Spirit Quest Rafting: Soulful Breathwork in Nature
July 27th to July 31st
With Christian de la Huerta of Soulful Power
Have a date conflict with this adventure but want to go? Register for one of our other upcoming Spirit Quest Rafting Trips:
Spirit Quest Rafting: Your Highest Purpose-June 22nd to June 26th
Soulful Breathwork uses ambient energy through the vehicle of the breath as a means to heal. This technique combined with the natural power of the Utah canyons will create profound and permanent healing from past trauma. Amidst the rafting and Anasazi ruins, Christian De La Huerta will lead the group through explorations of personal power, healthy relationships, and finding peace.
We will spend five days on the Upper San Juan River while taking daily opportunities to hike the canyons and explore the remnants of the Anasazi Empire. We will greet the day with meditation and Sun Salutations while the evenings will be reserved for laughter, discussions on life, the ego, and personal power, and evening breathwork. Don’t miss this life altering experience with Christian de la Huerta, master breathwork facilitator (www.soulfulpower.com), David Michael Scott, yoga teacher and wilderness guide, and Kay Harris, lifetime river guide on the San Juan River. Check out photos of the trip here
-Practice Soulful Breathwork with Christian De La Huerta
-Explore topics of Personal Power, Healthy Relationships, and the Ego
-Layover Retreat Day on Soulful Power Lead by Christian De La Huerta
-Raft the upper San Juan river canyon.
-Hike the Canyons
-Explore Ancient Anasazi Ruins
-Eat Gourmet Healthy Organic Food
-Sage Ceremony in an Ancient Anasazi Kiva
Dates: 8:00 AM July 27th to 3:00 PM July 31st
Difficulty: Beginner Rafter - Beginner Camper
Cost: 1,097 dollars
Overview
Your Highest Purpose is a five day all inclusive rafting and meditation trip in the San Juan canyons of Southern Utah. This adventure is one of exploration and personal expansion. In addition to rafting and meditation, there are daily opportunities for hiking, archeological discovery, and yoga at sacred sites. All meals are fresh and organic.
Where: The upper canyon of the San Juan River from Bluff to Mexican Hat, Utah. Total river distance: 26 miles.
When: Guests should arrive in Bluff the morning of July 26th or the evening of July 27th. The river put in is on July 27th. River Take out is the afternoon of July 31st.
Guides: Christian De La Huerta of Soulful Power, David Michael Scott of Fire Heart Adventures, and Kay Harris of Canyon Expeditions.
Cost: $1,097 dollars covers all food, group gear, rafting, guiding, and instruction on this trip. A 200 dollar non-refundable deposit is required to hold you place. Full payment before July 14th.
Christian De La Huerta
For more than 20 years, Christian de la Huerta has been dedicated to facilitating personal transformation, to helping people tap into their Soulful Power—that deeper sense of purpose that lives within each and every one of us. An award-winning author, Christian is a respected teacher and sought-after speaker whose unique spiritual journeys, spiritual workshops and Self-Development Programs have been experienced in university lecture halls, non-profit organizations, houses of worship, corporate boardrooms and retreat venues around the world. His role can be described in a variety of ways: leadership consultant, group facilitator, relationship counselor, spiritual coach and beyond. Although his dedication manifests in a variety of ways for a diverse audience, all of Christian’s work shares a common result: profound personal transformation.
David Michael Scott
David Scott has been practicing yoga and meditation for over ten years. He has spent time studying vipassana meditation in a Buddhist monastery in Northern Thailand and lived for a few years in the Amazon rainforest as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Before finding yoga, David was passionate about learning survival and aboriginal skills in the desert of Southern Utah. As a youth, David grew up kayaking and rafting. He began teaching kayaking at age 18. The nature of this trip is a combination of David’s passions: the river, the desert, and yoga.
Canyon Expeditions
Canyon Expeditions is owned by Kay Harris, who has over 30 years of experience on the Colorado Plateau. Based in Cedar City, Utah, Canyon Ex runs river trips on the San Juan as well as back country trips throughout the desert Southwest. All guides are licensed and trained in Advanced First Aid and CPR.
Meals
Our meals include quality meats, specialty cheeses and a variety of fresh vegetables and fruit--many of which come from our organic gardens in Bluff as well as regional Colorado Plateau farmers. We can accommodate most eating preferences and dietary restrictions including vegetarian options and would be happy to discuss a specialized menu for any trip. Our day trips include a delicious salad or sandwich layout as well as snacks and plenty of water. On multiple day trips we serve hot coffee and tea, hearty breakfasts and salads and sandwiches for lunch. Our dinners might include grilled salmon or steaks, abundant stir-fries and pasta dishes and homemade tamales.
Supplies
We supply and row the boats, which include 16' and 18' industrial rafts. If you would like to paddle your own craft, ask about our inflatable kayaks. We provide all the food, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages, in addition to the kitchen, stoves, plates, cookware and cups.
