Astanga

Camping, Day 3 (This post was written and posted on my return)

I woke at 6 a.m. and opened the tent flap to scan the skies. It was cloudy, but not rainy. Quietly, I gathered my things, changed into my yoga pants and drove out to the lake for my annual sunrise beach practice.

I didn't see much of a sunrise because of the cloud cover, but it was tranquil and cool by the water. The mosquitoes were not yet awake, nor was anyone else. I found myself completely alone on the sand. Except for the chatter of birds and the light gurgle of waves on the shore, I did my modified Primary Series in silence.


It was chilly out, so it wasn't my best practice, but it was probably one of my most contemplative. I took the opportunity to become completely absorbed in my breath without worrying about depth or alignment in my poses.

I was halfway through the seated poses when I heard a loon call across the water (I was waiting for it). Then another sounded as I moved into closing. My only other companion was an early morning fisherman who drifted off shore in his small boat. We silently shared the space; me with my asana, he with his fishing line.

It was too chilly to do Savasana on the beach so I headed back to the site and crawled into my warm sleeping bag.

The rest of the morning was spent cooking up a fabulous brunch (omelets) and packing up the site. After we loaded the car, we lazed around a bit, said our goodbyes to fellow campers and hit the road just after noon.

We happily meandered home, stopping through various small towns. I enjoyed the best Fish and Chips I've ever eaten (I think this may become a new tradition!). We perused some marvelous Antique (read: “junk”) shops and paused at a rest station so I could stretch my legs (my right hamstring was practically in spasm from the long hours of driving). We rolled into the city in the early evening.

It was an absolutely delightful trip and I'm so pleased that the weather co-operated. I'm also proud that I made time for three full yoga practices while I was there. Last year, I didn't manage to hit the mat even once and in previous years, I was usually only able to fit in one practice at most. It felt like a 'yoga retreat weekend' and it was exactly what I needed.

Interesting to note, the pile of books that I dragged along remained untouched for the weekend; I didn't do any reading at all. This is camping first! I usually do nothing *but* read on this trip. Instead, I filled my time sleeping (I've never slept so well as I did on that air mattress!), cooking (I prepared some marvellous meals, but even with all the prep I did, they were time consuming) and spending time with friends (quite to my surprise, our campsite because a hub during mealtimes - never underestimate the power of food to draw a crowd!).

The rental car was a smash success. In it, we were able to escape the campground for day trips into the surrounding countryside (next year, I'm going to research area flea markets and antique stores but we managed to find plenty of them spontaneously). I was able to drive to the beach for my morning yoga practice. If we needed supplies, we were able to get them easily. We could have driven to the part of the park that has hiking trails, if we were up for hiking (next year!).

I'm already looking forward to next summer's trip!