I can offer a local, non-tourist perspective on this breathtaking country. I have been teaching and practicing yoga for years and have led many retreats around Asia. If you would like a yoga focus to your holiday, I will be more than happy to deliver. Or if food, shopping and excess is your idea of a good time, then I’m definitely your man!
Please see my blog on Yoga, rural Thailand and Bangkok highlights: the trinity of my life. Thank you for considering a place that I’ve built from the heart for your dream holiday. I hope to see you in Awe soon!
With the weather transitioning into a new season, the body sometimes has a hard time with the change, and often one of the first signs of illness is a stuffy nose. If not treated carefully, the symptom can grow into nasty colds or even sinus infections. We wash our bodies and brush our teeth every day to keep them clean, so here is something to think about: Why not wash our noses as well?
Most yoga teachers recommend a strict discipline of nostril breathing. Some of us are chronic mouth breathers, which can result in a host of problems from a dry mouth to shortness of breath. Not only is the habit of breathing through the mouth damaging to the body, as air does not pass through the filtering mechanisms of the nose, the ancient Yoga texts say that it is harmful to the mind as well.
The more attention we give to a particular task, the more refined it becomes. It is a common affliction in our age to disconnect from our bodies and let habit take over. In an increasingly polluted world, a common habit is mouth breathing. If the respiratory system is functioning optimally, then nostril breathing should be automatic. Therefore, habitual mouth breathers should focus on the well-being of the nasal cavities in order to improve their respiratory health.
The traditional hatha yoga practice of “jala neti” is particularly useful for restoring the nostrils to the finest condition. It involves making a saline solution and cleaning the nostrils using a specially designed vessel called a neti pot. Once the vessel is filled with the saline liquid, the spout is pressed against the right nostril and the head is tipped to the side, allowing water to flow up the right nostril and out the left. The process is repeated on the left nostril as well.
This cleansing technique promotes sinus drainage and moistens the nasal cavities. The ancient yoga texts say that neti is one of the many practices that prepare the body for evolution. If that concept sounds too new age, we can think of it this way: Cleaner nostrils promote deeper breathing through the nose, which, in turn, can have a dramatic effect on respiratory health.
One more very useful practice is called “kapalbhati.” Different schools teach the method in various ways, but the common thread of the practice is the emphasis on the exhalation. First, take a comfortable seat and allow the belly to relax extend. Then begin to rhythmically contract the belly (the sensation is someone punching the stomach at regular intervals and forcing the air out of the nose). Keep a steady rhythm, with the eyes closed, and complete up to 100 rounds (50 for beginners). Worry not about the inhales, as they happen automatically with the pumping action of the tummy.
On a deeper level, both jala neti and kapalbhati teach us to be aware of what we are doing, even to the smallest detail such as the breath: After all, we do not shove food in our nose, so why should we shove air in our mouths?
Every culture claims to have a passionate family structure with grandmas firmly in the kitchen cooking grand meal, aunties gossiping, and kids chasing each other around the dinner table. The Americans celebrate the family with holidays like Thanksgiving and many groups throughout the world have similar festivities, though drunken jokes around a turkey varies slightly in content depending on your location.
Thailand, too, is proud of its devotion to the family. It is a country that sees nothing wrong with grown men living with their parents, sometimes sleeping in the same room with them, until he is old enough to know better. Some stay home their whole lives, bringing a newly acquired wife into the house to share the space with mom and dad. With enough means and a large enough plot of land, some families can afford to build junior a smaller house right next to the folks, but not too far, as being physically close implies a greater care and devotion to the clan.
Perhaps it is this close quarters that give rise to Thai humor. As an American who’s lived in Thailand for almost a decade, here are my thoughts on what makes the Thais laugh.
First, things need to appear funny. So much of the humor is on how things look. The loudness of the joke, not the subtly of the message, is what the Thais find humorous. For example, the obsession with making fun of dark-skinned Thais is relentless on every level: From crude exchanges on the playground to more sophisticated cat fights on the evening soaps. Recently, a big-name ad agency got a lot of attention (but fascinatingly not in much trouble) for covering subway seats with stickers saying: “These seats are for light-skinned people only” onto subway seats. The product that they were trying to sell was a face lotion that promises to blanch the typically bronzed Thai complexion.
Most things that get recorded are from a privileged perspective. Letters surviving centuries to be studied in modern times are seldom those of peasants. So it is very useful to observe what rich people think now, because that’s what our descendants will think we all thought
In Thailand, early November is ‘katin’ season, with people rounding up cash donations and bringing the lot, along with food and basics supplies, to give as an offering to ordained monks who reside at various temples throughout the country. There are very fancy katins at very fancy temples, almost like society event, with big-haired ladies arriving in Mercedes Benzes where offering go well into the millions.
Recently, I went on a family trip to a katin that was far from fancy. The road in was not paved and they just built a new communal bathrooms with new, non-flushing, toilets. There’s a water reservoir next to the toilet; you scoop out the water and dump it down the basin to bury the evidence. Don’t ask about toilet paper and do bring your own sanitary wipes, please.
On this outing was my cousin G, who is very rich and has a driver and a servant following her around all the time. Anyway, she found a poor child and made her sing and dance. She didn’t even finish the song when G said enough, pulled out and equivalent of 3 dollars, and sent her on the way. Though G laughed liked hiccupping idiot the whole time, I guess that’s not really humor. If there’s something that Thais love, though, it’s a good show.
So relax. What the Thais find funny will likely offend most westerners, but that’s Thailand for you.
My name is Peter: Born in Chicago, raised in a small town in Thailand, and worked as a journalist for various publications throughout the USA. The stress drove me to yoga and beach life. I opened Awe Resort in 2007. Please join me in paradise!