Happy First Month of Spring!!
We recently traveled thru Southwestern U.S. We traveled Route 66 thru the mining town of Oatman, AZ where the wild burros are in charge, to the Sand Dunes just outside Yuma, AZ winding our way to the Red Rocks of magical Sedona.
I kept my ‘handstand a day’ practice alive. Balanced for a moment or two in the sand dunes and on the mountainside overlooking Sedona. We camped and hiked in Alamo State Park in Nevada, we saw the full moon rise over the mountains of Sedona as we camped near Jerome, AZ. The sunsets were spectacular as were the sunrises. We toured ancient ruins in the back country of Sedona and of course we visited a psychic in Sedona. She agreed with us that life is indeed good!!
When we travel, I love learning a bit about the people we meet. We visited with lots of kindred spirited people from the north seeking sunshine, just like us. One couple from Missoula were the hosts of Alamo Campground in Nevada. A young man shared that he had spent a few years living at the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas near Arlee.
We met Navajo Jewelry Artists as we shopped at their outside market. One piece of jewelry just ‘had’ to come home with me. It is a silver swirl with a stone embedded at the top. The artist shared that in the Navajo tradition it symbolizes the Whirlwind (Nilch’i) or Swirl. It represents the powerful force of the wind that communicates between the elements of nature. It is the spiritual essence that pervades nature. Every living thing is touched by and communicates through nilch’i , the wind. It gives life and motion to plants, animals & objects in the universe. It is known to be the symbol of journey, it sweeps out the old and opens way for the new. We saw this very same symbol imprinted by the ancient inhabitants on the walls of the ruins we visited near Sedona.
The significance given to the nilch’i or wind means the same to me as the breath or Prana in the teachings of yoga. Reinforcing the understanding for me that we are all more alike that we are different. At our hearts we honor similar things. Our traditions and symbols may have different names, but the essence is very similar. When we close our eyes, we see each other through the similarities of our hearts. To me this is one of the greatest gifts of travel and of yoga.
May we be at peace, peace within and peace with each other,
Bonnie
