Refreshing the Body, Mind, and Spirit

Yesterday I left New York City and headed upstate to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. After a stressful commute, which involved getting stuck on the subway, being late to meet my friend and missing my train and having my next train delayed a hour, I arrived at the Rhinecliff station. I was greeted by my uncle in what my mom initially said would be a red Saab convertible, but later texted me to let me know it was actually burgundy, just in case there was both a red and a burgundy Saab convertible outside the small town train station.

After checking into Omega around 2:30pm, receiving my room key, and being told I couldn’t enter my room until 5pm, I immediately broke the rules and went to my room and dropped off my stuff. As I tried to find a good place to stuff my luggage, I heard “Yay! You’re here!” and turned around to see my friend standing in the doorway. Despite Omega’s privacy policy, we had both broken the “5pm rule” and found each other.

Long Pond Lake. Rhinebeck, NY.

Then we headed out into the world of Omega. I went to the café and ate some nachos and sipped raspberry iced tea. I went to the patchouli-smelling bookstore and bought a 25-cent pen. Then I went back to the patchouli-smelling bookstore and splurged on a red sketchbook and a soft and comfy teal and charcoal patterned knit “blazer sweater” that I would not mind wearing every day forever. Then I headed to the lake, sketched some people in their bathing suits, laid face down on the grass then tried to climb into a hammock built for people taller than I.  My friend and I worried we may have interrupted other people’s zen with our hysterical giggles as we struggled with the hammock, unable to both climb in, but after many attempts, some strategizing, and new approaches, we made it in. After resting in the hammock briefly, we got the urge to swim. So we headed back to our rooms, changed into our swimsuits, returned to the lake and took a swim before heading to our vegetarian dinner buffet. After dinner we snuck into the very expensive BobbyMcFerrin Circlesongs workshop and listened to singing voices improvise and joined in song circles and just stood under the trees singing and making all types of musical noises.

Today I woke at 6:40am to the most un-zen alarm clock I have ever heard and attended my first meditation. Later, I will splurge on a fancy massage. I will sit in the sauna and swim in the lake. I may take a yoga class. I may go for a run. I will relax and decompress and refresh myself for the upcoming school year. Tomorrow I may try out tai chi. As one of my dear colleagues says, “Summer vacation isn’t for the students. It’s for the teachers to forget how bad the year was so they can come back and do it all over again.”