Mindful Monday: A Lesson from the Bison

Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota is home to hundreds of North American Bison (and yes, they're bison, not buffalo. Buffalo are in Asia and Africa). I recently visited the National Park, and whatever expectations I had didn't come anywhere close to how impressed I was with this Park.

In addition to the jaw-dropping Badlands features, the Park is an abundant playground for a variety of wildlife, including the majestic bison.

I'm like a giddy toddler when I see wildlife out in the true wild. So when I saw a small herd of bison as I drove along the scenic road in the northern unit of the park, weird squawks and noises came out of my mouth that perked up my dog, Winnie's, ears. The herd of 10-15 bison was maybe 75 yards from the road. So I pulled the car over, remained inside, and whipped out my camera.

Photo by Michele L. Walter - Bison in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

As I took photo after photo of these glorious creatures, I remembered a tip I heard: Watch the bison's tail. If it's low and relaxed, the bison is feeling pretty chill. But if the tail starts to go up, look out--the bison is likely angry and ready to charge. All of these bison's tails were swinging low and relaxed . . . swish, swish, swish. And thankfully there weren't other looky-loo's around getting out of their cars or trying to get too close so as to agitate the herd.

As I continued to observe and photograph the herd, one massive male came lumbering across the road from the other side, right in front of my car. He was taking his time, seemingly oblivious to the silver Subaru parked alongside the road . . . his tail low and swinging casually as he sauntered over to the rest of the herd . . . swish, swish, swish.

I started thinking about how at ease these bison seemed. They weren't on heightened alert or ready to charge. They were peacefully grazing away and occasionally looking over toward my car, like they were making sure I was still sitting in there. Observing me.

They were in the moment. They weren't worried about whether I was going to get out of the car or what I may do. They were just immersed in the blades of grass, the sunshine, rubbing up against each other . . . and slowly swishing their tails back and forth.

I imagined that this is the bison flow state.

Not only were they observing me, but I was observing them. I was keenly focused on their bodies and behavior. And then at one point, I tuned into my own body and behavior. I felt an excited calm sensation all over my body, if that makes sense. I became acutely aware that I was sharing this moment with them. They, focused on their grazing, sunshine, and each other. Me, focused on them. (Winnie panting away in the backseat wondering why mommy was so excited over big dogs).

Just as a bison's tail can tell you all you need to know in the moment about how they're feeling, my body was telling me all I needed to know about how I was feeling in that moment. I was fully plugged in, present, and at peace.

If I'd had a tail at that moment, it would have been gently swishing back and forth in a relaxed manner too.

I don't know whether the bison is tuned into how its body is feeling. But I do know that bison--like other animals--are very tuned into the present moment and connected intuitively to how their bodies receive signals from their environment. If a bison perceives danger or gets angry, its tail will raise up like a flag being hoisted on a pole, as its "fight" mode is activated in its brain. Then the bison bursts into action (very quickly by the way . . . bison are fast!). Once the threat is over, the bison's tail gradually lowers back to its easy swish-swish-swish and the bison resumes its grazing.

We humans spend most of our days with our tails up in activated "fight, flight, or freeze" mode. We don't enjoy grazing in the grass, communing with our herd, or feeling the sunshine on our backs.

And unlike the bison, we don't use that activated mode to respond to a discrete threat. Instead, we see everything from our bosses, to social media posts, to people on the street, to our email inbox as threats. Consequently, we remain in that activated "fight, flight, or freeze" mode most of our days.

Wouldn't it be nice to let your tail relax?

Are you ready to learn how to let your tail just swish, swish, swish back and forth so that you can live with more ease and peace? Enjoy grazing through the meadows of your life, bonding with the people in your herd, and feeling the sunshine on your back?

This is the potential that mindfulness meditation holds for you.

These teachings and practices in which I've been trained show us how to tune into our bodies. Know when we're living in constant activated mode. And learn how to down-regulate our system so that we can live with more ease.

You can even start with a little mindfulness practice right now just by noticing. Right now, in this moment, take a deep breath in and out. Then notice: how does your body feel? Do you notice any tension, tightness, anxiety, nervousness? Or do you feel ease, calm, peace, happiness, expansiveness? Or maybe a combination of many different sensations? Where do you notice these sensations in your body? What do they feel like?

That's the first step: becoming aware of and noticing how your body feels.

Noticing when your tail is up or when it's down.

And this is where I can support you in practicing.

If you want to explore your own 5-week personalized mindfulness meditation training, send me an email at Michele@lifefromthesummit.com.