread to ducks? There usually is no greater joy for kids than this. So Judith came up with the Duck Index. This is a scale between a joyous yes (10) and a “someone is going to pay for this” yes (1). You know those yesses, don’t you? The ones where you really want to say no, but you’re afraid that you’ll upset the other person, but then you say yes and because you’re having a miserable time so is the person you said yes to because you’re making them pay for you to have said yes. Yes? So try to invoke the Duck Index when making decisions and if it isn’t over a 6 or 7, say no.

   ~Ask yourself “does what I’m about to do include taking care of myself; is saying yes to someone else saying no to me?”

   ~No is a complete sentence. 

   Essentially, the Duck Index is about Alignment before Range. Are you in alignment with your True Self? Are you being truthful about your body, mind and spirit’s needs? If you are not, then you are not doing yourself any good even if you are “doing something.” Make sure that everything you are doing aligns with your purpose before stretching yourself to make it happen. There will be days that you don’t want to go to work and doing the thing is a 2 on the Duck Index; we all have them, right? But then when we start to put together the why then we start to see how doing the thing brings us into alignment and then we are able to reach a little more and find the range and it brings it a little higher on on Duck Index. What value does the thing bring?

5. “The Airport Is an Ashram.”

   “The workshop begins as soon as you arrive at the airport; notice the tendency to judge, cling and wanting it to be different; you can bring to that environment a sense of ease...this can change the world.” ~Judith Lasater

   The theme for this year’s Restorative Summer Camp was Spaciousness, and how can we create that spaciousness in our everyday lives. It is easy to find the space when you are on retreat, have very little access to Internet or phone service, the closest town/city is 30 minutes away, and there is a team of people cooking with great love for three delicious meals a day, including desserts. You literally have no obligations except to just be. But how can you take the spaciousness from retreat and bring it back into your daily life off of the mat?

6. Unplug Daily: "Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you." ~Anne Lamott

   One of our lifetime homework assignments was to give ourselves a 20 minute restorative pose EVERY DAY. This can sound very difficult, but when you really assess how you spend your day, I’m sure you can find 20 minutes to retreat. 20 minutes to unplug. To restart. And when you do, you will find that you run more efficiently, more effectively with more energy and more focus. How do I know this? I’ve been home now for 16 days as of this writing. Of those 16 days, I have made time for this practice 14 times. My life has shifted (and will continue to shift) dramatically since I’ve been home. Maybe it is because I went on retreat in the first place. Maybe it’s because I stepped away for 3 weeks, but maybe it’s because I learned how to step away for only 20 minutes most days that I see the space that I can create for myself to be more productive. I actually use my planner now. I schedule my rest. And when I rest, my creative ideas flow. Some days more than others, but every day, I GIVE myself the time. 

7. Yutori

   Yutori is a Japanese term or concept meaning spaciousness, but the kind of spaciousness that you plan so that you have space around time for pleasure and joy. In an interview on Krista Tippett’s On Being, poet Naomi Shihab Nye mentioned Yutori and used a student quote to explain: “it’s leaving early enough to get somewhere so that you know you’re going to arrive early, so when you get there, you have time to look around.” We learned to stop using time as an excuse. It is not that we don’t have enough time to get something done or to do something that we would like to do; it is more like we did not give ourselves enough space in time to complete that task or to do that thing.

8. “No Rushing. No Waiting.”

   Yutori reminds me of another lifetime homework assignment: No Rushing. No Waiting. These are two concepts I have to repeat to myself many times throughout the day. When I find myself hurrying to the next thing and getting frustrated that I’ve not allowed myself enough time, I remember this and then say to myself “Time is Big.” This is a quote I learned from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, but it applies here as well. I may be in a hurry, but I don’t have to let the hurry rush me to the next thing. I can still be present in the now. The same thing is true for the opposite statement: No Waiting. At times, I may find myself in heavy traffic or a long line. I can be frustrated and bothered and upset and maybe even getting angry, or I can choose to be in the moment — the RIGHT NOW — look around, watch, notice, see, observe and discover the life happening. Maybe a beautiful sunset is on the horizon; maybe a child is laughing in the line ahead. Recognize the space given to you in that moment and allow that moment to fill you with awareness and presence. 

   ~Ask yourself: “What is my current relationship with rest?”

9. Water Is Life Giving.

   “In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans.” — Kahlil Gibran

   By the water, you can make lifelong friends in less than an hour. Whether you are sitting in silence watching the sun go beyond the pine trees or you’re admiring an osprey hunting for food in the stillness of the lake, the water is there to replenish you after a day in the mountains. There is a reason that a babbling brook is a sound recorded and used in sleep machines because a real life brook feeding the lake was my nightly meditation. Small sprays of water on fire-heated rocks can create enough steam to fill a sweat lodge, and sweat can pour from your body releasing thoughts of doubt, self-consciousness, sadness, elation, confusion and lost direction. The ripples of the lake are metaphors for the ripples of life that all our decisions have and the ripples of friendships formed around the water. Water will remind me of my invisible sangha for the rest of my life. The sangha I share with everyone on this earth and beyond it. 

