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!
On a recent night out with new friends visiting from a different country, I was asked the usual question: “Where’s a good place to go to hang out?” The query came at 10 PM on a Tuesday night, at a time when I am usually happily reading in bed, with Mozart softly playing in the background. But tonight, we are gloriously celebrating the camaraderie that comes with a shared passion: yoga. You see, we are all yoga teachers. Some of us own studios in Manila and most were in town for just a week, visiting Bangkok for a workshop with a legendary yoga personality. So, a quiet night at home will not do. The out-of-towners want to be impressed and I must deliver.
I decided to recommend a posh hotel in the heart of downtown. After a quick cab ride, we were standing in front of the imposing sliver of a building, with jazz softly humming out of the lobby bar. After the staff informed us that although we were most welcomed to stay on the ground floor, the hotel offers two other lounges, with the champagne bar, the crown jewel of the establishment, glittering on the outdoor 25th floor deck.
“That sounds perfect,” purred a first-time visitor to Thailand. “When is the next time that I will be here, right? So, let’s treat ourselves.” So off we went, up the elevator crowded with what we agreed were Russian tourists, chatting to each other merrily. An attendant greeted us as we arrived at our destination. We still had to climb a few flights of stairs, through artfully lit hallways decorated with edgy, cryptic modern art (“The Entrails of My Wedding Dress, mixed media, 2009″ was my favorite). After a few more minutes, the eastern exposure of Bangkok was at our feet, and we were shown our table in the pleasantly cool and breezy evening.
I was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, as it had been so long since I’ve been out, and the company was so much fun! Through I was observing a rising feeling of intimidation and just a whiff of anxiety, as the venue seems outrageously expensive. I often think about yoga philosophy and I had a moment of illumination, as what I was experiencing are classic symptoms of the dance between raga and dvesha.
“Raga” can be understood as excessive attachment to pleasure, whereas the avoidance of pain is known as “dvesha.” These seemingly natural human characteristics can create quite an imbalance if one is unconsciously feeding such desires. Over time, the ego expands as we add to our long list of likes and dislikes, and we come to know ourselves not as a divine expression but rather as a reactive machine, constantly responding to external stimuli. It is raga at work when I felt the rush of admiration of the gorgeous setting; it is dvesha when I want to escape the seemingly unaffordable location. Raga can provide a platform for greed, lust and addiction, where fear, regret and hatred are the realms of dvesha.
So when I realized what was going on in my mind, I smiled at myself and decided to let the universe take its course. When a member of our party asked for water and the immaculate waiter presented us with a 450 THB (15 USD) bottle, the same woman who wanted to treat herself quickly suggested that we go back down to earth. So we took the elevator back down to reality and ordered a first bottle of red for slightly more than the price of water in heaven. Three more bottles later, I was grateful to be in the company of yogis who are always, consciously or not, practicing the art of balance (though not necessarily in moderation).
May you rise above the petty details of living and fully express yourself in life. Om Shanti Om.
The ability for yoga to heal is an essential part of every class that I teach, so when an opportunity came up to explore yoga at a famous rehabilitation facility located in the mountains in the northern reaches of Thailand, far from the stresses of big-city living, I thought that it would be a terrific idea: Why not take the healing to those that need it the most? After talking extensively to the management team, however, I quickly realized that the great sensitivity of the process of addiction recovery should not be taken lightly.
In Patanjali’s “Yoga Sutras,” one of the most ancient and respected texts on the subject, the second verse is often translated as “Yoga is the Calming of the Fluctuation of the Mind.” What we have then, is a very tangible definition of what yoga is. Many modern practitioners have been influenced by later developments and interpretations of yoga, so the meaning has become a bit unclear, with definitions ranging from “union” to “postures.” In fact, there are so many variations in yoga that the essentials taught at certain institutions can be viewed as nonsense at others.
Yoga began in India thousands of years ago as a method of transcendence from ordinary, unconscious living. Through discipline, devotion and management of the mind, one can facilitate the process of evolution. However, our modern age tends to value the visible more than the subtle. As such, some physically demanding yoga studios will proudly proclaim: “Burn calories, not incense.” Classic schools stemming from a common linage are not immune to this need to differentiate. The Iyengar tradition promotes the usage of props (chairs, blocks, straps) in order to aid proper alignment, whereas the Ashtangis tend to view such objects as a hindrance to the flow of energy during the dynamic, fluid practice.
Contributing to the confusion is the common desire to be correct. Countless yoga texts emphasize the devotion to the guru (teacher) as one explores yoga. This often leads to a warped perception, with some schools declaring another’s method as harmful and irrelevant. The potential for yoga to unite is then destroyed with too much differentiation and too much thinking. Many religious people often say that the original message is pure and simple, but humans corrupt the essentials with too much thought and procedures. While yoga is not a religion, it is fascinating to see the current state of the practice after more than 2000 years of existence. Just as simple houses of worship gave way to grand, ornate churches, yoga is quickly transforming into a stylized regime, complete with organic rubber mats and expensive clothing.
An optimist might say that this progression is a sign that something is alive, for anything worthwhile must adapt to our changing world and attitudes. And they do have a point. If your life is easy and pleasant, then indulging in a cup of designer coffee before heading to yoga and then treating yourself to a massage might very well be a harmless way to spend a Saturday afternoon. However, for those whose lives have been affected by heavy drug usage, yoga, at its most basic, offers a chance for recovery through self-empowerment.
Recovering substance users will often say that they use drugs in order to satisfy physical and psychological needs. Yoga, then, gives an opportunity to regain balance of mind through the control of the body. Through learning the basics of how to stand on two feet, how to breathe deeply and how to make choices that contribute to healthy living, yoga can empower those who may feel that their lives are out of control. When life is on the table, priorities shift. To understand yoga is to understand the self: We begin by reconnecting with the basics of what the body can do in order to gain confidence in what is possible.
While stylized differentiations within the vast ocean of modern yoga can be entertaining for those looking for maintenance of their bodies and minds, the practice at its most basic can be quite potent, and truly lifesaving, when the one is in need of transformation. When the student is ready, the teacher appears.
May all being everywhere forgive the past, live in the present and have faith in the future of infinite possibilities. Om Shanti Om.
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!