In short, we provide all the gear except for your personal gear. Upon booking a trip, we'll send you a list of personal gear to bring on your trip. We provide waterproof bags for your personal gear, as well as watertight boxes for your camera and other items. If you don't have your own sleeping bag, pad or tent you can rent them from us. Our fleet of tents and sleeping bags is new and sleeping bags are washed after each use. If you or members of your party need to rent tents, sleeping bags or pads, we ask that you reserve them in advance.
Trip Summary
This five day rafting trip provides ample time for yoga and meditation as well as exploring Anasazi ruins. Our trip leader, Kay Harris, will provide expert interpretation of the upper canyon's rock art, cliff dwellings and textbook geology. David Michael Scott will guide the yoga and meditation curriculum in the mornings and the evenings. The days will be filled with rafting, hiking, laughter, and fun.
This 26-mile journey affords a closer experience with the Upper San Juan River. In addition to visiting ancient rock art sites and cliff dwellings, we'll have the option to hike to the top of Comb Ridge for its commanding view of the surrounding landscape. We'll travel through a quarter of a billion years' worth of colorful rock formations, making camps in spectacular corners of the canyon.
This is an all-inclusive rafting trip. Healthy meals and all group gear will be provided by the outfitter, Canyon Expeditions. Guests must provide their personal camping gear, although we have lots of extra stuff (sleeping bags, tents, etc.) if you need it. Guests are also responsible for transportation to and from the river and any alcoholic beverages they want to bring along.
Detailed Itinerary
Detailed Itinerary
Night Before Departure: You will meet with Canyon Expeditions in Bluff at 7:00 p.m. for the prelaunch orientation. Your trip leader will hand out waterproof bags and boxes. We can also supply sleeping bags, pads and tents, but be sure to reserve them in advance with our office.
Day One: For those who camped the night, we will begin the day with some light Sun Salutations followed by a short meditation. We will then depart for our launch ramp and the river put in. The float begins as the river meanders past orange and black streaked sandstone outcroppings.
Soon the boats pull into shore and we take a short walk to a site once inhabited by ancient desert farmers, the Anasazi. Large oval steps are carved into the cliff wall and petroglyphs appear around every corner.
Downriver a short distance, we will enjoy lunch under the cottonwood trees at the famous Butler Wash petroglyph panel with plenty of time to examine this extensive group of mysterious images.
After lunch we may observe additional rock art panels across the river on the south bank, or we may explore panels near our camp a few miles downstream.
Camp is pitched in the late afternoon on a sandy beach amongst the cottonwoods and giant sagebrush. Our community will prepare a healthy dinner. After which we will have an optional yoga and Soulful Breathwork session. Sunset and campfire, then it's off to sleep in a tent or out under the stars.
Day Two: First person to rise puts on hot water for tea and coffee. We will begin the day with a yoga practice and meditation.
After breakfast the group walks to River House, an 800-year-old cliff dwelling. You can spend time amid the round walls of a kiva where dried corn cobs remain with bits of pottery. We will take this opportunity for a sage ceremony in the Kiva lead by Kay Harris.
We'll then hike a short distance downstream to observe a great kiva and associated surface sites, and then a hike up San Juan Hill. This steep route was chiseled along a diagonal opening in the cliff by the famous Mormon "Hole-In-The-Rock" expedition in 1880. The views from its top--also the top of Comb Ridge--are incredible.
We will have more time this evening for soulful breathwork followed by a dharma session lead by Christian.
Day Three: This will be our layover day. We will spend the day on private retreat with Christian. We will explore personal power, healthy relationships, and the ego. You will have the opportunity to be placed in your own solo camp for the evening and night. There are few things more powerful for clarifying thought and action then extended time spent alone. Your food and drink will be brought to you during this adventure. Enjoy this time alone, it is a rare opportunity.
Day Four: Morning seated meditation while big horn sheep graze in the background.
After breakfast we'll pack the boats for a short float downstream to Chinle Wash, where painted rock art and cliff dwellings hide among the rock alcoves. Author Tony Hillerman calls Chinle Wash "Many Ruins Canyon" in the mystery novel Thief of Time.
At Mile 9 the river enters the "anticline" and the canyon walls rise up dramatically. The river narrows and the pace quickens as small riffles and rapids rock the boats.
Camp is made deep within the canyon where the limestone walls are full of fossils and a lively current murmurs against the rocks.
The evening yoga practice will be dedicated to vipassana meditation.
Day Five: Last morning yoga of the trip! There is time after breakfast for fossil hunting. An undulating pattern to the rocks reveals the presence of "bio herms." Porous mounds in an ancient shallow sea, they act as a reservoir rock to capture oil.
The rocks tilt and canyon walls diminish as Mexican Hat Rock comes into view, a large red slab balanced on a small pedestal. The vivid reds and grays of the anticline zig-zag across the eastern horizon, a Navajo blanket of stone.
The journey ends by 2 or 3 p.m. at the boat launch in the town of Mexican Hat, where Canyon Expedition vans will transport you back to Bluff.
Note:
Itineraries can vary depending on the river level, weather, group ability and interest. All hikes, yoga, and meditations are optional.
