As much as I love yoga pants, I’m glad I brought a sundress to Wanderlust. Being “in the flow” at this festival means more than the joy of sunrise hikes, asana immersions, slacklining, sunning and hooping. Balance is brought in a lot of different ways, and for me, that means some afternoon happy hours and evening social events.
And what better way to wind down from the day than with some apres asana. Cue Winederlust, a two-hour get together featuring local wineries and cheeseries, accompanied by live music and patio lounging. I went on Friday evening during the Aspen-Snowmass festival, and the event provided timely refuge from a July evening thundershower.
Wine-ding down is essential, I think. Even (or especially) during the carefree living of a festival, when physical and emotional stimulation is at its peak amidst movement and connection.
I went to Winederlust with my boyfriend and my bestie, so I didn’t leave much room for new introductions or for acquiring acquaintances. A relief, I thought, from starting and restarting the “where are you from?” and “what do you do?” over and over again.
“That’s fair,” you say, “but square.”
I agree.
Saturday night brought me up to Lynn Britt Cabin for the Wanderlust Farm to Table Dinner. I was flying solo, and quite enjoying filling my cheese and charcuterie plate alongside a glass of Italian pinot grigio — the perfect companionship to start the evening.
But it wasn’t until I asked to sit down beside Nicole and Meagan (their names I soon learned as we made introductions), that the evening became so much more than the mountain vistas and fine food.
Any walls between us quickly crumbled as we chatted on and on about all things under the sun; long-winded sharings that moved their way under the moonlight as the evening turned to night.
It doesn’t matter what we chatted about, and I couldn’t tell you everything that came up if I tried; what mattered was that we chose to connect, even if that’s not what we, or what I, had planned.
I do love meeting new people, and what I often do is take the meaning our of the meetings, or I hardly acknowledge them at all. I tell myself somewhat subconsciously that it’s easer to tread lightly. But why? So I can sit alone and drink more wine?
My cherished evening shared with Nicole and Meagan reminded me of an extended time a few years ago when I was traveling alone. I still maintain some of those connections I made as I flitted about through Europe, simply because I came to the table vulnerable, and that’s how true human experience is served.
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Kim Fuller grew up in the Colorado mountains and has always found beauty and inspiration through nature and movement. Kim is a freelance journalist and a yoga teacher based in Vail. Her writing and photo work has focused on health, wellness, recreation, food and travel since 2007, and Kim began her yoga practice in Boulder, followed by her first teacher training with Real Evolution Yoga at Peace Retreat Costa Rica in November of 2012.