A year ago, on our way into our first little European teaching tour, I posted a blog about mindfulness, Iceland, and the art of transformational travel. (Click here for that original post.) In transformational travel, I wrote back then:

We scratch the surface, not only of the geographies we temporarily inhabit, but of our own selves. We let the landscape rattle us. We get a little dirty, build relations, end up eating things we should never . . . well, you get the picture.

And how do we open ourselves to transformation when we travel? 

Mindfulness. The practice of returning, to this body, these senses, ourselves, moment-by-moment, wherever we are, whatever is happening, whoever we're with. 

Looking back on our workshop in Iceland last year, it was, for me at least, a true experience of transformation through travel. A beautiful blend of intercultural dialogue, landscape immersion, and just pure fun.

Of the two dozen participants, about a third joined from the U.S. The rest drove in from Reykjavik  for three days of meditation, dialogue, and nature immersion. One of the participants, whom we'd never met, ended up on SATI's board of directors. Another hosted a workshop in her hometown back in the U.S.

A galvanizing event, to be sure.

This June we'll be returning. Our opening night we'll be in Reykjavik, at a gorgeous yoga studio. The next two days we'll be back in Hveragerði, the little spa town with the hot river and the big skies. 

And this time we'll be teaching practices designed to cultivate joy. Definitely looking forward to that. 

Yeah, I'm excited. Long live transformational travel.

For more on the Iceland workshop, click here.
For info on other upcoming workshops, click here. 

Oh, and MBSR. I promised to write about MBSR. Next week, for sure!