YOGA CAMP

By paying attention, we can empower ourselves to work through the patterns and find objective truth.

Scott offers simple tools to practise at home, explaining that he often practises mindfulness while doing something mundane and domestic, like the washing up. He tells us that Buddhist monks used to practise meditation while conducting Japanese tea ceremonies, and that done with attention, even washing up a few cups can become a moving meditation – just like walking, or yoga.

We spend a few minutes walking through the woods, concentrating on the undulating track back to the treehouse in silence, taking in the scent of bark and moss, the sound of the birds high in the branches. This concentration is continued within the walls of a classroom with a still meditation and then out on the veranda, as Scott leads a gentle Vinyassa Flow class. He encourages us to slow things down and allow our bodies time to find the postures, and I discover that my body does appear to know the way better. My spine feels a little longer; my hamstrings are looser.

Later as we sit in the early evening sun, toasting marshmallows around a fire-pit, I sit for a few minutes, thinking about nothing in particular. I turn my marshmallow over the heat, watching it transform from pink sponge to molten caramel. I am learning the art of meditation.