Maplelag: A Place of Awe and Wonder
“When it’s really cold, the snow makes a lovely noise underfoot, and it’s like the air is full of stars.”
A brutally honest retrospective, largely pulled from Amanda’s journal.
Thursday 1/6/2022
We have arrived at Maplelag. Some key members of the staff here, as well as one of our special guests, are in quarantine due to exposure or positive tests. We are all a bit shaken and anxious. It’s 30 degrees below zero and gusting. By the time I arrived here, here being a sprawling resort precisely in the middle of nowhere, my gas light was on. I decided to drive into town to fill up before another day of double digit sub-zero temps.
I blew into a snowdrift on the way back and couldn’t get out. (Some people might call this going into the ditch).The road is indiscernible from the ditch, everything an expanse of white, and at such cold temps the car slips and slides easily. I have lost some driving skills after spending two years largely at home.
The man who helped me dig out wouldn’t get within 10 feet because he was masked (as was I) and he “didn’t want to infect me and vice versa.” I won’t take off my N95 mask to teach yoga. It is not ideal. I eat by myself to avoid infection. It is not ideal. I wonder if I’m repeating myself (sorry if I am) and wonder if I have anything interesting to say, I’m no longer used to hearing my own voice out loud. I have lost many social skills after two years largely at home.
Twice we’ve had bed bugs at yoga retreats (story for another time but ya, truly awful). Once we had to evacuate a retreat due to approaching wildfires. We’ve managed through COVID for nearly two years. And yet, Omicron is now presenting us with a fresh new challenge, sigh. I’m feeling a bit defeated. Everyone here has been fully vaccinated and took a negative test prior to arrival. I am wondering, will this be a yoga retreat from he##?
On the flipside- the hallways here are lined with railroad signs from all over the U.S. I wonder at the people those signs greeted, the people who said goodbye beneath them, about the person who took down the sign and closed the door one last time. A sauna on the edge of a frozen lake, a hole for jumping in covered in ice, a hot tub room with a retracting roof and a wall of windows dripping with icicles, trees heavy laden with snow, and new marvels hidden in literally every nook and cranny have me absolutely in love with the awe and magic of this incredible place. There must be at least 400 pairs of antique skis here, some that are so large and strange they look more like small boats than skis. The library beckons one to hide in an alcove with a blanket and a good book. The tower begs for a small group to hide away to play games, share secrets, or sip coffee in the wee hours of the morning.
The temperatures are so cold the air is alive, each breath full of snap and the entire world crisp, crunchy, fragile. The snow makes a special crunching sound only experienced when the temps drop below 10 degrees. I love the way you hear and experience the crunchy snow on the soles of our feet beneath our boots on these cold, cold days. Even in Minnesota, the weather only reaches -30 and below a handful of times each here. I can’t help but feel these exceptionally cold, dark days are to be treasured.
The theme of our retreat is Hygge, a Scandinavian term that describes a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being. For me this often shows up in the way we make dark winters cozy- slippers, wool socks, steaming mugs of warm drinks, comfy seating, good books, and warm lighting. Maplelag has mastered this concept. The theme couldn’t have been more fitting.
So, we will see what tomorrow brings!
Friday 1/7/2022
We broke our opening circles and opening yoga classes into two smaller groups to help limit how many people are in the yoga room at once. I am heartened seeing some beloved old friends, familiar (masked) faces, and moving together in such a special place. The yoga room is equipped with dozens of remote control candles and I am thrilled with the ambiance.
Samantha McDowell is here as our photographer and I’m looking forward to spending time with her. Of all the noise on my instagram feed, @samantharosecreativeco is one of my favorite people to follow. She is full of messy, creative, enthusiastic, energy- the best kind! I am also thrilled because my best friend from college, Sarah, and her mom, Julie, are here. I’ve long looked up to both of these women as they bring joy and light with them wherever they go. Julie has been teaching yoga for over twenty years and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from her.
It was a busy day full of comfort food, welcoming hellos, uncertainty, a bit of fear, and anticipation. What will the weekend bring? Feeling more hopeful.
“Doing those deeply unfashionable things—slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting—is a radical act now, but it is essential. This is a crossroads we all know, a moment when you need to shed a skin. If you do, you’ll expose all those painful nerve endings and feel so raw that you’ll need to take care of yourself for a while. If you don’t, then that skin will harden around you.”
