Bouncing Back in Bangkok!

I had planned to leave Bangkok a week ago, but after my consultation at the Yoga and Ayurvedic Center, I was convinced I should stay longer to work with the amazing Guruji, Dr. Zakaria. He gave me diet and exercise advice during the consultation, then worked with me each day, teaching me yoga and pranayama (breathwork). After the first couple of sessions, I slept noticeably better, and felt much lighter.

I have to admit, I was a little timid at first, and wasn’t sure how this would go, as Guruji’s English is very limited, and he seemed a bit intimidating. As we neared the end of my first session, he started to joke a bit and lighten up. Soon, it became apparent that he is truly passionate about his work, cares deeply, and really wants to help everyone feel better. We had fun together and he challenged me with my strength and flexibility! He laughed telling me up, up, up, finding it funny that I could not easily stand up from sitting on the floor without using my hands. I’m on a mission now!!! I will conquer this!! (Kristin, I should have kept working on it after you had us playing a few months ago!)

During the past week, I also slowed down my pace, and as recommended, did not do any high impact/high intensity workouts. This allowed me to start cooling my inner Pitta (fire!!). I still woke early each morning, around 4:00, and started a ritual of washing my eyes out with cool water, doing pranayama exercises, stretching, and yoga asana. After, I headed out to explore the parks and the quieter side of Bangkok by taking long walks. I usually picked up some fresh fruit (Dragon Fruit has been my favorite!) for breakfast, and headed back to the hotel to clean up for my lessons with Guruji.

One morning, I chose a park on the opposite side of the river, Sri Nakhon Park. Luckily, I found a hidden boat dock behind a monastery where I was able to get a ticket on a small boat for about 50 cents to cross. I was so happy I did, as I left the area shown below in the first picture, took the boat in the second picture with this one other guy, and ended up on the road in the third picture. It was unbelievable! I went from very crowded and busy to super calm and peaceful in just a few minutes!

Following the lessons, I would walk back to my hotel slowly, taking in life around me and winding down. Finally, after a quick, cool shower, I would head out for a nourishing lunch. There was an amazing Indian restaurant across the street from my hotel where I got to know the staff and tried many new, fun things. In the evenings, I took shorter walks and treated myself to a few massages, which are amazing here and often include Tiger Balm!

This week of calm and nourishment was what I needed to relax and sink into SE Asia mode! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with Dr. Zakaria, and will definitely check in with him when I’m back in Bangkok.

Now, the center is closing until January so they can complete a renovation. So, with this, I decided it was time to move on to my next adventure. I was pondering many options, but for some reason, Laos was calling me back, so I bought a ticket and headed out….I’ll see you there soon!

Hugs,

Michelle