Walt Bailey Meadows – Washington State
September 18, 2021, 9 – 5pm – $45
Details: 4 miles round trip, 500 feet gain.
Meadow Yoga: Join us for a bug-free hiking getaway at this beautiful meadow location on the Mountain Loop Highway, just 1.5 hours from Seattle. This is an a beautiful time of year, and the bugs will be gone! We will invite some silence and walking meditations, do some gentle yoga in a gorgeous meadow, eat lunch in the forest, and get some nice fresh air.
Forest Bathing: We will play with the idea of “Forest Bathing”, This healing art in Japan is called Shinrin-yoku Forest Therapy, the medicine of simply being in the forest. Shinrin-yoku is a term that means “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing.” It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine.
Trail and Road conditions: This hike is not particularly long (4 miles round trip, 500 foot elevation gain), but there are two challenges. One, the trail is rough at times, with roots and rocks, so this will be part of our yoga balance practice! Secondly, we will drive about 10 miles on gravel road, but the road is in good condition, not many potholes. And the good news is that this hike gets very few people on it, unlike the hordes at Lake 22 and other easier access hikes.
What to Bring: Small backpack, a lunch, layers of clothes, rain gear just in case. Well behaved dogs welcome (although ours misbehaves a bit!).
How to Get there: We will discuss car pooling.
Itinerary:
✓ 9:00am: Meet at our home in Everett for a cup of tea or coffee and short meditation. Or, you can meet us at the Verlot Ranger Station at 10:00
✓ 9:30: Drive, heading east on Mt Loop Highway.
✓ 11:00am: Arrive at trailhead, begin hike, under 2 miles to beautiful meadow
✓ 12:00: Meadow Yoga
✓ 1:00: Lunch, then Silent Meditation walk around meadow
✓ 2:00: option to hike a bit further
✓ 3:00: Hiking meditation back towards trailhead
✓ 4:00: Arrive back at cars, head home
About the instructors:
Liz Gross: “I believe all healing involves alignment of the soul with the body.” Liz is a gifted sound and vibration healer, and teaches with Roy on retreats. Liz teaches yoga, meditation, Oneness and often does some of the cooking on our retreats. “When you’re consciously in touch with the life energy within yourself, you have awareness & communication with the flow of energy that connects you to spirit. I feel very passionate about Vibrational Medicine and love working with others in this way & helping others to connect with their purpose and passion in life. Vibrational Energy Medicine brings the physical, emotional, mental, & spiritual bodies back into balance, which opens the way for rebuilding the healing systems of the body.”
Roy Holman: I am a 500 hour Certified Yoga teacher, in the Viniyoga tradition. I teach a safe, gentle, body-friendly, grounded, breath-connected, meditative, flowing traditional hatha yoga – a meditation in motion really. I like to move slow, give time to breathe deeply and savor the poses. I also teach breath-work (pranayama) and meditation, and also try to incorporate the many aspects of emotional healing and balancing I have learned. The meditation is a mindfulness style, with focus on breath awareness, heart opening, body senses, emotional clearing, and connection on all levels (body, breath, emotions, Earth, Spirit).