Earth Day Invitations: Sauntering with Yoga and John Muir's Legacy
Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes with me will learn 2 things:
I am a bit of a word nerd
I love our National Parks
According to Wallace Stegner, writer and historian, "National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst".
One of the biggest reasons we moved from New York to California was because all the best parks are on this side of the country!
None of this legacy would be possible without the grandfather of National Parks and renowned environmentalist, the incomparable John Muir. To Miur, nature and divinity were one in the same and the most meaningful way to connect with it was to get out there and experience it.
Mr. Muir was also an unparalleled wordsmith – he understood that words have immense power and understanding their deep meaning was the first step in unlocking their secrets. When asked about the word “hike” he said,
"I don't like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains — not hike! Do you know the origin of that word 'saunter?' It's a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, 'A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them."
Even as I reread those words they give me chills.
A hike is not something to trudge through (I had to hike all the way up those stairs!) or an insult (take a hike!).
It’s a prayer. Perhaps even a meditation. Every single step.
You can’t win a hike. There are certainly scenic vistas - places that seem to have awe built into them. But if you’re only doing a hike for the view at the top (or to get back to the car) then you’re wasting most of the experience.
But aren’t we doing that constantly? Aren’t we delaying satisfaction by saying “when I get to the top…”
It's always more money, more love, more security, more acknowledgement. Most of the time we don’t get there and even when we do, we’ve spent so much time saying this will be the thing that makes me happy. When it doesn’t, the disappointment becomes all the more bitter. Instead, it becomes I wasted all that time for this?
One does not waste time when they saunter.
The same is true with your yoga practice! If the point of coming to the mat is to get back off the mat – then why get on the mat?
You chose to be there for a reason! I encourage you to make every asana, every breath a prayerful step. Not to mention savasana, the ultimate opportunity to practice mindfulness by savoring the present moment.
It would be weird to talk about nature in April and not mention Earth Day! Founded in Santa Barbara, California In 1970, it is another opportunity to pause and remember we’ve only got one home, and it requires our powerful and prayerful attention.
Our mindfulness can extend beyond ourselves. When we intentionally tune in, we’ll find we’re “hitched to everything else in the universe” as wisely said by John Muir himself.
And after a long wet winter, spring seems to finally be blooming in California. So get outside! Join us for outdoor yoga in Santa Barbara on Saturdays and Sundays. And in our downtown Manhattan Beach yoga studio, you’re practically on the beach!
We also have extra special Earth Day Sound Baths planned in Santa Barbara and Manhattan Beach on April 20 (also the day before John Muir’s birthday!) if you’d like to celebrate with us!
And put your feet in the dirt a little bit. It’s good for you.
~Greg Cicchino
Owner, Sol Seek Yoga
