Day 3 - hello hips and Chiang Mai markets 
January 8, 2012
I must have been really out of it last night, as I set my alarm a half hour too late and missed morning meditation. So I arrived just in time for breakfast. Good thing this wasn't Sivananda yoga training where attendance was taken for morning practice. I have a feeling there will be a lot of discussion about food on this. Breakfast was super yummy. Had to be careful not to overindulge as asana practice started 2 hours later. More pineapple and papaya and yogurt with a sesame honey mixture - yum!

First asana class was scheduled for 3 hours!!! The longest I've ever taken. Jonas is quite a gifted teacher. And the yoga sala (studio) is this lovely treehouse type room which sits amongst the branches of a number of huge tamarind trees. I'm relatively new to anusara yoga, which has a much stronger focus on precision of alignment and opening the heart. Many of the alignment cues are quite different than that which I've done before. Just a slight turn of the wrist or stretch of the fingers or tucking of the toes. So I really enjoyed experiencing his teaching manner. Morning session was fiery and hot. Full of standing poses (lots of lunging), twists, back ends and handstands! A very solid and grounded practice where we held postures for minutes at a time, not much flow. Felt sufficiently wrung out by savasana.

Lunch poolside with green curry with eggplant, brown rice, big salad and summer rolls. Thai vegetarian is my favorite vegetarian, and the food is so fresh! We have a nice 3 hour break for lunch and lounging before the next session. So I took in some vitamin D, swam some laps and rested before more intensity. The afternoon focused on cooling postures, deep hip openers, forward bends, side bends, back ends, and head stands.

The evening was free and a number of us took a songthaew to Chiang Mai. The ride took some getting used to. A yellow taxi type mini bus/truck thing with two benches, no seatbelts and an open back. Quite an adventurous 45 minute ride. It was a bit of a yogi clown car as we all squeezed in.

Chiang Mai has a big Sunday Night market where the streets are closed to vehicles and lined with stalls selling handicrafts, jewelry and textiles. Many of the temples have opened their courtyards to food stalls. Wonderful colors and textures and smells.

After walking around for a bit, I wasn't ready to start my shopping adventure yet, so a friend and I opted for 30 minute foot massages. 60 baht ($2). Sitting pretty in a lounge chair on the market street, looking across to a temple and the full moon hanging in the sky. And some of the best people watching!
  • Yoga Sala  Canon Powershot Sd750 5.8 - 17.4 Mm
    Yoga Sala
    1
  • Yoga Sala  Canon Powershot Sd750 5.8 - 17.4 Mm
    Yoga Sala
    1
  • Yoga Sala  Canon Powershot Sd750 5.8 - 17.4 Mm
    Yoga Sala
    3
  • Pool and dining with Sala studio behind  Canon Powershot Sd750 5.8 - 17.4 Mm
    Pool and dining with Sala studio behind
  • Yogi clown car  Canon Powershot Sd750 5.8 - 17.4 Mm
    Yogi clown car
  • Songthaew  Canon Powershot Sd750 5.8 - 17.4 Mm
    Songthaew
  • Chiang Mai Sunday Night Market  Canon Powershot Sd750 5.8 - 17.4 Mm
    Chiang Mai Sunday Night Market
  •   Canon Powershot Sd750 5.8 - 17.4 Mm
  •   Canon Powershot Sd750 5.8 - 17.4 Mm
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