When the invitation came in from the Wanderlust Festival in Stratton, Vermont, I wanted to go, especially as I had spent time there visiting my father growing up and practice yoga as an adult. But it turned out that I couldn't find time in my busy schedule running MomsTEAM to get up there, so I offered the media credentials to Tracey Wright, a young chiropractor and yoga enthusiast I have known since she was a child. Tracey had gone last year and wanted to start blogging on MomsTEAM, so she was only too happy to attend in my stead.
Here's what Tracey had to say about her experience:
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Wanderlust
This past June, I had the opportunity to delight in attending the Wanderlust Festival in Stratton, Vermont. Although I had participated in Wanderlust last summer and had an amazing experience, this year I was prepared not only to luxuriate in the abundance of yoga classes, outstanding community, lively music, and luscious nature, but to achieve a larger mission: to write a blog about the benefits of yoga for 
children. While not yet a mother myself, my professional practice of Chiropractic has inspired me to be an advocate for the greater well-being of our next generation, and yoga can play an important part.
Upon my arrival at Stratton, my original thought was to focus on the “exceptionally cool” kids’ program that Wanderlust offers. However, one morning during a lovely meditative hike, I contemplated my own personal journey of practicing yoga. As I travelled inward, I thought about how my life might have been different had I experienced yoga opportunities as a child. I then imagined the amazing benefits yoga could afford all children. I thought back to when I was growing up playing organized team sports, which left me questioning the benefits of team sports, at least for some children. My past involvement on teams did not necessarily bring back joyful or healthy memories. I recall that, even within the team, there was often a feeling of separation. My inner voice repeatedly asked, “Who is the better player, who scored the goals, who is fastest, and who made the best team?” While I had been an athlete my entire life, by the time I graduated from college I was experiencing quite a bit of pain, both physically and emotionally. I struggled with eating disorders; I over-ran, over- stretched, over-worked, was overweight, and ultimately suffered poor self-esteem.
Discovering benefits of yoga
Though a difficult time in my life, this was the unanticipated beginning of my personal awareness to the mind/body connection. Yoga has played an integral part in my life for the past 15 years. As a young adult, I discovered yoga shortly after graduating from college and about to enter Chiropractic school. Yoga has allowed me to connect to my body in a non-competitive way, and in a way that is graceful and feminine, yet allows me to feel strong and powerful. It has helped me to calm my mind and unwind the inner tangles that were hanging out in my body from years of personal athletic abuse, and from being on the strict and demanding schedule of academics.
Yoga has transformed me, physically and emotionally. There is no doubt in my mind that the benefits of yoga can be experienced by the youngest of children and the eldest among us. The Wanderlust Festival welcomes individuals and families who are passionate and curious about living a healthier, more vibrant, and more sustainable lifestyle. Wanderlust fully embodies a way of living that allows for a fuller quality of life, both on a local and global level. Not only do thousands of people travel from all over the world to practice yoga, they come together for the vision of being part of a greater movement towards the healing and longevity of humanity. Yoga has gained popularity worldwide for the positive benefits it has on the body, mind, and Spirit. In my chiropractic practice and personal life, I have witnessed the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people who have benefitted immensely through the discovery of yoga. I truly believe that if more children were introduced to yoga early in life, our world would be functioning with considerably more harmony.
Yoga: making a difference at many levels
Knowing how positive my personal yoga journey has been and continues to be, I decided that it would be fun to wander among the crowds at Wanderlust and ask people how they felt their lives would have been different had they grown up with yoga. The answers I got were phenomenal and confirming for me just how important introducing kids to this amazing practice as early as possible could be to the future well-being of our children and our world!
In the first of five videos I recorded during my time at Wandulust, I talk about about how yoga can lead to greater self-love and self-esteem. Look for the other four on my new blog, coming soon to MomsTEAM!
To learn more about Tracey, click here.
To learn more about the Wanderlust Festival, or perhaps join them at one of their other locations this summer, click here.
Brooke de Lench is the Founder and Publisher of MomsTEAM.com and the author of Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports (HarperCollins), now available as an e-book on Amazon.com.
