DURANGO KIDS
Erika Berglund playing her Native American Flute for the guided meditation, as the kids become one with nature. “The Native American flute creates a healing vibration that travels directly into our being." Photo by Benjamin Carrier
Energy Aware Kids It's all about the journey by Joy Martin
With backpacks cinched over tiny shoulders, water bottles sloshing, and shoelaces tied just tightly enough, six kids gather around their guide, Erika Berglund, on a sunny Monday. It’s Berglund’s weekly Nature Days class, where a loose itinerary typically unfolds along trails in Falls Creek or Sailing Hawks, two of Durango’s most prized open spaces. But first, these Energy Aware Kids come together at the trailhead to make an Intention Stew. “Standing in a circle, we imagine that we have a big pot in the center, and then we pour or shake our intention for our day into our stew: laughter, happiness, dragons,
94 Durango Magazine Summer/Fall
fairies, water play, yummy food,” says Berglund. “And then we stir our stew, scoop it up, take a sip, and then release it to the sky, letting it rain down upon us.” In 2009, Berglund started guiding children in energy awareness & yoga. With two decades of practice in mind/body medicine, meditation, self-inquiry, yoga, sound healing, and other energetic modalities, Berglund says her Nature Days classes are designed to “inspire children to connect to the spirit of nature.” Instead of having a summit or physical end goal directing these outings, Berglund encourages the kids to explore the world around them, investigate what is calling to them, slow down and smell the trees, listen to the silence, and ultimately root into the present moment. “Nature is medicine,” says Berglund. “It can regulate and calm our nervous systems
and rebalance our brains. If children learn to deeply connect with nature at a young age, this beautiful relationship will always be available to nurture, soothe, and connect them to who they really are.” After Intention Stew, the excited bevy of six- to 10-year-olds votes on where to go first, moseying to Magic Meadow or Dragon Rock or another sacred space amongst the Gambel oaks or wavy grass. As the children rove and their questions transpire, Berglund weaves in her knowledge as a hydrogeologist, asking the children to consider where the water in the creek comes from or why there is sand on the path. “I’m vocal about what I notice, or what is calling me, and then open the door for them,” she says. “When that door opens, they discover five colors of lichen on a rock, for instance, or the taste of wild mint, or a moment spent talking with a tree.”
