I was worried about my yoga vacation, before it even started, Why I’m Stressing About My Upcoming Yoga Vacation, and then I decided I had to leave it a day early Why I Had to Escape Early from My Yoga Vacation and now for the actual escape…
After a restless, fidgety 90 minute 6:00 am session of meditation, my friend and I decided we couldn’t take it a minute longer and started frantically packing our bags. I felt like a convict making a prison escape, which was ironic considering that this was supposed to be a relaxing yoga vacation. At 7:45 am we proceeded to check out to a very surprised and perplexed hotel clerk who reminded us that we weren’t supposed to be checking out until the next day – as if we had somehow gotten our days mixed up. We assured we were were well aware of that and were not surprised that we had to pay for our room in full – freedom had a price and we were willing to pay it!
We then asked her to call us a taxi since we were half way up a mountain. She said something in German that we didn’t understand, but I did understand when she said the roads were closed until 11:00, making it impossible for any cars to pass through. We asked her if it would be possible to walk along the road, still not uunderstanding why the roads were closed. She thought about it for a minute then said “maybe, but I highly recommend that you wait until 11:00.” That was far too long, we had to get out – NOW! We then returned our meditation cushions to the Yoga Retreat Center who questioned while we were leaving. I told her it was not what we expected and too intense. She sniffed and said it would get easier, but could see that our minds were already made up. Without saying it, I sensed that she thought we were spirtually inferior to her – something I could quite happily live with, if I could just get the heck out of there.
Despite the roads being closed, we decided to try our luck and walk our way out from our yoga vacation- 7km to the nearest town with a train station, with our very full bags, yoga blankets and mats. We had not come prepared for hiking and had not packed accordingly, but our desire to escape was stronger than any discomfort we might have from carrying our gear in inappropriate bags. Then it started to rain as we made our way down the mountain on a path that was getting muddier by the minute. At this point we burst out laughing and didn’t really stop laughing.
Once we made our way down to the main road, we saw that it was closed for the bike portion of a triathlon. Things were starting to pick up, we could continue on the walking path, without having to wait until 11:00 and we had entertainment! We got lost, back tracked several times, asked policemen for directions and trying to demystify signs pointing in opposite directions to our destination. But luck was on our side, as we approached the finish line of the triathlon, we noticed a train station – one that was closer than they one we had planned on going to. We were hungry and wet, but in surprisingly high spirits.
My whole purpose of doing the yoga vacation was to do something out of my comfort zone, which 6 hours of combined yoga and meditation and only eating two meals a day certainly was. I had achieved this – not according to our plan, but I still had achieved it nevertheless. I learned that sometimes “doing the right thing” is quitting and although I’m a very determined (some might say stubborn) person who hates quitting anything I’ve started, I had no guilt. In this instance “doing the right thing” was quitting and I had no regrets. Neither did I have any regrets when at the first opportunity I ordered a large cappuccino (caffeine was also prohibited during the yoga vacation) and gobbled down a rather unhealthy breakfast.
I also don’t regret going on the yoga vacation. No it wasn’t my cup of (herbal) tea, but it was an interesting experience, got me out of my comfort zone, and since coming back from the yoga vacation I am doing yoga more regularly and even taking the time to meditate – just on my own terms, which not 6 hours a day!
What travel plans have you taken that didn’t turn out as planned? What was the result?