Summer Fun is HERE and NOW: Mindfulness for Kids

by Jocelyn Yedlicka

There’s no doubt that the subject of Mindfulness is well known in the yoga community. Asana (postures of yoga) and pranayama (breath control or breathing exercises) are often integral parts of mindfulness activities. Dharana, the 6th limb of yoga, closely relates to mindfulness in that it means the focus of our attention on a single point through concentration. Cultivating a sense of presence in the body and stillness in the mind is a vital component of our yoga and a part of our regular practice on the mat. Beyond the mat we are faced with continuous sensory stimulation and our singular focus is put to the test. Our brains are constantly processing information and we, as adults, work hard to return to the place of peace that mindfulness brings. Children are just as susceptible to the impact of overstimulation. In fact, we may see the results of this bombardment of the senses in poor sleep, anxiety, attention issues, depression and more. These are problems we hope no child would suffer, nor carry forward into their adult lives, but we do know it happens, so what can we do about it?

The Need for Children to be Mindful

According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Sutra 1.2 reads “Yogas citta vritti nirodhaha.” One translation: Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. Yoga and mindfulness are tools adults use to manage the rampant fluctuations of thought. Children also need a means to create a still, quiet mindspace — a refuge from the constant barrage of information the world imparts.  Annaka Harris, author and consultant who specializes in neuroscience and physics writes, “For children, mindfulness can offer relief from whatever difficulties they might be encountering in life. It also gives them the beauty of being in the present moment.” Another expert in the field, Susan Kaiser Greenland, states in her book Mindful Games that “A growing body of scientific research supports what contemplatives have known for centuries: mindfulness and meditation develop a set of life skills that allow children, teens, and parents to relate to what’s happening within and around them with more wisdom and compassion.” As the evidence is collected and support grows, it is hard to dismiss the power of mindfulness and the promise it holds for our youth.

Children who practice Mindfulness reap the rewards through life:

Establishing a mindfulness practice in childhood creates and strengthens the pathways in the brain necessary to achieve focus, patience, and tenacity. In his article “Mindfulness for Children” written for the New York Times, David Gelles claims: 

Children are uniquely suited to benefit from mindfulness practice. Habits formed early in life will inform behaviors in adulthood, and with mindfulness, we have the opportunity to give our children the habit of being peaceful, kind, and accepting.

And Dan Goleman, author and expert on Emotional Intelligence, says:

Students are better able to learn, they score better on tests because their attention is stronger, which means their working memory operates better, which means long-term memory for the tests. It helps people manage stress better. If you’re a mindfulness practitioner, if you meditate, it turns out this strengthens the circuits in your brain that help you react less, be triggered less, and recover more quickly, which is what we call resilience.

Through mindfulness practice, children are preparing to become grown-ups who are poised to create a peaceful and productive world for their own generation, and those to come.

Helping Children Practice Mindfulness:

Teaching a child mindfulness can be a wonderful way to bond while you enjoy the benefits. But, one cannot expect the child to understand the practice through explanation alone. One of the best ways to offer mindfulness is to create a practice of your own for the child to observe. Then, look for ways to include the child in activities that speak to their sense of wonder and curiosity. Summer presents a beautiful opportunity to take advantage of nature’s resources to tune in to the mind and tune out the noise. Below I have listed a number of activities appropriate for any age, but especially attuned to our young yogis. May you be inspired as you enjoy summer mindfully.

Summer Mindfulness Activities

1. Nature Walk: 5,4,3,2,1: Enjoy a beautiful walk on a trail, in a park, or just down the sidewalk. While you walk, use your 5 senses to notice the world around you. Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.

2. Pictures in the Clouds: Spread a blanket on the ground and get comfy. Take some deep breaths and allow your body to relax into the soft earth. Gaze upward towards the sky and take in the sights. Use your imagination to create pictures from the clouds in the sky. Perhaps the trees and the movement of the leaves evoke an image. Or simply close your eyes and describe how the light filters through your eyelids. 

3. Outdoor Yoga: Practicing yoga outdoors is a wonderful way to embrace a beautiful summer’s day. But don’t let the outdoor yoga concept end there. Playfully recreate what you see in nature using the shapes you make with your body. For example a rock becomes Child’s Pose. A bird becomes Warrior III. A tree becomes…Tree Pose. Well, you get the idea. Allow the child to make up their own poses.

4. Wild Art: Explore an area in your yard and gather small objects such as sticks, leaves, flowers, and rocks. With some glue, string, cereal boxes, paper…you name it…You can make beautiful art. Allow the child to use the materials in whatever manner they choose. Option to play soothing music, or better yet continue the project outside while you listen to the birds chirp and the breeze blow.

5. Ideas for Littles: 

   1. Create sensory experiences for our little yogis and allow them to explore freely. A bin full of stones, leaves, and water will engage a wee-one with little effort on your part. Point out the sound of the water as it splashes around and note the textures of the items. What sinks, floats, twirls? Burying shells, small stones, even dinosaurs in a sandbox or a sensory bin provides the same focus with a different tactile experience. What sounds do you hear when you pour the sand? Combine them to create muddy fun!

   2. Blow bubbles and watch as the youngster tracks its movement through the air, lifting a little finger to enthusiastically pop! Offer the bubble wand to the child and encourage deep breathing with a slow breath in and a long exhale. Bubbles galore!

Jocelyn Yedlicka developed a love for movement beginning at a very young age when she was first introduced to dance. Many many years later, yoga helped her return to her body and rekindle a love for herself. Jocelyn received her 200hr Yoga Teacher Training Certification from Evolution Yoga, STL and Blue Sky Yoga STL. She enjoys teaching classes full of options that allow all bodies and abilities to experience the full spectrum of physical movement and mental presence that yoga offers. As a mother of two young boys and a paraprofessional in an early childhood special education program, Jocelyn has a calling to serve individuals with special needs and their caretakers. You may find her teaching staff at her school, leading a caretakers class at a special needs gym, skipping around in a Family Yoga class, or offering a nurturing restorative class.