Standing atop 6,450 foot view, overlooking the city, the red sandstone rock walls and the gleaming sun still rising, I gazed at a few deer calmly walking across the hillside. Its hard to conceive that I hadn’t driven a long distance to get this view or to find this serenity in the outdoors at this level, but I, along with hundreds of others had clambered up 350 steps from the parking lot to do so. If you are familiar with Colorado, you have already guessed that I am standing at the top of Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Amidst all the wonderful adventures and opportunities of exploration I seek all over the world, I must stop to acknowledge just how amazing the area is in my home region of Colorado. From the minute I first moved here I have never wanted to live anywhere else. Like many others, I am in awe of the playground that is Colorado. I am never at a loss for something to do, I am instead always having to choose between many options!
This summer as I scanned my options and filled my calendar with fun, I added a Saturday of Yoga on the Rocks. The series is offered only from June through August each summer and they typically sell out fast. This is a pretty amazing feat when you consider the full capacity is 2,000 yogis! That is precisely why I picked my August Saturday early on and didn’t delay or overthink it. Unbelievably, I had not yet ever attended a Yoga on the Rocks but it has been on my wish list for many years.
Why Drive 45 Minutes Just To Go To A Yoga Class?
I’ve done countless yoga classes of many shapes, forms and sizes. Getting outside is another level of the practice that I found irreplaceable. A community so large as 2,000 people provides an energy so powerful and so positive, that there is an underlying strength that seems to flow through the rows and rows of attentive bodies. The breeze, the sun and the fresh air offer a delightfully subtle distraction from the more challenging poses that would typically be louder in one’s mind within the four walls of a yoga studio.
Once the 60 minutes of postures and poses came to a close, I felt a calmness that I had needed so desperately after the week of meetings, stress and busy functions of my office work day-to-day life. Taking this time, outside for myself was a true gift and well worth the advance planning, the drive and yes, even the 350 steps uphill from the parking lot. There is something so soothing about the red sandstone walls encapsulating the amphitheater and the connection of thousands gathering to share it together with the sun warming all in the process.
Its a reminder that we can love travel and seeking new things and can tend to get in a routine sometimes with workouts in the outdoors at home. I hope everyone remembers that sometimes, we can find serenity and renewed energy from the outdoors right in our own backyard.