Yoga in Chiang Mai, and so much more
The remains of a temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand By Sonja Bjelland
Within hours of landing in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I had gathered a stack of pamphlets.
Massage classes. Yoga classes. Cooking schools. Elephant treks.
It was time to get organized.
I’ve found so much to do here, I started using my calendar system so I could sign up for classes and such on different days. I don’t even think I’m going to be able to fit in the meditation classes at one of the Buddhist temples. But I will have to make it over to the famed night market.
No wonder so many ex-pats call this place home. Dinner for $3. An hour-long massage for $5.
After delving into my pamphlet pile, I headed to Blue Garden yoga within the historic city walls and moat. It is one of several yoga studios in Chiang Mai and I’ll be checking out others in the coming days.
Every yoga studio in Thailand that I’ve been to so far has been clean and, for the most part, what a Westerner would expect. Granted, all of them I’ve been to have been run by Westerners. This has made finding a good yoga studio easy because I don’t have to ask to see the yoga room and make sure it is somewhere I would practice. Some studios even have you clean the mats after class as a little bit of Karma yoga. Such a change from India.
Monks sit for lessons between two Buddhas By Sonja Bjelland
Tucked a bit off one of the main roads, Blue Garden is partially enclosed with plants growing up and a water feature. I popped in for the 7 p.m. class. Remco, the teacher, focused on hips for the class and I needed that after sitting on a boat and plane so much in the days before.
Like most of the studios I’ve encountered here, they are physically small and cannot handle more than 10 to 15 people for a class. That sometimes makes for a tight squeeze but also allows the teacher to make frequent inspections and corrections.
The general Hatha yoga class included poses familiar to most yogis and one or two that were new to me. Not a beginner class, but not difficult either. A good balance of challenging and relaxing. It did prove a little too vigorous for my body clock though and I was still awake hours later when I needed to rest before my cooking class.
That experience left me knowing I need to buy a wok. I learned how to make chili paste for Thai curries, Pad Thai, Panang Curry, papaya salad and coconut sticky rice with mango. I didn’t need dinner and wasn’t about to hit a challenging yoga class with all that in my belly.
