Blog #56: SPRING BREAK 2K19

Spring Break is all about getting wild with your friends, and making memories that you may or may not actually remember!! Yeah!!

Just kidding. I don't know about other people, but my 'spring break' is going to be just about anything but that. In fact, in about nine hours, I'll be on a plane flying to Rishikesh, the yoga capital of the world, for a yoga retreat. By myself.

As I sit here at 8:30pm, listening to Mary Alice a floor above me sing 'Saturday Sun' by Vance Joy, practicing on the ukulele she recently bought, I'm thinking about what I want to get out of this solo trip, and how I want to feel when I get back.

From the very beginning of trying to make spring break plans, I knew I wanted something more 'spiritual,' for lack of a better term. In this land of religion and spirituality, I have struggled to find a strong connection to a Divine, a Truth, a God, or Source, as Sarah would call it, and I think a large part of this is being wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of this sprawling city.

I feel most connected, both to myself and to Source, when I am in nature, and that has been lacking in my time here. So, with a weekend of yoga surrounded by the Himalayas, desire number one met.

Secondly, I've been wanting time to decompress, to relax, and to realign. Again, getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of a new city makes me feel the need to realign myself and rejuvenate. What better way to do this than a weekend of meditation and yoga? Desire number two met.

Now, as I'm preparing to go on this adventure, I'm thinking about intentions for my time there, in order to make the most of it. Many ideas have crossed my mind, but I've realized they could all be captured by a single word; presence.

More than anything, I want to be very present during my time in Rishikesh. I'm a person who struggles a lot with this in my day to day life, often being distracted by my phone, by upcoming deadlines, by anxiety about the future, etc. This often leaves me feeling cloudy when I'm with other people.

To begin stepping away from this, I'm setting a very clear intention to be present over my trip. This will help me to find a connection, to be more receptive to what I'm learning, to find a sense of mental clarity, and to realign. By focusing on being present, I will be able to make the most out of my experience in Rishikesh.

This being said, I won't be bringing my laptop, and I will likely leave my phone off for most of the day. Although I will still be writing a blog post every day, there's a chance they may not be posted until after I'm home.

As for now, it's time to go to sleep, because I've got to leave for the airport in five hours! Here's to being present, whether it's meditating in the Himalayas or walking through traffic to get to school, at family dinners or at work, in class or in nature.

Getting a little practice in beforehand.