My Moment of Zen on a Dogsled

Whenever I attend a yoga class, whether it be in a studio, at a gym or on a Stand Up Paddle board in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, the word most often used by every yoga instructor I’ve met is “BREATHE”. “BREATHE” “Don’t forget to BREATHE”.

To a non practitioner this advice would seem unnecessary. Why do we need reminding when it comes to breathing? It’s what we do automatically as humans. We don’t need to think about breathing.

And yet…when I see a beautiful sunset, it takes my breath away. When I feel pain, it takes my breath away. When I watch a scary movie, I stop breathing. When life throws me a curve or I watch the daily news, I am left breathless. And when that happens my body isn’t getting it’s normal, regulated flow of oxygen and my body reacts, internally and externally. So do I need a reminder to breathe? Indeed I do!!

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Kaya my blue-eyed girl.

So it comes as no surprise to me now in hindsight that 2 days ago I needed this reminder big time. This is the week before the Can Am International Sled Dog Race and I am signed up to run the 30 mile race. I am not entered in the hopes of winning the race. I am a recreational musher who hopes to be well-enough prepared to RUN the course! 30 miles of hills and more hills and more hills, over the beautiful countryside in northern Maine on the Canadian border. My goal this year is twofold. I want to finish the race and hopefully improve my time from my first Can Am experience. And more importantly I want to spread the ashes of my first sled dog Kaya on the trail during the Can Am. Kaya was my first Siberian Husky, born in Maine, and the blue-eyed girl who made a musher out of me. She is the reason why I find myself in Canada at the moment preparing for the Can Am. She is the reason I have found a way to connect with nature in a way I never dreamed could be so fulfilling. She is the reason I find myself in places where I can breathe air so pure it invigorates me for days. So my goal this year is to take a moment to give thanks for the dog who made it all possible for me to run my dog team in my home state of Maine and to return her ashes to the state she was born in.

And here is Kaya on our first run. It was at the beach in Ocean City Maryland and we were both smitten!

But 3 days ago I was thinking about next Saturday. I was thinking about how I needed to get one last long run in to get the dogs humming perfectly like a well-tuned machine. It was a glorious day. Temperatures in the single digits, clear blue sky, trail hard packed. What a perfect day to be out on the trail with my team and enjoying life. The problem is, the dogs never got the memo. 1/2 mile into my projected 25 mile run 2 of the dogs stopped to poop just as I glanced down at something on my handlebar. I looked up just in time to see the 6-dog team stopped and my sled barreling into my 2 wheel dogs. I braked just a split second before running the sled into the team. The dogs were spooked and I quickly had a big tangle on my hands. As I fumbled to set out my 2 snow hooks and tried to calm the pups I went through our pre-run routine. All mushers have one–from hydrating the dogs, to the harnessing process and somewhere along the line getting them to poop to avoid unnecessary stoppages on the trail. In my head all had gone as planned, yet that was not the case now. My 2 dogs in lead seemed uninterested in leading so a switch was made right then. Perhaps another dog would be more focused. Off we went on a second attempt. It soon became evident that most of the team was not interested in working today. After several more switches to find compatible partners I soon realized that we were not going to have a long run today. The dogs were just not into it. Much like I am on some mornings when I really don’t want to get up and go to the gym to exercise. But I find that on those days, that’s when I need to go the most.

So after a very slow and frustrating hour I came to a beautiful Lake out in the open and I knew I would have cell coverage so I stopped to snack the dogs and I called my husband to let him know when I expected to get back to the trail head. I turned the team around and we headed back. By then I was very frustrated and disappointed that I was not going to be able to work according to schedule. I started worrying about being ready for our 30 mile run on Saturday and all kinds of scenarios popped into my mind, none of them positive.

It was then that I was reminded of a Blog Post I’d read just before heading out on the trail. It was on the Kripalu Blog and the title of it was Just Breathe.

How glad I was to have that Blog Post on my mind because at the moment I found myself in a very frustrated mood, not a very happy camper, yet I was doing something I absolutely love doing. I was out on a gorgeous trail in Canada with my best buddies and I was in a picture post card location which many people can only dream of seeing. Yet I was living it and I was forgetting to enjoy it. So I took a deep breath, I turned my team around and as we headed back for the trailhead I decided to take in my surroundings and let that vision fuel me. I didn’t care about the pace or the mileage. We were out for a leisurely run enjoying the day and the journey. And that’s when I started to focus on my breath. Inhaling for 5 counts and exhaling for 5 counts. Filling my lungs with pure Canadian air and looking at the boughs bent with new fallen snow, glistening in the sunshine. And I was transported back to the “Why” I run sled dogs. The dogs picked up on my relaxed mood and they all fell into a nice easy lope moving along as if they too were happy to be out there on such a beautiful day. By the simple act of breathing I had let go of the frustrations that had slowed us all down. Our pace didn’t increase but our mood had changed and all was right with the world.

What a shame it would have been if I had missed out on this wonderful experience. Instead I returned to the trail head with a feeling of peace and fulfillment at having experienced some wonderful trail time with my dogs. Yes I was still disappointed that I’d not been able to do the mileage I’d intended but that was no longer my priority. My priority was to enjoy every run with my team. And I’d managed to pull that off by remembering to breathe.

Enjoying the view

On March 2nd, 2013 I hope to have a very successful run in the Can Am 30. I hope to enjoy the countryside and take it all in but most of all I hope I remember to Breathe!

Happy Trails!