By Joelle Connors
“What is Wanderlust?”
That is the most common question I get about the annual trek I make to the mountains of Pocahontas County. This simple question is harder to answer than you might think.
Fundamentally, Wanderlust is a yoga and music festival. However, anyone who has ever attended this event will quickly tell you it is so much more than that. Talk to anyone who has been there, and you will hear a common thread of words like refreshing, relaxing, transformative and life-changing. Sometimes all you get is an audible sigh and a giant smile. You will also hear a lot of people say they can’t wait until next year.
Not Just for Yogis
If yoga isn’t your thing, no worries. You could go to Wanderlust and never do one downward dog all weekend. With an event ticket, attendees are entitled to three activities per day. The activity categories include yoga and meditation, of course, but more importantly there are all sorts of classes like mountain biking, hikes, running, HIIT, AiREAL yoga, slackline and hula-hooping.
Take it one step further and attend a speakeasy. A speakeasy is essentially a workshop or lecture series. The topics have titles like “Women in Leadership,” “How To: A Writer’s Guide to Getting Published,” “Meditation Not Medication,” and—a personal favorite—“Food as Medicine.”
When nighttime falls on the mountain, things turn musical with concerts, fire pit jam sessions and even a silent disco.
Discover Yourself by Finding Your True North
The event’s slogan “find your true north” is so much more than a tagline. This is where it gets interesting. The first time I went to Wanderlust, my mission was to learn to meditate. Like many people, I have a mind that won’t quit—it is always racing, thinking, overthinking, worrying and planning. It’s too much, and I needed to calm down my overworked brain.
Learning to meditate at Wanderlust has been the single most life-changing thing I’ve ever done. The instructors are world-renowned, and the sessions are world-class. This year I was extremely grateful to take a class by Davidji. Davidji was the chief operating officer for Deepak Chopra for over a decade. Yes, that Deepak—the same Deepak who has an online meditation series with Oprah. When you attend Wanderlust, you get the best.
Meditation has positively affected all areas of my life, including personal, professional, financial, emotional, mental and physical. I attribute recent weight loss to this. Many people comment that I’m glowing and ask what I’ve been doing or how I achieved this. The answer is simple: learning to meditate at Wanderlust. If you think you can’t meditate because your mind is too busy, then you’re exactly the person who should learn. That is what it is for.
Change Yourself, Change the World
There were several sessions this year that challenged me emotionally and physically. Without question, the speakeasy that left the deepest impression was “Meditation Not Medication.”
Led by Dr. Michelle Thompson, this session discussed discontinuing prescribing drugs and instead using meditation as a tool to help treat PTSD, anxiety, depression, cancer, IBS, hypertension, insomnia, chronic pain, inflammatory disorders and migraines—and that was just the beginning.
Thompson is currently conducting research to use not only meditation but also nutrition to prevent and reverse diseases of the brain such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. When she realized she cannot possibly see all of the patients, she realized that what she can do is train all of the doctors. Wow.
Once she said that, the entire room became deafeningly silent and hung on every word she uttered. Thompson holds two educational sessions per month specifically to train physicians, physician assistants and other practitioners on the benefits of both meditation and food as medicine. Funded by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), her research is currently underway.
Knowing that the instructors at Wanderlust are from all over the world, when Thompson said she’s associated with UPMC, I became excited that she is in our backyard, which means she’s accessible to people in West Virginia.
Imagine that what we learned at a yoga weekend at Snowshoe has the potential to impact our own families, friends, neighbors and communities with far-reaching positive effects.
Lessons Learned
I’m not so idealistic that I believe this event is for everyone. It’s not. However, for those who are even remotely into yoga, exercise of any kind, healthy eating, sustainable lifestyle or simply just taking a moment to improve yourself, it’s worth considering. There is much omitted from this article either because of the deeply personal experience or for brevity. This is merely a snapshot of a truly remarkable experience that is available right here in the Mountain State.
I hope to see you on the mountain.
Namaste.
Editor’s Note: It’s important to note Connors is not employed or otherwise compensated by Wanderlust or any of its affiliates. The ideas and opinions expressed here are her own and are not reflective of any corporation or company.
About the Author
Passionate about the Wheeling area, Joelle Connors enthusiastically serves a variety of community-focused organizations. She is a proud graduate of both West Liberty University and West Virginia University. Connors lives in Wheeling with her fiancé, Stefan; her beloved dog, Marley; and the world’s friendliest cat, Kevin.
