AMC Outdoors, May 2003

By Katharine Wroth

Early morning at a country inn in the Catskills, early enough that it is still dark outside. I lie awake, willing myself to get up. In the hall and on the stairs, the muffled sounds of movement inspire me to stick to the schedule. A few minutes later, I leave the inn and cross its wide, grassy yard, noticing footprints in the dew. They lead where I am headed: a wooden building across the road where our yoga class will be held.

Inside, in the lightening darkness, I find a spot on the floor among the few people present, unroll a mat, and lie down. Closing my eyes, I think about how good sleep felt just a few minutes earlier, and consider returning to that state as other students filter in. But then the teacher, emerging from the shadows at the front of the room like a ghost, begins to shift and bend, quietly instructing us as she does. With each movement, parts of the body come to life. Ankles, knees, arms, neck, back. I am sore and tired from yesterday’s hike, but these slow, gentle stretches are a perfect way to wake up.

We were 14 men and women looking for an escape from our everyday lives, and we’d all chosen to spend this weekend at an AMC Hiking and Yoga workshop in Big Indian, N.Y. Most of us hailed from cities: Worcester, Manhattan, Boston, Buffalo, Springfield. Some were singles, some couples. A few had never attempted yoga; others practiced regularly; one woman had just spent a month at a retreat. The hiking spectrum was much the same: there were those who ventured out sporadically, and others who spent every spare moment in their boots. As for me, I fell into the sporadic category for both activities.

For two days, we navigated trails together, struck new poses together, ate and talked and silently contemplated nature together. We learned and practiced yoga before, during, and after long Catskills rambles. And we discovered why yoga and hiking might just be a perfect fit.

Now, a quick note: despite the way it reads so far, this is not a story about Me and My Transformative Yoga Experience. I am not a convert trying to win readers over. Too often, I think, the word “yoga” and its trappings — images of dreamy-eyed, long-haired relics from a bygone era or, lately, of purposeful women striding down city sidewalks in leggings, with rolled purple mats in tote bags — scare people off. In fact, I am among those who are easily intimidated by its gung-ho advocates. I’ve realized the same often goes for hiking; I am as frightened by talk of Kevlar as I am by kundalini. But what it comes down to is this: When I actually get out and hike, or try a little yoga, it doesn’t matter what I wear, or whether I know all the terminology. It just feels good.

So don’t let the word scare you. Yes, for some people, yoga is a way of being, a philosophy of life. But the rest of us can find pieces of it useful in different ways. As a workout. As a mode of relaxation. As physical therapy. As a form of meditation.

Both hiking and yoga provide physical, mental, and even spiritual benefits, and there are plenty of people who’ve noticed how well they go together. In the last few years, the trend of combining the two has grown — not just within AMC, but around the country. Take a look at some of the reasons why...