The growing popularity in western society of yurt tents is only one of a long list of ideas we are adopting from ancient cultures. For thousands of years the nomadic tribes people of Central Asia, from Mongolia to nations of the former Soviet Union to Afghanistan were housed very comfortably in round tents called yurts or gers. These were herdsmen who were forced to live as nomads because the land where their sheep grazed was not lush enough to allow them to remain in one place all the time. When the grasses in one location have been cropped away, they take down their yurt tents, load their belongings onto their horses, and move on to greener pastures.
These yurts are remarkably practical, being readily set up and taken down, and are comfortable dwellings in which to live to matter how harsh the climate. They are warm housing in the winter and comfortably cool during the summer. But more than their practicality is the reason why westerners have picked up on the joys of yurt tents. There is also a less tangible and more spiritual feeling that makes activities in yurt tents more special. They just feel more healthy and inviting.
Taking a look at a yurt tent, the first thing we notice is the circular shape. Being round means they do not have any corners or sharp angles. Back in the dark ages people would say that there were evil spirits, and that the devil lurked in dark corners. Is this merely a superstition, or is there actually an absence of malevolence in a dwelling space that is round? Whatever the reason, it is an observable fact that the majority of uses today of yurts in the USA and Canada are by people with a more New Age or spiritual outlook on life. You see yurts being used as spaces for yoga, meditation, art work, and non traditional healing modalities including Reiki, massage and aromatherapy. Yurt tents also are popular enclosures in which to do tai chi and martial arts.
Earlier we mentioned how the yurt tent is only one of a long list of eastern ideas that western minds are now embracing. Such other alternative traditions include yoga, traditional Chinese and Indian medicines, meditation, and herbal remedies. But you do not have to be a new ager to appreciate the charm, practicality and down right usefulness of yurt tents. There are now yurt rentals that are being used as accommodations in a lot of state park campgrounds from Yellowstone to Colorado to the Adirondacks.