Trips That Will Change Your Life: Never Be Anxious Again

"THE COLOR FOR the lungs is white,” said Kazzrie, our lovely blond meditation guide, “and the animal is a white tiger.” Behind her was a wall of windows looking onto the perfect snow-covered woods that surround the Lodge at Woodloch in Hawley, Pennsylvania. The place is basically Narnia, and there John and I were, sitting cross-legged and breathing in joy and courage and the color white, per Kazzrie. Somehow — and please don’t ask me to explain it — the deep breathing works, and we felt all these good things fill our lungs (and later, as the meditation continued, our kidneys, livers, hearts and spleens).

The most amazing part was that less than an hour before, I’d been in my usual state of mind, somewhere between Irrationally Agitated and Frantically Anxious. (I keep meaning to do yoga and meditate at home, but then I somehow find myself reading People magazine instead.) We both hadn’t been sleeping, and had been existing in Polite Zombie mode for a month. I could actually hear John thinking “This is not relaxing” as big wet snowflakes fell on tiny Poconos country roads and we missed a turn near Wind Gap.

Personally, though, I was so happy to be heading to a spa that I would have hitched our dog Murphy to a sled to get there. It sounded like heaven: a resort tucked amidst acres of trees, nature trails, ponds, gardens and a lake, where people whiled away the time with art or cooking or exercise classes, relaxing in yoga studios, in pools, and on the masseur’s table. John is not a spa guy, but when I mentioned to him that Woodloch is less than a three-hour drive and has a beautiful gym, he agreed to go, I think privately hoping to just work out and get some time in front of the fireplace. He was so ready to get away that he even agreed to meditate, and to try to breathe courage, joy, and the color white into his lungs. And after that first hour, he said, “That was amazing. Let’s take another class in the morning.”

So there we were, meditating again at 10 a.m. with wonderful Kazzrie, and it was just as great as it had been thefirst time. Under her gentle direction, we found ourselves mentally miles away from the negative and anxious thoughts that tend to fill the mind. (At least, our minds.) In this guided meditation, I found myself in a different place, a calm place, where I think somehow I cleansed my liver and reunited with my beloved cat Spike.