Yogataveller, Wengen, Swiss Alps - 31st January 2009 - By: Aubrey Lampkin

With Nancy Huffman and Michaela Rebbeck.

After sadly saying good-bye to Thailand in December and heading home to the US for a rejuvenating holiday hiatus, come January, I now find myself in yet another idyllic corner of the world with Yogatraveller: Wengen, Swiss Alps. Stepping off the quaint little green and yellow ski-gear-equipped train at Wengen station (about a 3-hour ascending train trip from Zurich Airport), it was clear I couldn’t be anywhere more different than where I was teaching the month prior… Instead of the deliciously chaotic, sultry hot, tropical sandy frenzy that is Thailand, I was now in the most pristine, powdery snowy-white, impeccably manicured little ski town that resembles the inside of a snow globe come to life.... As I marched my way up the winding hill leading to our quaint hotel, The Alpenruhe, joyous-looking people busily towing skis, snowboards, groceries and bundled up children on sleds whizzed by me.

Train to Wengen.

Wengen train station.

The Alpenruhe Hotel.

My Alpenruhe Hotel room.

View from hotel room (!).

Since yoga is so closely connected with nature, it should always be geared towards your environment. I recently had a conversation with my beloved yoga teachers/friends, Tracy and Mitchel Bleier, while we were on a trip to Los Angeles a few weeks ago... Having spent most of our time living, practicing and teaching yoga on the East Coast (mostly in and around New York City), we were bemused to learn most yoga classes in Los Angeles invariably start with rigorous abdominal exercises (not associated with traditional yoga asana) accompanied by very loud music, reminiscent of a night club. (We joked that to be a yoga teacher in L.A., all you need to be is a good DJ.) However, that's what they want - that's the environment - so, in a way, it makes sense; L.A. is a casual place, people don't take themselves too seriously (though they certainly want to look good and have washboard abs!). L.A. yoga mirrors that philosophy, which makes it appropriate. New Yorkers, on the other hand, take themselves very seriously. Our yoga classes tend to be more traditional, more structured, we are all front-row students of what we do. We are professionals during the day, yogis in evening, foodies and winos at night - that's how it goes. We would never settle for club music during yoga class - that's for after class. We compartmentalize and multi-task. Again, yoga mirroring life. Which leads me to my point...

Mitchel taught me that one of the countless questions yoga poses is, 'What's appropriate for any given situation?'. (Clothing and food that is appropriate in Thailand, for example, is not appropriate for Switzerland. Just as the person you dated in high-school might not be appropriate for you now.) Similarly, yoga in the Swiss Alps is very different from yoga in Thailand (and yoga in L.A. or New York). Taking the environment into consideration, Thailand is hot, the body/muscles are already warm and open and classes are usually held outside near a beach under the sky. The teacher doesn't need to set and mood as much - the mood is already set. It's appropriate for yoga poses to be deeper. In contrast, the Swiss Alps in February is cold, the muscles are contracted and tighter. People are skiing/snowboarding during the day (mostly leaning forward and sometimes falling) which makes the muscles even more fragile. It's appropriate for yoga poses (or, 'snowga', if you can forgive me) to be more slow, gentle and opening. Heat needs to be built, but built gradually. Muscles exhausted on the slopes (feet, legs, hip flexors, back, etc.) need to be restored and stretched. Yoga is practiced in the comfort of a warm room, the teacher needs to set the mood more. Another reason teaching for Yogatraveller is so fantastic - you get the skills to be totally adaptable (and appropriate).

Me, at our December 2008 Yogatraveller retreat in Koh Ngai, Thailand (showing skin).

Me, at our January 2009 Yogatraveller retreat in Wengen, Swiss Alps (all bundled up).

After my students arrived, almost every hour of our seven days together were filled with yoga and skiing (snowboarding for me) when we weren't eating our way through this delectable town. I don't care what anyone says... the absolute best things you can do for yourself after a long day on the slopes is a hot bath, a yoga class, a hot meal (a glass of wine, if you twist my rubber arm) and a good night's sleep. We followed this schedule almost everyday, starting the day with a heat-building, strengthening yoga class and ending the day with a restorative, deep-stretching class. My students often remarked on the benefits they noticed the yoga made to their ski balance, stamina, awareness and recovery.

Cable car to Mannlequin Mountain.

Picturesque.

Local church.

In a recent article from Yoga Journal, Baron Baptiste and Kathleen Finn Mendola explain, 'Where skiing is fast and risky, yoga is slow and thoughtful. The two sports' philosophies diverge, yet the physical demands of skiing call out for the counter movements of yoga. Perhaps the biggest benefit yoga can bring to your skiing is injury prevention... Skiing asks a lot from the body - cold muscles are called upon to perform a variety of functions, while dexterity, balance, and high levels of concentration are also a must. For those skiers who hit the slopes sporadically, these athletic requisites are often too tough, and they can end up injured and disillusioned with the sport. By observing your body's imbalances, brought on by the particular movements of skiing, and employing a yoga program to bring your body into a state of equilibrium, you can avert injury and participate in the sport for years to come'.

Which is no surprise considering athletes from all sports fields have recently been turning to yoga to help them with strengthening and stretching, body-awareness, concentration, breathing and injury prevention; Interestingly, the majority of this new demographic is male (men have typically been resistant to learning about yoga in the West, though yoga was founded by men in India, dismissing it as a 'chick sport'). I'm glad it's starting to catch on with the fellows. When touting yoga to skeptical men I always start by posing the rhetorical question - why not participate in a sport comprised mostly of fit, single, open-minded women who are only going to think you're 'cute' for giving it a go? That always gets them.

As the week neared a close we had a delicious group dinner at a local Swiss fondue restaurant (The Bernerhof) where we dined on cheese and beef fondue (when in Switzerland...). The next evening we dined at Da Sina's where we had a variety of pastas (not so traditional, but the body craves carbs after a long day on the slopes!). After dinner we went up to The Falken Hotel to watch Al Copley, pianist extraordinaire, mesmerize his audience with his deft dexterity for jazz and 'boogie-woogie' piano and singing.

Fondue dinner at the Bernerhof.



Dinner at Da Sina's.

Ask anyone who's been lucky enough to visit the Swiss Alps... you can't find anywhere with more idyllic natural skiing/snowboarding conditions and atmosphere. (We even got about 8 more inches of fresh snow on our last few days here!) I think we all left this magical town feeling a bit achy, yet strong, centered and refreshed. Not to mention, excited to return again.



Nancy leaving our hotel in snow 'limo'.

www.yogatraveller.com