Personal Reflection: Our National Parks & Yoga
Personal Reflection:
Our National Parks & Yoga
Celebrating the centennial of our National Parks and a quarter-century since my first season as a ranger.
Recently Annie sent me a link (appended below) to an article that shows how various National Parks represent certain yoga poses. And this got me thinking about my own time with the National Parks Service.
I was hanging out on the porch of my A-frame “estate” in rural Vermont with acres of green all around me, just enjoying the sun, when my “big break” came. It was a District ranger calling from Mt Rainer National Park offering me a backcountry ranger position. Amazingly, I did not accept the position on the spot. I told him I would get back to him tomorrow. And I did. And it wasn’t long thereafter that I packed up all my belongings – which were very few – they filled about 1/2 of my 2-door Toyota Tercel hatchback – and I embarked on my month-long journey across the US, visiting friends and National Parks along the way. Alas I reached Mt Rainier National Park at the end of June – the year was 1991.
I had the most remote backcountry position in the park – and I woke up and hiked through this scene every day…often going days or a full week without seeing a single person. It was just me, the mountain goats, marmots, and elk / deer. And a few black bear as well, though I only saw one all summer.
And, I traversed this natural bridge (without any rope) thinking it was the easiest thing in the world, but today would think better of it.
These vistas and meaderings were all part of my daily journey that summer – they were my backyard…and yes I did get opportunity to climb and summit Mt Rainier itself more than a few times that season as well.
It was such a grand time that I decided to re-enlist, only at a bigger, larger park the next season – and for a longer amount of time – welcome to Denali.
This was an entirely different world – a place above and beyond. The mountain tours and backcountry patrols were stunning and beyond description – indeed epic. And I returned for a patrol the next year too!
Thereafter I passed another two seasons with the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School in the North Cascades (Washington).
Those seasons with the National Parks provided an indelible imprint on my psyche, and my world. The awesomeness and sheer power of nature, along with its calmer, quieter side. Those years also coincided with my entry into the world of yoga and meditation. And sometimes my summers in the parks were bookends for a long stretch of late fall, winter, and early spring in India and ashram living. I straddled these two abodes for some time, before absorbing myself fully into a yogic lifestyle, leaving the parks behind. I know for some the parks would make for the perfect complement for yoga, but for me they were the ultimate springboard into a full-on meditative lifestyle. And for that I shall always be grateful.
Here is the link that Annie sent – it is a neat portrayal of the various parks and the yoga poses they represent…click on the below image of Acadia National Park to start your journey…
A Yogi’s Guide to the National Parks
I loved this article! And loved learning more about your experiences with the parks. Kirk and I have set a retirement goal of seeing as many of these amazing places as we can once we retire, but we are getting a few practice runs in the meantime! And you can be sure we will be posting us in yoga poses at every single one of them!
Keep sending those photos Annie!!
Lucky guy! What beautiful places and experiences to draw from!
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this part of your journey Satyam. The pictures are stunningly beautiful, and I can well imagine that this experience was transformative for you. Nature is my solace also and where I go to recharge, and this country’s national parks are treasures indeed.
Thanks Catrina and Jeannie for checking in and sharing your reflections….
What a wonderful experience, thanks for sharing. Nature does the same for me. Just last night Mike and I kayaked back into the marshland across from our house. We both felt the quiet calm surround us, very special.
Indeed…
So nice those kayak’s are just outside your “backdoor” for easy access!!
Wow Satyam, your life has certainly been an inspirational journey on many levels. I truly admire your discipline and your ability to meld courage, physical aptitude and curiosity together to create such a balanced existence. Rock On!
Many thanks Merinda for your support –
however, what’s NOT expressed in the above blog post are the unending trials and difficulties I seem to constantly face in the midst of my many shortcomings!!
That said, I will take your advice and aim to “Rock On!” as best as possible…
Satyam,
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences in the national parks and Annie’s link to yoga poses associated with various beautiful spots in our national parks. They inspire me to make it a quest to see as many of these beautiful places as possible during retirement. My husband and I, like many of the commenters above, greatly appreciate both the beauty of nature and the serenity that it provides to the human spirit. A natural link to yoga practice, for sure!
Namaskar,
Karen
Thanks for checking in Karen. Hope you and your husband make it to a wide spectrum of parks to take in the wonders…