WE ARE ZIPPERS.

I'm coming to you after a week of R&R at Kripalu Yoga and Health Center.

*exhale*

This center is a retreat space at its core. It's nestled deep in the Berkshires in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, filled with mindfulness, daily yoga and meditation with some incredible teachers, hiking trails, zero phone/technology distraction, delicious food and silent breakfasts. It’s lovely.

Although I did spend my final night here on the treadmill, blaring Lizzo through my AirPods and sweating up a storm (phew humidity, I’ve missed you) because sometimes a kick in the pants is what’s needed on a quiet and reflective getaway. Not sure if that’s the point?

I am so grateful to have had this time (and more to come in the future on this magical place), but I've certainly been curious since being here... how can I sustain these practices that I've learned here in the "real" world.

We’re zippers.

​What do I mean? There's a metaphor from psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach, that I read in Deep Listening by Jillian Pransky, which feels true from this moment of observation. "It's like we're in a motorboat noisily zipping around, trying to find a place that is quiet, peaceful, and still. We're solving a problem, responding to demands, preparing for what's next, improving ourselves. But we're just making more waves and noise wherever we go. It counters all our ambitious conditioning, but true freedom comes when we throttle back the motor and come naturally to stillness."

So where can we throttle back the motor and resist the urge to 'seek' the stillness by making more waves? We live in a fast paced world, pulled in many directions with a lot of distractions. But there are always moments to pause. And maybe the pauses can become more about being, rather than doing. If there's one thing I take from this experience, it's what I leave you with today:

a little + often = a lot

xo
Bailey

KRIPALU DAILY ROUTINES

As recommended here at Kripalu, I've experimented with these Ayurvedic inspired principles, some of which I've already practiced for years, and wanted to share them with you, too. Maybe you chose one or a few to begin and consider how you feel.

• Rise with the sun
• Cleanse the sense organs. Use a tongue scraper before brushing; rinse your eyes with cool or rose water
• Drink a mug of warm water
• Move in the morning when your body is strongest - yoga, walking, jogging
• In the evening, prepare for a restful sleep by turning off electronics, taking a few moments to journal or read a book
• Turn off the lights around 10pm