"the light in me sees the light in you" (WANDERLUST STRATTON EDITION!)
Wanderlust.......I have no words! I am filled with so much joy and gratitude for having spent 4 beautiful days in the breathtaking mountains of Vermont with 2 of my closest friends. There is so much I experienced in this short amount of time that I wish I could verbalize, but internally I know it has impacted me. I wish to share with you just a snippet of what I learned, and I encourage you all to attend Wanderlust if you ever have the chance. It is worth it, truly. The Wanderlust team encouraged us to carry around a journal in case inspiration hit, and I am SO glad I did. Here is a reflection I wrote just after the "Freedom Riders: Hips and Hearts" class taught by the inspiring Kerri Kelly and Suzanne Sterling:
FRIDAY 6-20-14 // FREEDOM RIDERS 4PM CLASS REFLECTION
"I am speechless...I feel so free after this class. I have never experienced anything like this in my practice, let alone my life. Kerri and Suzanne have a way of breaking us down and reshaping each fragment until we are ready to be put back together again. In the Freedom Riders class, I think it is safe to say we all felt the powerful energy of interconnectedness as a collective whole. Strangers, friends, family members all united as one breath, one body, one mind...and one heart.
After a challenging flow, we rolled our mats up and set it aside. Suzanne began playing the bongo, encouraging us to close our eyes and begin moving freely in our space, writing our own story through our movement. "The voices in our head that tell us you're not good enough - you're not strong enough - you're not smart enough - you're not attractive enough....Release it all and realize you are enough. You are stronger than you think you are. You are smarter than you know and you are beautiful. You are enough."
Our bodies began to warm up, and I felt this wave of energy and excitement run from my toes up though my ears, like an electric current. As I danced with my eyes closed, I let go of all insecurities, worry, anxiety, and I let love in...I let love fill me up and take over.
We joined Suzanne in singing a soulful melody repeated in "oh" and "ah", and the sound of the bongo picked up, along with our dancing, and the next thing I know, I had tears streaming down my face. I just felt this strong vibration from within moving through my chest, and this incredible sense of freedom. It is an indescribable feeling....People who were strangers an hour ago were now sharing this intense moment of energy, joy and authentic bliss and we all exchanged hugs noticing other's tears of happiness.
I am so grateful for today."
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Wanderlust has brought to light so many ideas and personal revelations, and I am just so happy to have had this experience. Yoga is not about just changing yourself - it is about taking what you practice on the mat and using it to positively affect the people around you. Yoga is about acceptance, understanding, mindfulness, patience, unity, openness, and having soul behind every action. Anyone who just thinks of yoga as a form of exercise needs to switch studios quick....yoga is so deep, and it takes finding the right teachers to take you on that journey. I hope everyone has the opportunity to study with Suzanne and Kerri one day.
In short, my time at Wanderlust was beautiful, spiritual and inspiring.
- jules