Being at the Oasis

Posted by Elise Mitchell, Health & Wellness Coordinator on September 24, 2015

There exists a perpetual tug-o-war amongst our clients’ perceptions of The Oasis. There are those who love the extra creature comforts like hot showers, less hiking, time to practice yoga or cooking. Contrarily, there are those who detest “sitting around” and would much prefer doing over being any day. Even staff, especially during the first few months of operating the Oasis, asked why we’ve created it and is it necessary.

While there are plenty of service projects, therapy sessions, parent visits, and MFT (mandatory fun time) happening at the Oasis, the overall intention is distinct from some of our other programming. The challenge and the benefit of the Oasis is this: How does one become consciously present and engaged while just being… not doing much of anything? How do we sit quietly no matter the inner turmoil that might be pounding in the back of our heads? How do we allow ourselves to relax and rest without distracting ourselves, escaping reality, or judging our situation as being “unproductive?”

Outside of Evoke, I am a public yoga teacher. I am pressured to make people sweat and look good in spandex while trying to inspire them to be more compassionate and self-aware. A painful contradiction, for sure. When we “do yoga,” most people think of postures named after zoo animals and flowing movement. This practice is called “asana” which many have come to understand as the physical poses of yoga (only one of eight distinct ‘limbs’ or disciplines within yoga). Ironically, the word asana actually means “to sit.” So by placing ourselves in strange poses or linking our breath to specific movement, we are simply conditioning our bodies and minds to sit with whatever is going on in our lives. Every yoga class ends with savasana, or “corps pose,” (laying down without moving for a few minutes) because the ancients understood the need for rest in order to integrate our experiences into knowledge and wisdom.

The Oasis operates similarly to an asana practice. It is a place where we teach our clients how to balance being with doing, how to value rest and distinguish it from avoidance, how to relax and intentionally do less in order to integrate all the intense therapy in which they are participating. For those who would rather hike, set up camp, and show up as logistical dynamos everyday (which has great therapeutic value), the Oasis represents the hardest challenge of all… just being. When we get quiet, the little demons of our past traumas and dramas, our negative self-talk, the feedback we didn’t want to hear, our fears of the future and the unknown show up for dinner. They have been waiting for us to slow down enough so that they can have our undivided attention. And they need it… to heal and become a healthy, integrated part of who we are.

Culturally we’ve come to value doing over being, working over resting, waking over sleeping. Even our definitions of sleep are generally in relationship to waking life – i.e. Merriam Webster’s medical dictionary describes sleep as a suspension of waking consciousness. If we are not being active, there is a notion that we are lazy, ineffectual, or unhealthy. We mistake recreation for rest; we mistake inebriation for rest, medicating ourselves to relax or sleep. We inundate ourselves with artificial lighting which messes up our circadian rhythms and sleep cycles and consume coffee as much as we consume oil and gas. What a great way to fuel a machine but dehumanize the human spirit.

When did we equate adequacy and success with our ability to fight against our natural rhythms and need for rest? “Industrial Revolution” comes to mind but that is an entirely different blog…
So regarding the Oasis, not only are we offering our clients a place for learning new life skills and “change of pace,” we are challenging them to sit with the discomfort that often comes with being fully present in their lives and fully engaged in their therapeutic journey. The Oasis offers a quiet, sacred space that allows the unresolved wounds and fears trapped in the subconscious to percolate to the surface. It becomes a space for integration, healing, and, yes, REST. Ultimately, the Oasis invites our participants to redefine “being” in hope that they create greater wellbeing in their lives.

Elise Mitchell is the Health and Wellness Coordinator for Evoke at Entrada. To learn more about Evoke Therapy Programs for Young Adults contact one of our admissions counselors.