Chloe and I started Day 3 with a 2-hour group hike through the Miraval property in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains. So many of the cacti are beginning to bloom. Our knowledgeable guide pointed out different varieties of plants and their desert adaptations. The new-to-me fact
was when he pointed out where a packrat was living. He said that archeologists have learned from the artifacts left hidden and buried by pack rats over centuries!
Our Grounding Experience, a traditional Chinese treatment, was certainly calming! We got our heads, hands, and feet massaged with warm oils. Dreamy! We went into our next class, Chakra Creations, only knowing that we have chakras throughout our body, that our body works better when they are in balance, and serve different functions. Chloe knew more about chakras and their energy coming into the class, but we both were eager to create our bracelets to strengthen specific chakras. You do so by choosing different crystals and other beads which have particular significance for each chakra. Our teacher, Carolyn Fike, had organized an amazingly abundant supply of crystals and beads to choose from.
Our last class of the day was Malas, Mantras, and Mindfulness, taught by the woman above. I appreciated how she wove her own life experiences into the class content. We learned that everything is a lesson, from fabulous to horrifying to everything in between. The biggest takeaway for me is that there is no one size fits all way of meditating. If you’re going to do guided meditations, you need to find a person or app that resonates with you. You might choose to do physical meditations, of which there are several types. Did you know that there are 500 ways to breathe?
I had not ever heard of meditating using Malas beads. Our fingers touch each of the 108 crystals on it as you recite words or phrases. The closest representation of malas that I can think of are rosary beads. We said the meditation phrase Om Shanti Om 108 times and then discussed our experiences.
One last thing to think about. Did you know that humans are conditioned to focus on negativity? We need to put positivity out in the world consciously. The more we do so, the more we will be rewarded with positivity back in our lives.
