He's Not a Magical-Word Kind of Guy

My friend Carter used the word magical on a hike this week. He’s not a magical-word kind of guy.

Carter is a movement teacher and literary critic — about as allergic to soft language as anyone I know. He and Beau, a renowned hair stylist and salon owner, visited me for the last 4 days in Montana, for my birthday.

They both live about as well as humans can live: work they love, positive discipline, good relationships. People who have figured “it” out about as well as humans can. I know this not only because they feel good to be around, and their lives are objectively running well, but because they question themselves.

The best any of us can claim is confidence in our current perception.

So when Carter says magical, I pay attention.

He left breakfast for me on the kitchen counter while I was teaching my online Yoga school. The boys took off for the airport this morning.

On Thursday, we drove to a trailhead halfway to Big Sky. I changed my mind about the best parking spot four times. We started a moderate ascent. Below the trail to the left were old rockslides down to the run-off creek from the lake we hoped to find.

Above the trail lodge pole pines shifted like people waiting for the next band at a concert. Halfway up the trees paused, so we paused.

In the angled meadow, the wildflowers were having their moment: Indian Paintbrush, Lupine, and Wild Iris, and others I cannot yet name.

Beau suggested we spend two minutes looking at one square foot of the ground. The geometry of the plants came alive. The stillness clarified the growth trajectory of every part of what I think was a nascent Arrowleaf Balsamroot.

It sounds like we were on drugs but paying attention and allowing your eyes to relax in nature is all the boost you need. A few days in such beauty restructures your neurology.

We found the lake right where I remembered it and headed North-East to find the secluded swim spot, took a dip, got warm, and ate sandwiches. After the sandwiches, we each found a sun-warmed, flat rock and got quiet.

This is when Carter said magical.

Even if you are doing almost everything right, you still deserve, and will benefit, from experiencing beauty – especially nature.

Nothing fixes everything, but natural beauty and human connection are unbeatable for their impact on your overall wellness.

Carter and I go back nearly two decades to our vegan phase during immersive Yoga trainings with Dharma Mittra in New York City. What a time to be alive.

We are both a little more well-rounded now. Yes, there’s a pun there.

I know Beau from training with Carter at the Movement Standard in Dallas, one of only a handful of real movement schools in the USA.

Both of these guys, in addition to the work they do to earn a good living, are devoted practitioners. This means practice before work, another practice later on, and movement breaks throughout the day – not because a wellness device says so – but because having a body and learning to move it is freedom, joy, and self-understanding.

Having a real practice is different than working out. It is appreciating friction as an opportunity to learn to meet tension differently. Making lifestyle choices that support this level of activity is not a punishment or restriction but an expression of gratitude for the bodies we were given.

We still love and regularly consume ice cream. It’s our nightcap, and everything tastes even better watching the late sunset in a Northern latitude.

While Beau and Carter were visiting me in Montana, we did what we usually do, but we got to do it together. And they got to do it in the midst of mountain Summer.

Yesterday, Beau cut mine and Bella’s hair on the deck. The sky changed 3000 times. There was a downpour that would have had Noah looking to set sail. Five minutes later there was a double rainbow. Just another afternoon in Montana.

It was a little hard to say goodbye to my friends and head inside to teach my online class, but more so it was a moment of appreciation for friendship and Montana.

Take in for a moment that these two gentlemen came to Montana, did almost exactly the same things they do at home, and yet felt an incredible boost of energy, vigor, and appreciation for life.

Maybe you don’t do nearly as much movement practice, meditation, and that kind of thing as these boys do.

For what I’m about to tell you, that’s a good thing. Imagine what would happen for you if you were surrounded by nature, fed the best tasting real food you’ve ever had for a week straight

That’s the July 19-24 retreat.

Join us. My friends didn’t need Montana. They came anyway for my birthday, and the place itself did something big for them. Imagine what it could do for you.

We have 2 spots open July 19-24 on the Yellowstone retreat. If you are a human that wants to enjoy your life, this is for you.