Mindfulness Vacation in Maine

On Thursday morning I drove up to Denmark, ME via Conway, NH and Fryeburge, ME to spend a couple of nights at a retreat called Nurture through Nature in Denmark, ME. I knew I was going to love it as soon as I saw the Tibetan Prayer Flags strewn from tree to tree.
My goals were to be quiet, free from technology, spend time meditating and reading, hike high enough to get some fantastic views and enjoy some time practicing yoga.




My cabin was very easy to find and I found it very welcoming. I unpacked my gear and took a quick walk up the hill behind my cabin to check out the compostable toilet. I was fascinated by how the own of the retreat center has managed to build a completely environment friendly and sustaining center that is 100% off the grid. There are solar panels in front of the meeting house and all water comes from either mountain springs or the brook. There is even a hydro plant set up for electricity on the brook. In the spirit of conservation, I did all my cooking and heating of water on the wood stove in the cabin. However, I did use the drip coffee pot for my morning brew. I didn't have the patience for the water to boil.











After settling in, I checked out the trail maps that were left for me on the dining table and I set out on a short hike to the brook. After all of the rain we had last week the brook was running very fast and I heard the roar of the water over rocks before I came to the water's edge. There was a meditation island and I took time to sit and enjoy the sounds of nature.

















I returned to the cabin and spent time in the hammock reading and looking up at the trees and sky.

At 3:00 I had an individual yoga session with Jen Deraspe, the creator/owner of the retreat center. She has been leading retreats and expeditions in Maine for at least eight years and has an obvious love, compassion and sense of stewardship for the land. For more information check out the website at http://www.ntnretreats.com/index.html

After the yoga session, Jen helped me get my wood stove started and I heated up my soup for dinner. I was feeling the need for a shower and my options were to either heat up water and take a sponge bath or experience the joy of an outdoor shower. Always up for an adventure, I threw a couple extra logs on the fire so the cabin would heat up and then took off my clothes and wrapped myself in a sheet. I ran from my cabin to behind the meeting house where there was a shower set up. It was a shower that ran from a spring and, yes, it was outside. I turned on the water and yelled as the cold water hit my chest. For some reason, though, it felt fantastic and I managed to clean up and feel refreshed. I wrapped back up in the sheet and ran back to my cabin where the woodstove had heated it up enough to feel great after my cold shower. Yahoo!! I was clean, warm and dry! I spent the evening reading and tending the fire, star gazing and waiting for a moose to walk by the cabin.

The next morning I was up with the sun and spent some time in meditation at the picnic table. While I was meditating I heard footsteps coming down the path. When I turned it was Raja, the other yoga instructor at the center, and one of the directors on the retreat board, Moe. Moe is a lovely little white dog that appears to think that he the land is his own personal playground.

I had another yoga class at 9:00. That was a little more intense than I am used to and I realized that I need to take more structured classes. I need to join my local yoga studio and take at least two classes a week so that my posture is checked and so that I push myself past my comfort zone on a regular basis. The yoga studio was wonderful. On the second story of the meeting house all of the windows looked out on the fall foliage and the blue sky. A very sacred place.




After yoga, a lovely woman by the name of Patty was there to do foot reflexology. She set me up in one of those lovely anti-gravity reclining chairs as she sat on the picnic bench and worked on opening some of my energy blocks. Yowza and Ouch!! But even with the pain it felt great. She worked on my feet for an hour and I was amazed to see that as she worked on my energy there was a large cloud above us that was breaking up. It was wild. The cloud was coming from the west but as the edge came to just above us, it would dissipate and/or break off into small clouds. By the time Patty finished, the cloud was completely broken apart and gone. I told Patty it was her wonderful work and that I now shall always refer to her as "Cloud Breaker."

After a quick lunch I put on my hiking boots and grabbed Harold, my walking stick, (see previous posts) and headed up the trail. And I mean up. I wanted to do a full loop around the 33 acres and I also wanted to get to an altitude that would open up to some views. After trekking up a winding trail I came to an area covered with wild blueberry bushes. There were signs reminding me to stay on the trail as the area was fragile and I did my best to do so. I also saw a medicine wheel that had been set up and many cairns led my way. I regret that I knocked one over when I sat on the larger rock on which the cairn had been built. I did have some magnificent views of the White Mountains and the lakes in the region.
















I made it to the property line and after hearing some rifle shots I decided to stay on the protected land and avoid the possibility of being shot by some two legged carnivore. The trail took me back down to the mountain brook and I wandered back and forth over rocks and wooden bridges as I made my way back down to the trail leading to my cabin. I felt great.


I spent some more time in meditation after the hike and prepared for my sauna steam bath.















The sauna was built near the brook and is in the shape of a yurt. Half of it is the preparation room and the other half is the steam sauna. Jen had the fireplace lit and the rocks were hot. She gave me my instructions and two buckets of cold water from the brook and left me alone to enjoy my private sauna. I spent a few minutes in the sauna/steam and then would step out to drink some water and cool off and then go back in. I did this a few times and then poured water over my head and washed my hair with castille soap and the cold water from the brook. Again, in and out, making sure to drink plenty of water, and then finally rubbed myself down with the soap and rinsed off with the cool clear mountain water. Yahoo!!! Exhilarating!! Jen heard me yelling and came down. She laughed at me because she said the water did not need to be cold, but I found it absolutely wonderful and wouldn't have had it any other way. I felt great.

I went back to the cabin and found Harold resting.

That evening I spent reading Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Going Home - Jesus and the Buddha as Brothers, that I found on a shelf in the cabin. It was so good I spent the evening reading indoors and out, star gazing, reading and taking notes. I finished the book before I fell asleep.

The next morning I rose at the crack of dawn and spent the couple of hours before yoga mindfully cleaning the cabin, packing up my gear, and meditating. I had a guest and I was careful to be sure not to disturb him as he sat on the cooler on the porch. I have probably walked by hundreds of these while hiking but this one stayed on the cooler the whole morning and visited with me. His message to me was that it is okay to just sit still and be in the moment.

My last yoga class was at 9:00 with Raja and fortunately Jen had warned me that this class was going to be much more intense. I made up my mind to listen to my body and do only as much as I could and not push too far. I limited the downward dogs as my shoulders were sore and found other postures to do when the other participants were doing advanced balance poses or should stands. I worked up a tremendous sweat and still felt great.

I said my goodbyes and packed up my car, swept out the cabin and porch, and made one last trip up the hill. I already know I will return next October.