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Yoga Basics in Thailand

Yoga is a tremendous stress management technique.  It is a very effective method that can make you become a more relaxed, healthier, and happier person.  Yoga refers to a 5,000 year-old Indian art of connecting the body, the mind, and the soul.  Yoga is meditation in motion and its benefits are both physical and spiritual:  It combines physical poses (Asana) with breathing and focusing.  The physical side, yoga poses strengthen the muscles and spine which improves flexibility, muscle tones, and coordination.  On spiritual side, yoga keeps your mind at the task at hand.  When you do yoga, you focus on one thing at a time, your breath, the stretch, or your body alignment; this trains your mind to be still and quiet (meditation).  

Finding a yoga class and choosing the right teacher is easy in Thailand.  There are teachers and yoga studios in all regions in the kingdom.  Friends’ recommendations and sampling a class or two are the best means of selecting a class and instructor that work for you.  Indulge in yoga classes organized in luxury resorts on the beach or in the tranquil mountain for added pleasure in learning experience.   Chieng Mai province has several outstanding classes taught by certified yoga teachers.  In Ko Chang, yoga is offered in beautiful teak retreat on the lagoon near the sea.  Several beachside resorts and health clubs and spas in Hua Hin give year round classes for people of virtually any age, fitness level, and nationality.  Bangkok has the most concentration of yoga classes which made it easier than any region in Thailand to find more variety of forms of yoga, teachers, and studios.

Yoga is noncompetitive in nature.  Beginner can work at his own speed and comfort level.  Yoga is practice by engaging in a series of stretches that are designed to lengthen the spine.  The stretches focus on very specific, usually tight and constricted places such as the neck, back, hips, legs, and spine.  While you are stretching, you are also concentrating, focusing your attention on what you are doing.  The act of concentrating in the poses or your breathing over and over again becomes a habit and you will begin to pay attention to the presence moment in your everyday life.  This is the core of meditation.  Yoga offers a simple way to slow down and relax and react less to the situations of life.

Ultimately, a good yoga session is one that leaves you feeling more alive, energized, peaceful, and relaxed.  Once you have learned a sufficient number of positions, the basic yoga poses are easy to maintain and practice throughout your life to develop the strength, alignment, and flexibility for more advanced practices.  It is a quiet exercise you can do in your beach condominium, anytime.  The beauty of yoga, like its poses, lies in its flexibility.  You will get what you need out of your yoga.  If you want to improve your posture, your breathing, your muscle tone, or your flexibility, yoga gives you that.  If you want to reduce mental stress, find inner peace, and heal emotional wounds, you can also find that in yoga.  A landmark medical research proven that uses yoga and meditation, along with diet, stop and reverse cardiovascular disease.  Try it out and see for yourself why yoga enthusiasts keep coming back to the sticky mats that pave those yoga studios all over Thailand.