Top 5 Reasons To Join Us For A Weekend In The Woods

Open Sky Yoga & Restless Genes Wilderness Journey:  Colorado, August 1 - 2, 2015

Nature is calling you - Unplug, connect with the earth, work on your roots and listen to your primal calling.

      Connect with like-minded people -  Be inspired by others and make a new friend.  Feel supported in a safe place to reflect, explore and be playful. 

Focus on just you -  Get away from current situations and refocus your energy.  Listen to your intuition and gain a new perspective.  Connect with your mind and body.

You’ll leave feeling better - Rejuvenate - you deserve it!  Be surrounded by positivity.   You’ll leave the wilderness more grounded and in tune with yourself.

Try something new - Sleep under the stars, learn to forage for food and build a shelter. Go beyond your comfort zone by challenging yourself to adapt to a different situation in the Colorado wild.

S 

  Space still available.  Contact Jamie for details or to register.

Intuition Is a Primal Skill And Sacred Gift

 What is holding you back from doing what feels right?  Is it your overly rational brain or monkey mind?  Try listening to your intuition instead.   Intuition is a key element to the success of the human race.  I believe it is embedded in our DNA and is in our souls.  Our primal ancestors tapped into their intuition in order to survive and thrive. Unfortunately, our brains further developed and societies  “progressed” toward the direction of losing the ability to listen to our inner voice.

For those of us, who have the mind of an ADD/ADHDer, our brain is often clogged with a million thoughts per minute.  If this is you, you'll definitely want to do more research about intuition and how to tap into this primal and spiritual skill we have all been gifted. Learning how to calm the mind and listen to our inner voice can be a challenge for us in particular.

Tapping into our intuition is often side tracked by an unfocused or overly focused mind.  As a child and young adult, I thrived on the notion of being a free spirit and skipped through many open door opportunities.  During my 30's I thrived on being more “practical”.  I enjoyed weighing out the options for the best possible choice. Luckily,  I personally never feared making wrong choices, like many people do.  Otherwise, I may have held myself back in many ways.  Somewhere during my adulthood my logical mind took over.  Maybe because I felt the need to keep my daughter and family safe according to American societal standards.  However, in recent months, I have come to the realization that it is our intuition that keeps us rooted, safe, accepted, flexible and guided.

Take a minute to truly think about how times have changed, especially America's society.  We often hear the words, “Don’t play with fire!, don’t go outside barefoot, don’t climb big rocks, don’t play with sharp objects, blah, blah, blah".  What if we released some of those logical practicalities as adults and got back to the basics of trusting our own, AND other's instincts.  This includes learning to trust our children's instincts too.  I'm not telling you to drop your children off in the middle of a rain forest and wish them luck as they try to find their way back home, but I am encouraging adults to start topics of conversation and practice around listening to your inner voice.  Let your children explore and develop these skills.   What if we encourage youth to trust and listen to their instincts rather than second guess every thought in their head because this is what society models?  Are we raising the upcoming generation to think for themselves?   Be confident in their choices?  To trust their inner voice?  

Teaching our youth to listen to their intuition is the best gift we can give.

The over rational monkey mind leads us to question our instincts.  Is this REALLY benefiting our overall happiness and well-being? 

Click here for 6 Easy Ways To Strengthen Your Intuition.

Why Do We Instinctively Spend More Time Outside In The Summer?

This time of year might be one of your favorite seasons.  Summer (in the northern hemisphere) has arrived!  Spending time outside seems much more inviting.  The weather is warmer, our moods are uplifted, we aren't weighed down by heavy clothing,  we have a need to increase our physical activity, we feel healthier, our motivations increase, our senses are heightened and we instinctively crave to spend MUCH more time outdoors.

There are countless reasons why we are drawn to spend time outdoors.  Research has proven the benefits of spending time outside and WHY we NEED to be outside.  Below are four simple reasons why our primal instincts kick in and signal our brain to get out into nature on a regular basis.

 4 SIMPLE REASONS WHY OUR BODY CRAVES THE OUTDOORS

Me getting my shot of Vitamin D on May 20, 2015
(Yes, that is snow on the ground)

Vitamin D - Our bodies need vitamin D to help process calcium.  Calcium is what helps our bones grow and stay strong.  Without sufficient vitamin D we are at greater risk for breast cancer, colon cancer, depression, weight gain, osteoporosis, heart disease and diabetes, just to name a few.  The sun's rays are strongest in the northern hemisphere this time of year, so expose your skin to the sun (yes really) and get your daily shot of vitamin D today!

Mental Health - Studies have shown people who spend more time outside have a much healthier and happier mental state.  Why do you think eco-therapy and wilderness therapy are growing industries? Exploring nature and being aware of our surrounds has a calming effect on most people.  It's also healthy to push our comfort levels to try new outdoor adventures and expand our confidence.  Being outside gives us a sense of freedom and enlightenment.

