Benefits of Yoga Beyond the Body
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali states that Yoga is the practice of ceasing the fluctuations of the mind.
Oh boy, is that a tall order, especially these days, when we are constantly bombarded with information. The Sutras barely mention the body, and then only to say that we should move it in order to be strong and cleansed, to prepare the body so we can work on mastering the mind! The breath helps get us there, too, and when we are doing yoga poses — asanas — we can remember that “asana” means “ease”. When our body is in “ease”, there are far fewer distractions, such as pain, making it easier for us to tend to the mind.
In other words yoga, like life, is a process. Each one of us experiences many, and different, mental “inputs”.
How then do we master the mind? Sewall House retreats begin by realizing and recognizing the individuality of each guest.
I recently attended a webinar, offered by YOGALOVE magazine, that primarily had studio owners on the call. One of the participants said they could not remember the last time they felt like an individual in a yoga class. Another friend recently told me how she attends a gentle yoga class of 50 people which is run by an older experienced teacher who offers the practice in a way that works for all.
We take that up a notch at Sewall House, which many people have said is so helpful for them because of the intimacy. While larger resort and high-end wellness retreats pamper you, Sewall House nurtures you in a truly intimate environment. When a friend of mine who travels a lot came to us as a guest, he suggested the strength of Sewall House was its “intimacy”. Because “intimacy” is often associated with romantic relationships and sexuality, I looked it up.
Psych Central says that:
“Intimacy refers to a level of closeness where you feel validated and safe emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.“
A few summers ago, a person in our small town bullied me. One day, I saw the man as I entered the post office lobby, and, because I was tired and having a particularly difficult day, I made the decision to simply be quiet in his presence, thinking this might avoid his bullying. But as soon as he saw me, he started ranting. Then all 300 pounds of him stepped right up into my face! He (harmlessly) spouted his venom, but … I reacted, and when I did, I exploded! Of course I would have preferred to have been more zen, but I am human and must forgive myself my imperfections.
(Patience and responding instead of reacting are something I have been working on for years. Yoga helps me understand what I need to do, but it also helps me know that when I am rested I handle things much better.)
The point in this story is that in the outer world people can cross our boundaries, causing us to feel unsafe. The human quest to discover places we can retreat to process our life experiences is becoming more and more evident by the growth of wellness opportunities all over the world, and wellness can only come when we can experience an intimate level of closeness, where we feel validated and safe.
Sewall House offers that level of closeness.
Each Sewall House guest has a private room for rest, reflection, and private time. Our retreat’s proximity to nature soothes and heals our guests. Many of our guests have experienced Maine for the first time by kayaking on our huge, pristine lake, or hiking in our trails and mountains. We’ve assisted some with a loving hand through panic attacks, only to discover that while the activity — a steep hike for example — may have triggered the attack, it was something happening in their life — a divorce or some other transition — had caused them need support in that moment. Our minds are fascinating, and Sewall House holds nonjudgmental space for you.
Over the years Sewall House has offered a haven that fosters unexpected moments of laughing and crying together. Sometimes it happens during yoga or meditation, sometimes during a healing session. Sometimes it happens while hiking on a mountain, or sitting around the dinner table, or lying on the massage table, or chatting on the porch.
Sewall House offers a safe, nurturing, healing environment.
Here are a few examples of the kind of guests we had during our 2023 season:
- A woman who was caring for a friend with ALS came to Sewall House for a week of self care.
- A young woman who had lost her son during childbirth came to Sewall House with her grief and ended up deciding to go back to school to study a field where she can help others heal and be nurtured.
- A man going through a divorce who had relocated, switched jobs, and become sober came to Sewall House to help himself through these life transitions.
These people, and many more over the years, have come to Sewall House to experience the intimate embrace of this historic home where Theodore Roosevelt learned at a young age about the healing attributes of nature. He climbed our mountains and made lifelong friends, just as we have since 1997.
I remember one of our first guests in the late 1990s. Nearing retirement, and having just been assigned to a horrible new boss, our guest had landed in the hospital with pneumonia. Once she was discharged, she came to Sewall House to learn to breathe again (literally), to know that it was okay to live, and to find out that lying in child’s pose was her safety net. By the time this guest left she’d learned a short routine to do at home that would carry her through the last year of her job before retirement.
The woman I mentioned earlier, who was caring for her friend with ALS, gratefully sent me a book, River Of Doubt, which is about Theodore Roosevelt’s last adventure to South America. I had heard about, but not read, this book. Once I started it, I could not put it down!
Along with the book, the woman had included some photos of our hike together at Shin Pond Falls and a short note:
“Each day I am lovingly reminded of my time there. I truly treasure it”
We treasure the gift of everyone who travels to be a guest at Sewall House. We value each and every one of you in your individuality, and we do our best to help you sort through the layers of your mind, body, and emotions through yoga to help make each day one worth living, learning, and growing.
