Moving Across the World, Then Yoga

I moved to Thailand from Boston, Massachusetts in April of 2019. All things considered, it has gone as smoothly as I could have hoped moving to the other side of the world could go. There were so many things that could’ve gone wrong- and I did my best to just take the leap and not think too much. It turns out that mostly everything went right (thank goodness). In the first couple of months, I completed a fantastic TEFL training course through TEFL Heaven, got more and more used to my teaching job, settled myself into an apartment, and made new friends who are likeminded and make home feel a bit closer.

Still, even though I recognise that I’m very lucky to have the opportunity to take on this adventure, I was feeling out of balance. My [idealised] image of Thailand was one of beaches, adorable children [who I would be helping to learn English], and exciting weekend trips. I realize that this is naive and that things like work and real life are hard, but I just didn’t think it would be this hard. I found my mind frequently drifting towards the negatives: the stresses of a job I didn’t feel particularly good at, the pollution I noticed as I took a breathe in, and the muddy puddles that soaked my feet walking to school in the morning. Even though the kids are adorable (see below), classroom teaching has a huge learning curve, and the students’ limited English adds a whole new challenge. For anyone that thinks teaching abroad is a vacation, I’m here to vouch for the fact that it can be very tough.

I knew that a little break was in order. A quote that played in my mind was “if you’re tired, learn to rest, not quit.” I started thinking more about what has brought me inner peace and clarity in the past, and it didn’t take long for the idea of a yoga retreat to pop into my head. Yoga has been a constant in my life for the past five years or so and has helped me through several stressful jobs, and even through minor stresses (bad dates, anyone?). I decided to take the leap and book a yoga retreat on the island of Koh Samui during a week when we already had two days off for Buddhist holidays at school. Since of course every other teacher at school also wanted some or all of that week off as well, it turned into a bit of a fiasco, but I was able to ultimately make it happen. Since I’m living close to Bangkok, Samui is only a one hour flight away. I’M GOING TO THE ISLANDS BABY!

In the weeks leading up to the retreat, I had adopted a countdown reminiscent of a kid at Christmas (Yay, only 10 days left!). I had some doubts about booking a retreat with a studio I didn’t know, but I felt more excited than anything. I had confidence that other people who would want to do a yoga retreat would be similar to myself, and I knew that it was more for myself than for the purpose of making friends. I felt a bit guilty about missing 3 days of school, but then I thought YOLO, and the YOLO mentality prevailed!

Absolute Sanctuary is like an oasis. Serene and far removed from the hustle and bustle of Thailand, I felt like I was stepping into a different world. I soon met the others on the retreat, and learned that the group would consist of me and 8 others who all live in Brisbane, Australia. Never having been to Australia myself, it ended up being an added benefit that I now have 8 new Australian friends who I look forward to visiting in the near future.

Every day started with sunrise yoga at 6:30am and ended with restorative yoga at 8pm. In between, we ate meals together at the delicious cafe called “Love Kitchen”, attended various workshops and classes, and had time in the afternoon to relax or explore the town. With every hour I spent there, my worries and stresses seemed further and further away. Not to say that it wasn’t sometimes difficult to relax or that a zillion thoughts didn’t pop into my mind as I was going through the yoga poses, just that I felt the luxury of the time and space I had to just be.

One of my favorite classes was a mix of yoga and “journelling for positivity”. One of the fabulous teachers, Amy (of Amber Tree Yoga Retreats), had us move through some yoga poses, and then do different writing exercises to get a better understanding of what we want out of our lives. One prompt involved writing a question with your dominant hand and then writing the answer with your other hand. The theory is that when more of your brain capacity is devoted to the act of writing legibly, the answer is less dependent on your conscious brain and instead reflects the desires of your inner child. Through this, you can get a better sense of what you truly want without overthinking getting in the way. We also wrote about our “dream day” in full detail, and I was surprised by how clearly it came to me: I could picture the weather, what my apartment would look like, and the people who would be there.

The 5 days passed by in a flash, but I am so grateful to Amber Tree Yoga Retreats and all of the people I met for planning this incredible week and taking me in so graciously. I felt taken care of and truly at home with a group of complete strangers (who weren’t strangers for long). I know that every week can’t be this ideal and that we were tucked away in a little bubble from the world. But, as any good yogi knows, it’s really about taking what you learn on the mat and sharing it with the world. So, I went back to my second grade classroom knowing that even though my compusure and sense of calm wouldn’t last permanently, at least this was a version of myself that I had access to given the right environment.

Lots of love,

Alexandra (Teacher Lexi)

Link to Amber Tree Yoga: https://ambertreeyoga.com.au/

Link to TEFL Heaven: https://www.teflheaven.com/