Yoga Destination: Koh Phangan, Thailand

Koh Phangan, Thailand is my yoga paradise.
 
If you’re looking for warm waves, white sand beaches and more yoga classes to chose from than you could possibly attend, this is the place for you.

For a high end experience, The Sanctuary, on Haad Thian, offers many daily yoga, pilates, and meditation classes. They offer fasting and cleanse options in addition to their stylish accommodations and restaurant.

On Haad Thian, and its neighboring beaches, Haad Yuan and Haad Why Nam, there are a number of yoga spots set up, including The Blooming Lotus (occasional teacher’s trainings), Love Lips, and Mysore Led Ashtanga classes. Classes range between 250-300 Baht/ class (US$8-10) with deals for multiple classes. We settled into a routine going to daily classes at the Sanctuary because we really enjoyed the teachers, but it would all depend on your yoga preferences and the instructors in the area. We wrote a little about the Sanctuary’s Vinyasa and Yin Yoga classes, the Blooming Lotus and the Mysore Ashtanga. It’s about a 10-20 minute walk between the beaches.

There are many bungalows along the beaches ranging between super basic to higher end.  We really liked Big Blue (089-871-6214 or 086-470-2625) on Haad Yuan that offer basic bungalows with private bathroom and fan for 400 baht. We wrote about it here. They also have a restaurant with good prices, an ocean view, and daily movies. There are so many bungalow options between the beaches, it’s not hard to find something for a reasonable price, although I hear high season from Dec-Mar gets more expensive. Plates of Thai food range from 60-120 Baht ($2-4). Internet is pricey on the island, starting at 30-45 baht ($1) for 15 min.

If you’re in search of yoga elsewhere on the island, you can try tantric yoga at Agama Yoga or sign up for a retreat or classes at Yoga Retreat, and I’m sure there are other places as well.

From Bangkok it’s a 10-12 hour bus ride, or shorter train ride to Surat Thani, the largest city on the mainland. Take another bus to the ferry terminal. From there its a 90 minute boat ride to Koh Samui, and continue 45 minutes to the port Thong Sala on Koh Phangan. It sounds a little complicated, but Songserm and other travel companies in Bangkok offer a direct transport option for the bus, bus, boat to Koh Phangan. We paid 950 baht/person. When you get to Thong Sala, take a pick-up truck or sawngthaew (100 baht) to Haad Rin. From Haat Rin, take a 5 minute boat ride to Haad Yaan. It’s 200 baht/person for the boat ride, despite our best attempts at bargaining. It’s a multi-step journey to get here - but it’s worth it!

If your budget is larger or you’re short on time, you can fly from Bangkok to Koh Samui in less than an hour and take boats to Koh Phangan from there.

It’s yoga paradise!

- Bessie

Metaphysical This

So, as we prepare to leave our yoga haven of nearly 2 weeks in Koh Phangan, Thailand, here is my current yoga state of mind, so to speak.

I like yoga, I really do.  For me, it is a great way to get in tune with my body and work on the things that I need to work on.  Yoga is an excellent guide at showing you which parts of the body are weaker or need to be stretched.  And it is able to do that without overtaxing any part of the body.  For that alone, I want to continue doing it for a long time.

Of course, there are parts that as of now I don’t get so much and that’s all of the “metaphysical” talk.  I don’t really believe that there are things called chakras or that by somehow placing my hands in a certain position, I am awakening a secret energy within me.  I’m too scientific to believe in them literally. 

I do think, however, that they are great tools to get you thinking about your body and to get your body in the correct positions.  Do I really feel energy shooting out of my fingers when I’m in a warrior position?  No.  But, thinking about it does make me stretch those arms a little bit more and get more out of the pose.

Maybe someday I’ll get into the metaphysical and spiritual side of things.  But, for now, I’m content with just feeling the positive effects on my body. 

Ok, it’s a little more than contentment. 

It’s bliss.

- Kyle

Popping in on a Teacher’s Training

I’m still not sure what will come of my idea of doing a teacher’s training (TT), but today was a cool sneak peak into one. A studio here called the Blooming Lotus is about half way through a TT, and I showed up for an open class that was part of their training.

Showing up to a room of 15 people super into some yoga text book all in a circle on their mats was intimidating. Luckily, a few other people also showed up, which made it less strange, but spending nearly an entire 1.5 hour class doing backbends  was strange. Maybe cool for the people getting trained, but I’m not so into using belts to wrap by foot back around my head and balancing the opposite hand on a block.

It was a more advanced class than the others I’d taken, so it was full of new challenges, which was cool. But the best part was getting a feel for the vibe of all the people in the room who were training together and had obviously bonded. There was a neat feeling of camaraderie, as we broke into partner postures and after class students stuck around helping each other into headstands and getting postures just right.

It also affirmed my desire to study under an instructor before signing up for a random TT. I’d hate to spend a month and US$2,000-3,000 with an instructor that wasn’t my style. Not that I didn’t like this instructor, she definitely knew her stuff, but she was wearing long feathers as earrings and a shirt with a ripped back, and just seemed a little disorganized. Maybe she was just feeling a bit off this particular morning, but I sort of lean traditional rather than new-agey in my yoga style, and I’m a little anal, so I’d like a teacher that’s really on their game.

It was certainly a nice sneak-peak into a TT, and I’d definitely suggest trying an instructor before signing up for a training.

- Bessie