Behind the Scenes: Staff Assistant Pat Anderson
Being without cell phone coverage and reliable internet access is a challenge for some conference attendees here at Estes.
For staff assistant Pat Anderson, it's a walk in the park.
Up until three years ago, Anderson was a Thai forest monk in the Wat Pah Nanachat monastery.
Anderson, 31, has been assisting at Yoga Journal conferences for three years. "These conferences give you a shotgun experience of yoga; you experience so many excellent teachers in one space," he said.
Anderson moved from his hometown of Greeley, CO, to Northern Thailand and entered the monastery at the tender age of 19. He lived in a modest forest hut near the Burmese border with no electricity or hot water for nine years. His daily routine included 4-5 hours of sleep, countless hours of meditation, chanting, cleaning, making robes, and other discipline-building practices.
Beyond lack of sleep, the other challenges of monkhood included eating one modest meal a day, celibacy, and neverending encounters with insects and mosquitos. (Rather than slap at a mosquito sucking the blood from his arm, he explained, he learned to see the insect as a beautiful being.)
What would compell an American teen to voluntarily choose what most people his age would consider punishment?
"I got to a point where I was asking myself 'what is the meaning of my life?' and 'who is truly happy?'" Anderson said. After meeting some former monks and perceiving their sense of inner peace, Anderson was sold. He left his family and home with the intention of spending a lifetime in the monastery. He lasted nine years, eight-and-a-half more than the average monk lifespan, according to his calculations.
So what made Anderson leave the monastery three years ago?
It wasn't the tough living conditions that led to Pat's decision to disrobe. Nor was it a woman.
It was yoga.
Three months into his stay, he began to learn asanas. Although yoga practice wasn't supported or taught in the monastery, his interest grew steadily, day by day.
"It came to a point when choosing to continue to do yoga and to be physical meant choosing to leave," he said.
Now a student of several teahers, including Aadil Palkhivala, Pat lives in North Dakota and works as a yoga teacher and massage therapist. He's studying (via distance-learning) with Spirit Rock meditation center to become a Community Dharma Leader and is engaged to be married next year.
Pat says his dream is to visit monasteries as a layperson and teach yoga. "I love being physical. My dream is to teach the monks yoga in a way that helps them to continue to be monks."
Anderson says the most valuable training he's retained from his monastic training is "to care about people and about life, to feel connected to everyone, and to praactice lovingkindness."
