Diary of a Travelling Yogi

Yoga, the Moon & Me: One yogi's musings on travel, spirituality, the moon and life!

As many of you know, I have a great passion for traveling. So what makes a great traveler? Well that’s a good question…a thirst for adventure, being okay with change all of the time…Setting aside your fear of the unknown?? That might be a good start!!

Me? Well, I am the 3rd and youngest daughter and my parents never really ventured beyond Ontario so to be honest I don’t know where my travel bug came from but it was always present.

Actually I was always just a little different. My older sisters lived at home while they went to post secondary school and for me…I couldn’t wait for the adventure to begin.

I went to college just 90 minutes or so away from home but it was just far enough away to give me the freedom I was looking for.

I went into hospitality because that for me was the ticket to traveling. Once I saw how little travel agents made, I decided to go into convention management which today I am very grateful for as I plan several yoga retreats each year and because of this schooling I have the organizational skills to do so.

I took my first trip to UK and Europe when I was 19 and to be honest I have spent the last 33 years just planning my next trip. I have lived in England and Germany and while Canada will always be home, there are several places that hold my heart and soul.

Deja vu is defined as a feeling of having already experienced the present situation. There have been a few times in my traveling life that I have experienced an overwhelming sense of coming home even though I was stepping off of a bus arriving in a town that I have never visited in this lifetime before.

The first time I experienced this, I was in a small village in northern Germany and then of course the Highlands of Scotland have a stronghold on my heart. It’s quite literally a physical pain that I experience when I am leaving them. It gets me every time. So until I can physically live there, I just go back as often as I can.

The funny thing about travel for me…is that it taught me from an early age to appreciate experiences over things. My home style could be best described as shabby chic…all of my furniture is so mismatched, I feel like I have kind of created my own style….really because it’s just not my priority. I want it to be comfortable for my family but I would rather spend $100 on a couch and $1000 on a flight. It’s just always been that way.

The other interesting fact about travel for me is that it brings me into the present moment. When I am at home working or planning my weeks, I can get lost in daydreaming or just doing one thing but thinking of another….not present. But when I am traveling I am hyper alert to all of the new things that I might be seeing or experiencing. Whether it be a mountain, a sheep, or a castle…I am fully present appreciating the scene in front of me.

Coming from Canada where everything is considerably “new”, I love going into a church or castle or pub that has been around since the 1100’s. It’s impossible to not feel the energy of hundreds of years and the countless souls that have stood exactly where I am standing. It’s an amazing feeling.

In german they have this great word…fernweh. It is like homesickness but for a place that is not actually your home…wanderlust I guest would best describe it in English.

Adding yoga to travel is the perfect balance. Travel is stressful on the mind and body and yoga helps to ease the mind and stretch out the body.

I love sharing my favourite countries and the gift of yoga with others. That is why I offer unique destination yoga retreats. Just like I have never been traditional, the retreats I offer are different as well. One part culture & history and one part yoga. It works.

So what are my upcoming travel plans?

Next month, I am heading to Iceland North to lead a yoga retreat in Akureryi and then onto the Myvatn Region where we will practice yoga, of course and explore the radical nature that Iceland offers. We are very hopeful that by going in October we will get to experience the Northern Lights. Let me know if you have seen them before. I have seen the northern lights twice in Iceland and a few times here where I live in central Ontario and they are amazing! I will be sure to post pictures on my website and on social @greenriveryogacompany if we are lucky enough to see them.

You may find this shocking but I have been accused of spending more of my mental space in the spiritual realms as opposed to the scientific world…so for you science minds, here is a more refined definition of what we hope to experience!!

The Northern lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis: a natural electrical phenomenon characterized by the appearance of streamers of reddish or greenish light in the sky, usually near the northern or southern magnetic pole.

In April and maybe May too, I am taking groups to Scotland which as you know is my favourite place.

This time we will be venturing to parts, where I haven't ventured before and I am so excited. We will be going to the Shetland Islands…which are famous for:

• their incredible wildlife,
• the Shetland ponies of course,
• if you have watched the criminal series called Shetland…well that has definitely put it on the world map for the non-travelers
• and well their wool of course.

I’m not a knitter but my friend Anne is and she is dying to get to the wool shops over there. So we will keep you posted…don’t expect a knitting podcast from me anytime soon though!!

We will also visit the Orkney Islands. I’m super excited to visit the standing stones of Stenness. These are very likely the oldest standing stones on the British Isles and I’m especially looking forward to seeing, hmm maybe even touching the Odin Stone. I’ll keep you posted!!

If you are interested in traveling with me, shoot me a message or email and I can tell you about any upcoming yoga adventures!