How to Stay On A Permanent Vacation

Hello Dear Readers,

I am bound for Philadelphia, so I am taking a vacation this week - but not really.

You will find me vacationing, not in Philly although there are some great sights to see there, while making a "first ever of its kind" presentation to a national audience. I'll be speaking on the unique methods that medical professionals can use to employ medical therapeutic yoga in athletic training and rehabilitation settings.

Turns out, last year The National Athletic Trainers' Convention invited me to speak on the very topic I have been practicing since 1995. So this Thursday I'll be in vacation mode while presenting: Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Practice: Using Evidence Based Yoga to Evaluate the Athlete.

For those of you who have a professional interest in my work you can find me here:
Location: NATA Annual Convention June 24, 2010 Thursday, 7-9 am Philadelphia, PA
Presentation: Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Practice: Using Evidence Based Yoga to Evaluate the Athlete
Author: Ginger Garner MPT, ATC ERYT-500, PYT, Founder & Executive Director of Professional Yoga Therapy
Assistants: Terersa Donahue, PTA, PYT, and Eleanor Liebson, OT, PYT

Otherwise, what's your take home message?

A vacation is a state of mind. Although I did just return from a much longed for but surprisingly last minute vacation with my husband, I am working on remaining in this "vacation state of mind" as long as I can sustain it. (kind of like trying to stay in a meditative, calm, serene state long after your meditation or yoga class has ended).

You know, it's tough work staying this relaxed all the time - trying to stay in vacation mode - but it is working! But now faced with making this presentation, I am going to have to take the commitment level up a few notches. It will be rather hard to stay in my "vacation state of mind" while making a first ever presentation to a huge group of medical professionals - an ever intelligent but also healthily skeptical group of human beings (this won't be easy for me to do).

However, I am committed to the task. After years of trying (sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing, but always picking myself up, dusting myself off, and trying again) to stay on the Constant Prayerful Meditation Wagon, I realize that I don't need to wait for years to get on the Constant Vacation Wagon. I just need to go there in my mind, and realize that, in the words of Jon Kabat-Zinn, "where ever I go, there I am."

In other words, I don't have to be touring a cathedral in Europe (my kind of vacation) or lounging on the white sands of some distant Pacific island (not as enjoyable as Europe for me) to be able to relax, renew, and restore. I just need to flip the "vacation" switch in my mind.

So here it goes - this week I am working in the trenches of the "healing arts field" 7 days in a row. The first part of the week I gave my all in "administering the healing arts" through back to back vocal performances at concerts in North Carolina. The latter part of the week will find me trying to do the same but through a very different channel - physical therapy, athletic training, and medical yoga.

I am determined, though gently and steadily, that I will retain the joys of touring that Cathedral in Europe (yes, I actually did do that two weeks ago on my real, physical vacation) or eating a great Italian meal in Tuscany (jeez, it has been 12 years since that vacation) - no matter where I am.

So when you get mired up in the drudgery of your work week - remember that you can choose to be determined too. Take yourself where ever you must travel in your mind in order to stay present, focused, pleasant, calm, and content. Whichever imagery works best for you, whether it is a "Vacation State of Mind" or a getting on the "Constant Prayerful Meditation Wagon," remember that at any time, any place, and in any circumstance - you have the power to source those deepest feelings and memories that bring you great joy, great healing, and a great inner (and outer) peace. I believe that is yoga's greatest gift.

*photo was taken just outside the Bath Abbey, in the square, two weeks ago. Bath, England