Getting Ready for the Next Round

After our intense, exhausting time in San Francisco, capped by a seriously uncomfortable overnight flight home to Boston, I am now getting ready to go back to Green Mountain at Fox Run for two weeks, starting Sunday.  The part of me that has to unpack and repack and get organized is feeling a little overwhelmed, but the part of me that is yearning to be healthier is excited and eager.

I love Green Mountain.  I love the vastness and solidity of Okemo Mountain, which watches over our days there.  I love the staff, who have become practically family after all the time I've spent there, and I love the other women who take part in the program.  Being able to spend the bulk of my days taking care of myself and making my health my top priority is a wonderful gift, and one that I appreciate deeply.

It is a place where mindfulness comes easily.  The clarity and quiet of the Vermont air form a magnificent backdrop for the act of paying attention.  Sometimes, when I am meditating at home, I can hear my feet crunching on the track as I walk my laps, a gentle, rhythmic sound that I find enormously grounding.  I look forward, always, to the wonderful meals so lovingly prepared by chefs Jon and Lisa, who are so generous in sharing their knowledge with us in the hopes that we can learn to cook mindfully and with joy.  If I want quiet and solitude, I can spend hours by myself, coming out of my room only for the occasional class and meals.  If I want company, there is always someone interesting to talk to or to provide a hug, an encouraging word or a little commiseration.

I'm looking forward to my time there as an oasis in a very busy spring.  I'm just above the weight where I feel comfortable in my skin, and the two weeks in Vermont should get me back to a more tolerable level, in addition to helping me figure out what my next focus needs to be.  I hope that two weeks of regularly engaging in strength training will help make that a routine again, and that two weeks of upping my cardio and walking (of necessity) up and down stairs many times a day will make moving a little easier.  And finally, I am planning to use my various physical therapy aids regularly, so that my ankle pain will recede to a more manageable level.

Of course, the dangers of having expectations are always lurking.  If I get there and have a flare-up of orthopedic issues or asthma, I won't be able to do all the activities I've been imagining, and that will be disappointing.  But I've never been there without learning the next thing I needed to work on, so I am confident that this will be a good use of my time, whatever I take away from it.

I'm also planning to try to post every day while I'm at Green Mountain, so that I can share what I learn and help solidify it in my mind.

A hui hou.