Grounding or Earthing - Grounding is a way to connect to the earth's energy and pulse of her heart. Sitting in the ground, walking barefoot, sleeping on the ground at night are all simple ways to re-energize yourself.  This can help clear your mind to improve your focus and creativity.  Try grounding for 15 minutes per day for a week and see how you feel on day seven.

Physical Well Being - When we play outside we improve our balance by walking on uneven ground. We exercise more by playing sports, gardening, outdoor recreating, exploring and just romping around.  Even just breathing clearer air free of indoor toxins, can help your lungs and healthy body status.  With the increase of exercise, your sleep should improve as well.

What if we didn't spend time outdoors?  What would happen to us then?  How sad.  Watch the below video to learn more about what would happen if you stopped going outside.

If you'd like to learn more about how a lack of spending time in nature impacts us, check out Nature Deficit Disorder.

Yoga & Wilderness Survival Skills Journey Announcement!

Restless Genes and Open Sky Yoga have partnered to offer an amazing one night/two day wilderness journey south of Fairplay, Colorado located at 9,000ft in elevation.  Join us in a small group setting, while we connect with others, nature and ourselves.  Specific activities include yoga, barefoot earthing, mini solo experience, soul gazing, wilderness survival skills, wild plant identification, star gazing and more.  The price of $95-$140.00 is based on a sliding scale donation.  Meals and gear are not included, however we will provide hot drinks (coffee, tea, etc.) for the group each morning and night.  More details to come soon!  Contact Jamie DeLuccio to register.  Space is limited to only 12 people, so save your spot today!

Six Traits All Survivalists Share

I believe EVERYONE, even in this day of high comfort and vast technology, still has at least some wilderness survival instincts embedded deep within their DNA that has been handed down from our ancestors.   It's our choice to act on those instincts, and for some this may be a bit easier.  For example, if you grew up on a farm, in an off-grid cabin, or spent countless hours sleeping under the stars, your instincts may be sharper  than the average westernized person.  If your idea of spending time outside is laying on a beach or mowing the lawn, your survival instincts might be pretty dull.  If a person decides to hone in and polish these instincts, they can eventually develop into survival traits.  These traits will give them the ability to survive in extreme situations. All true wilderness survivalists share six common survival traits.  These traits are the keys to their survival.

Over the past couple of years, I've read many books and websites on the characteristics of wilderness survivalists.  Even though survivalist's backgrounds may vary, there are common survival traits they share.  Two of my favorite survivalists are Ernest Shackleton and Zebulon Pike.   Ernest Shackleton overcame extreme conditions, not only for himself, but for his team.  Some will argue he put himself and his team in danger, but despite this perspective his story is quite heroic.  I  consider Zebulon Pike the "Ernest Shackleton of the Rocky Mountains" due to the paralles of their stories.  Another story that is quite impressive is that of a 3 year old girl, who survived 11 days in a Siberian Forest by herself.  At age three, she had just enough common knowledge of water, food and shelter to keep herself safe until help arrive.  I honor all of these survivalists and find their stories inspirational.

After a lot of curiosity, research and just plain creative thinking, I decided to come up with my own list of traits found in true survivalists.   Below is a list of Six Traits All Survivalists Share I think are necessary to survive and thrive in the wild.

Going into any survival situation, one needs to prioritize.  Being familiar with the Rules Of Three is a key element into survival.  The rules of three state that it takes an average of 3 minutes to die without oxygen, 3 days to die without water and 3 weeks to begin to die without food (or at least before your body literally starts eating away at your organs).   Some people also say you can't survive 3 hours without shelter.  I challenge this because it depends on the environment in which you are located.  I've survived more than 3 hours without shelter many times.  (My opinion on this will be addressed in a distance future post.)  Another common killer of survival in the wild is hypothermia, which can relate to the shelter piece.  While keeping these four (oxygen, water, food and hypothermia) survival threats in mind, a survivalist will know how to prioritize.  Priorities of survival can change each minute, hour, day or week depending on any immediate threats.  It takes a rational thinking person to prioritize the needs at each moment, while thinking ahead to the future.

Since my recent intentional survival experience in a Central American jungle, I've re-evaluated what survival really means to me and what type of person can truly survive and thrive in the wild.  Some of my thoughts parallel Charles Darwin's famous quote, "Survival of the Fittest".   I grew up thinking this statement  meant only the strongest and fastest survive.  This is a common misconception.  Upon further reading, I found Darwin's quote has a much different meaning.  He defined "fittest" as meaning those that can adapt to their surroundings verses always being the strongest.   After my survival experience,  I consider Darwin's theory to be true.  I may not the strongest or the fastest in any given group of people.  However, my ability to survive in the wilderness is definitely higher than the average person.  Why?  Because I have all six traits listed above.  Some might be more pronounced than others, but I'm willing to strengthen and improve my shortcomings to become an even better survivor!

What survival traits and skills do you have?