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Sound Yoga, Goats & Llamas My first glampout also includes another introductory experience: a Sound Bath and Gentle Yoga class. From our cabin, Jules and I hike across a footpath, stroll past the Treehouse Yurt and into El Cap's large Meadow Yurt. e circular structure is two-tone brown on the outside; inside, the white walls are decorated by wooden lattice. (I flash back to Nine Perfect Strangers, the streaming series in which Nicole Kidman plays a New Age spa owner.) Sound Bath and Gentle Yoga is a light mashup of two classes. Gentle Yoga means lots of floor poses and plenty of pauses. Sound Bath includes acoustic instruments. Instructors Alla and Nalini create sounds from white crystal bowls, copper Tibetan bowls, chimes, and a flute. e final gentle pose (lying down) is dramatized by personalized mat service. Alla hovers over us while tapping a crystal pyramid, which emits sonic frequency aimed at creating balance and a state of harmony. Her custom maraca is intended to scrub our auras. On cue, I open my eyes. Gazing up through the yurt's domed-roof skylight, I see clouds floating gently by. It takes a few minutes for my scrubbed aura to reconnect to the sound of children laughing and cavorting in the meadow outside. Feeling balanced, Jules and I hike up the steep Selma Rubin Trail to the Llama Pasture and Organic Farm. It's open house hours at El Cap's working farm. Director of maintenance Larry Miller oversees what must be this country's most picturesque petting zoo. e farm is graced with an idyllic panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. We watch dozens and dozens of goats, sheep, llamas, and one eternally-hungry miniature donkey offer themselves up to the hands of affectionate humans. We envy these animals' state of harmony. Before our visit is over, my wife and I check off two more boxes. We borrow cruiser bikes and navigate the downhill street path to the nearby state beach. It's a clear, sunny day. e ocean diffuses our faces with salty spray and the wind hums its own version of a sound bath. At the last minute before departure, Jules buys an El Capitan Canyon coffee mug. She hints at wanting to get a great deal of use from this heavy orange ceramic mug. With it, you see, coffee refills at El Cap are free for life. elcapitancanyon.com << @ranchandcoast ranchandcoast.com 90 JUNE 2022 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE Instructors lead a Sound Bath and Gentle Yoga class in El Cap's Meadow Yurt Jules with her new favorite coffee mug COURTESY PHOTOGRAPHY