Saturday 1/8/2022
On Friday the temperatures were 30 below zero. On Saturday, the temperatures were in the 20s, a 50 degree temperature swing in one day. This is a very special Minnesota experience. Imagine an August where one day we had 90 degree temperatures and the next day 40. The swing is almost so large it is hard to wrap your mind around.
I am heartened to see the connections being made and the fun being had. Everyone took advantage of the warmer weather to hit the ski trails, snowshoe trails, fat biking trails, and more! Several retreaters decided to do the polar plunge! They warmed up in the lakeside sauna, ran out to the hole in the ice, and jumped into the freezing cold water!
There was some sort of alchemy happening when people emerged from those cold waters. Samantha bravely photographed all jumpers, sacrificing herself to the cold temps for hours. In her words, “everyone emerged 5 inches taller.” It was quite a fun show to watch folks run from the sauna to the ice hole and back to the sauna. Many expletives were shouted, everyone around cheered and hollered, and some amazing quotes came out of the mouths of the plungers. I.e. “I birthed two children! I can do this!”
We enjoyed several yoga classes, including a special 90 minute class with Julie Welle focused on functional, safe movement for all bodies. Additionally, Julie led us in an Ayurvedic Workshop for Vibrant Health. Julie was such a star and we all enjoyed learning from her immensely!
We also had a lively discussion about the book Wintering by Katherine May. We cannot recommend this book enough! May describes, “wintering” as “a fallow period in life when you’re cut off from the world, feeling rejected, sidelined, blocked from progress or cast into the role of an outsider.” Examples might include bereavement, difficult childbirth, illness, the loss of a job, failure in love. “However it arrives,” she writes, “wintering is usually involuntary, lonely and deeply painful.”
It was validating to hear many others share their experiences of our collective “wintering” through the last two years of the pandemic.
“Snow creates that quality of awe in the face of a power greater than ours. It epitomises the aesthetic notion of the sublime, in which greatness and beauty couple to overcome you—a small, frail human—entirely.”
Sunday 1/10/2022
Although I was deeply uncomfortable with the rapid spread of Omicron, I have to admit it felt so good to be a human, hanging around with other humans, simply having fun. I truly had a great time, even if I did eat alone and leave my n95 on the whole time. Although I wasn’t part of many of your adventures (as I often feel I am), I could see that adventures were being had left and right! People were snowshoeing in the dark, rolling in the snow after the hot tub, and who knows what else.
At the closing circle I shared that I was moved by all the people that attended the retreat in order to rest, rejuvenate, and leave with an abiding sense of peace. The world needs people like those in attendance, those willing to bring that peace back to their families and communities. We especially hope our healthcare workers and teachers left feeling rested- we are so thankful for all you are doing during these very difficult circumstances.
We should never underestimate the power of our own healing.
The time we spend working to find the pause between action and reaction, building our mindfulness skills, and cultivating peace is what will make the world a better place. Although I was less available than usual at a typical retreat, I felt so moved simply knowing that folks were doing their own inner-work.
A quote I’ve thought about a lot in 2021, and in fact included on our holiday card, is as follows:
“Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”
As I drove the long, windy, snow covered roads home I felt alive with the buzz and energy of the retreat. I am so thankful for all of you, simply knowing you are out there doing the best you can for the world.
Remember, as long as you are breathing, you are practicing yoga.
As the sign at Maplelag said, “No goodbyes, simply see you next time!”
Maplelag is a truly special place. Huge thank you to all the staff that treated us so warmly and took great care of us even amidst these challenging circumstances. We hope to come back- this is a Minnesota bucket-list place! You need to see it to believe it!
Huge, huge thank you to the most amazing Samantha McDowell for her hard work. One great way to show the love is to follow her on instagram @samantharosecreativeco We love you and your big energy! Whoop!
For those of you who had the pleasure of hearing about Lipstick Liza’s cool business, you can also follow her at @noshandgather.
Julie Welle’s website can be found at wellelifebalance.com
Some of the other helpful resources she shared include:
JoyfulBelly.Com
BanyanBotanicals.com
Ayurveda.com
Lifespa.com (Dr John Douillard)
Lastly, a note to say…
Covid sucks. Thank you for all you did to help make this event as safe as possible (providing evidence of full vaccination, providing a proof of negative test, masking up, and practicing safety.) It is really difficult to manage in-person events at this time and honestly, our hearts go out to all of you that work in person-to-person services because two years of this is exhausting. We continue to do our best to follow CDC guidelines, protect the health and safety of our guests, and to do our best to practice Ahimsa (non-harm) for our communities.
Thank you @samantharosecreativeco for these amazing images!
