One of the things I love about Madison, Wisconsin is all of the green areas in the city to explore. Last week I decided to bike over to Olbrich Garden to do a yoga session in the rose garden for an ultimate mind-detox. If you ever wonder what you should do about your stress or worry, forget therapy or expensive chocolate, go to a garden and get some fresh air.

And who says that you have to leave the city to get an out-of-the-world experience? At Olbrich it almost felt like I went on a quick getaway to Thailand. There were elephant and dragon statues scattered throughout the park and the colors coming from the garden were so vivid that I had to pinch myself and remember that I was still in non-tropical weather.

Olbrich also has a Thai Pavilion that was a gift from the Thai government and the Thai Chapter of the university here. When I visited, people were practicing tai chi at sundown and meditating – and I was awkwardly taking their photos during the whole session.

photos by Pretty Talk

I am possibly thinking about starting a new column called Local Encounters featuring cool local places to explore around the city, what do you think? - Pati