LOCALadk Magazine

Wellness | LOCALadk LOCALadk Magazine Spring 2014 39 Yoga and Nature By Mim Frantz I n most yoga class environments, instructors try to cultivate a nurturing, natural environment: soft lighting, candles, relaxing music enhanced with the sounds of waterfalls or chirping birds. Often guided imagery of nature is suggested to transport the yogi to a peaceful place. Close your eyes and imagine you are in a beautiful place at the shore of a lake or the top of a mountain looking over a valley, a teacher suggests during the reclined "Savasana" or relaxation pose. Whether you practice yoga to relax, stretch, breathe, meditate, or for fitness, yoga has become widely recognized as a healing practice. Wikipedia defines yoga as, "The physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines, which originated in ancient India, with a view to attain a state of permanent peace." At a mental level, yoga relieves stress, anxiety and depression because it offers tools to hone the focus of the mind on the body and breath in the present moment. This controls the flow of unwanted thoughts and worries. With the hectic pace of our modern culture and the constant stimuli of technology, the popularity of yoga is growing. It is a tool for restoration and balance and can help one find a stillness and calm. Those who live in or retreat to the Adirondacks are attracted to the region for this very same purpose. The omnipresence of nature in the Adirondack Park has long been known to create a healing environment. In 1870, Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau came to the Adirondacks to find respite in the beauty of nature where he could live out his life expectancy, which he believed to be limited, because he suffered from tuberculosis. He not only found respite in the serenity of the mountains and lakes, but also a cure, as he went on to live several more years. As a result, people from all over the world who suffered from tuberculosis flocked to the area to find the cure of the mountain air. In the 1800's, philosopher and notable American writer, Henry David Thoreau, wrote Walden, a novel of reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. It includes this passage: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." These sentiments are as pertinent today as when they were written over 200 years ago. In recent years, people have appreciated the importance of introducing young people to the nature of the Adirondacks. For instance, for the last 20 years, the Lake Placid Outing Club has been offering guided trips to local youth with the mission of teaching children to take care of themselves, each other, and the environment. As a result of participation in the outdoor activities, participants gain self-knowledge and self-respect. "Whether you practice yoga to relax, stretch, breathe, meditate, or for fitness, yoga has become widely recognized as a healing practice."

• Cover