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Montezuma Well, a limestone sinkhole, is a place of striking scenery, geology and resilient plants and animals. For people who cannot visit, park staff made a set of nature-inspired yoga poses, each paired with something real about the Well. They suggest doing them outside and inventing poses from your own surroundings.
Well pose. NPS photo.
The poses and what they teach
| Pose | The nature fact behind it | The move |
|---|---|---|
| Bee | A pollinator garden gives bees, butterflies, birds and bats habitat as they move pollen between plants | Sit on shins and heels, hands on knees, tall spine, and buzz |
| Flower | Many wildflowers grow here; April and May are usually best, and early fall too if summer monsoons bring rain | Seated, legs lifted, soles together, arms woven under the legs |
| Well | The Well is a limestone sinkhole fed continuously by an underground spring; water from rain and snow on the nearby Mogollon Rim trickles down to it, and vents push it up. It holds 15 million gallons | Balance on the seat with legs raised and arms straight by the sides |
| Spring snail | One of seven endemic species found only at the Well; it carries its house on its back and tucks inside to stay safe | Sit on heels, forehead down in front of the knees, arms alongside the body |
| Sonoran mud turtle | The only native turtle in the Well, living on aquatic insects, snails, frogs, birds, lizards and snakes | Sit on heels, forehead down, palms flat out in front |
| Rattlesnake | Several rattlesnake species live in the Verde Valley and help control rodents | Lie on the stomach, press up on the hands and hiss |
| Twisted juniper | The one-seed juniper is an evergreen conifer whose deep roots can grip cracks in limestone | Stand, wrap one leg around the other and the arms around each other, and “grow roots” |
| Tree | Trees here include evergreen conifers and deciduous ones that drop leaves each autumn | Stand on one leg, other foot on the inner leg, arms overhead |
| Flying bird | Hundreds of bird species visit at different times of year, drawn by water and food year-round at the Well and Beaver Creek | Stand on one leg, extend the other back, lean forward with arms out |
| Hanging bat | Caves at the Well shelter several bat species, including Townsend’s big-eared bats, and serve as a nursery each spring | Fold forward from standing, hold opposite elbows and sway |
| Cloud watcher | Weather shifts constantly; the late-summer to early-fall monsoon brings afternoon thunderstorms and heavy rain the desert needs | Lie flat, breathe deeply and look for shapes in the clouds |
Sources
- National Park Service, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Montezuma Well Yoga; rewritten in hubnx’s own words. The instructions are condensed; the page’s other pictures of the poses are left out.
In these publicationsMontezuma Castle National Monument
LanguagesEnglish
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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