August 30, 2020

Roadside Yoga

It was a hot afternoon, even in the mountains. We were en route to our age-of-pandemic vacation: Bicycling (outdoors all day!) from a remote campground (not many campers = further distance apart!), in James, our RV (no hotel lobbies, no public bathrooms). I had meals planned (no restaurants this trip!), and my yoga mat, plenty of snacks and water packed. And, we were remaining within state borders. Halfway into the six-hour drive, we were following switchbacks through the mountains. We curved around to an uphill and noticed the string of vehicles ahead. We eased up behind a boat on a trailer. A shiny black car stopped behind us, another RV behind them. No one honked. The cars kept coming, as though someone was stringing an endless supply of beads. With no cell service, none of us knew what was causing the delay. It could’ve been road construction, a rock slide, […]
August 26, 2019

The Yoga of Travel

I’m not a light packer. A weekend getaway requires a giant duffel. Forget shoes, there’s the sack of daily Parkinson’s meds, service dog paraphernalia–bed, harness, food–more food–and of course, my yoga mat. Now, imagine a month-long vacation in a compact RV. Fortunately, James (the RV) feels roomy due to lots of nooks and cubbies (and a wee bit of cramming) to store the four weeks’ worth of supplies. But I forgot about  the extra 165 pounds of Great Dane—and his bed and food, and more food–on board. It wasn’t looking good for unrolling my yoga mat. That concerned me. Vacation time away doesn’t mean time away from yoga. Hours of sitting on James, no matter how glorious the views, would be an open door to lurking rigidity.  No space? No problem, I decided. By pairing upward salutes with seated half dogs in my co-pilot seat, I created a rendition of […]