GentleYogi road trip successes
admin on Aug 11 2009 at 1:51 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized
I did not know exactly what to expect as I began my month-long road trip through the heartland of the U.S. on May 31st. I had set up stops at six studios in Ohio, Illinois, St. Louis and Iowa. In the middle of this trip was a 10-day family visit in Kansas, picking up my wife Joyce at the Kansas City airport, and staying in Topeka, then Emporia and Newton in South Central Kansas. So, I knew I would be met by friends and family. I knew that each day the road would present me with unexpected adventures. And four weeks later, Friday June 26th I would return to my Berkshire home in Housatonic, MA. I like driving and the great American highway scenery, but I knew to keep this trip sane on body and mind that I had to set a sensible limit on my driving hours and work in stretching and exercise. So, my plan for sanity was to set my destinations no more than four hours apart, to bring my road bike, and my gym bag to swim in a lap pool whenever possible.
In western NY and Northeastern Ohio I was entertained with the fascinating Native American and early settler’s names for their towns, e.g. Gowanda, Cattaraugus, Connewango Creek, Ashtabula County and Thistledown, Ohio. My first studio stop, after an overnight pit-stop just east of Buffalo at my dear friend Jean’s home, (Roast chicken, potatoes and veggies, best mattress I’ve ever slept on) was Jane Montgomery’s Peace Blossoms Yoga, in Akron, Ohio. I was fortunate to arrive in time to attend Jane’s Monday night moderate class. Jane is a warm, cheerful and skillful 500hr teacher, who has studied extensively and leads a wonderfully satisfying class. I knew her well from the Yoga Teacher Mentor Training she attended. I was in bliss. I felt welcomed home in her masterful class. To cap off my arrival Jane and her husband David invited me out for dinner at one of Akron’s best eateries, Vegiterranean, Chrissie Hynde’s Vegan restaurant in the heart of a meat-eatin town. The best Tiramisu I’ve ever had!
The next morning I was honored to guide Jane’s 9:15 Kripalu Moderate class. The joy of this class for me was meeting Jane’s yoga community. This is one of her most popular classes and I was welcomed by her “regulars” who set out a delicious fruit and muffin spread for casual connecting after class. And through the connecting I heard the various stories of “why we do yoga.” From healing physical conditions, to peace of mind, and just staying healthy through this life journey, I heard how grateful they were for this oasis that Jane began in 1998, bringing yoga to this West Akron community. I felt like the trip had received it’s first blessing.
