Chiang Mai and My Quest for “Ideal”

My lovely friend Jade and I flew up north to Chiang Mai earlier in August for a long weekend when it was the Queen’s Birthday/Mother’s Day in Thailand. This trip was extra special because we were there to visit one of the trainers from our TEFL course, Oil, who was our Thai teacher when we first arrived here. Our friendship (and learning Thai) began with the Thai nicknames she gave us. “Nampueng” or honey for me, and “Jok” which aptly means Jade. Given that we had to take a train and taxi through Bangkok on a busy Friday evening to get to our flight, the journey went as smoothly as we could have hoped.

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As we walked around Chiang Mai on Saturday morning, it felt like the type of place where one would find few yoga studios tucked around the quiet corners. Trendy coffee shops, hostels, and lots of tourists (or “farangs” as we like to say in Thailand) were the most usual sights. Something that has become somewhat routine for me when I am in a new place is doing a quick Google search for yoga studios. The challenge is that actually going to a class can take quite the effort. First, you have to drag yourself out of bed, then you have to get a whole workout outfit ready, and last but not least is finding the studio. Not to mention that your clothes will likely get sweaty, and then you have to lug around a wet outfit with you for the rest of the trip. Sounds like fun, right? As I’ve heard my teachers say, getting on your mat is often the hardest part, and this seems especially true when traveling.

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I ended up deciding to try a Sunday morning class at Wild Rose Yoga. As I was walking the 15 minutes to the studio, I found a smoothie stand. I don’t get to eat many avocados here, and just to fall perfectly into millennial stereotypes, I love avocados. The woman working happily made a banana avocado smoothie per my request, and it was just what I was hoping for. The day was off to a good start. I was feeling a bit sore from a massage the day before (the rumors are true, Thai massages are intense). But I reminded myself that the point of yoga is to show up and listen to your body, and that my soreness need not be a reason to skip it.

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The studio itself was easy to find, as it was clearly marked even though it’s tucked away in a little oasis. I walked in to find a dark room with wood floors, and an instructor already assisting students in various poses. Teacher or “Kru” Annie introduced herself (in English luckily) and let us know that we were in for a Sunday “fun flow” class. She encouraged us to channel our positive energy and to just enjoy it. Even though I don’t think that most yoga studios take themselves too seriously, it’s always nice to be reminded. I sometimes find myself struggling through a pose with a frown on my face, and then think “oh yes, this is supposed to be fun!” During class, I noticed birds chirping and the smell of flowers, which reinforced the relaxing vibe. The class started out as a pretty standard vinyasa flow, but quickly escalated to be quite advanced.

A little over two hours later and after a long while spent playing with different headstand and handstand variations, it was over. Thinking about the class, Kru Annie did make all levels feel welcome and gave us our own variations if we didn’t feel comfortable with what she demonstrated. Feeling out of my element myself though, I can’t imagine how the guy next to me was feeling (it seemed like it was his first time setting foot in a yoga class). Recently I had been feeling strong, but here I was checking myself. Oh, I guess I’m not that strong or that flexible!

Overall though, the class just wasn’t exactly what I was craving. And what do you know? This is also something that has come up in my life recently. Since being in Thailand, I find myself getting into this mindset where I want every food I try to be amazing, every class I teach to be fun and engaging, and every weekend to be “so much fun!”. While aiming high can be good and it’s useful to have high standards for yourself, sometimes this mentality can be more exhausting and counter-productive than anything. And sometimes just getting by is all that’s going to happen anyways.

Maybe today I’m going to feel tired, and the line at the store will move at a snail’s pace. But maybe next week I will unexpectedly have a great night out with friends and appreciate it so much more. So my message today is to trust the process through the “blah” and the “just okay”, and know that it’s taking you somewhere worthwhile. Believe that if you keep going, eventually you will get to that place where things do feel ideal.

One of these moments happened on our Air Asia flight back home. I know that flights often do feel very “blah”, when everyone is half asleep just going through the motions. The flight attendants completely turned this around though, and did a special Queen’s Birthday/Mother’s Day celebration during the flight. They did karaoke (including Celine Dion) and had kids come up and talk about why they loved their moms. This may have been annoying for some, but for me it was an example something routine becoming special and fun when I wasn’t expecting it.

Lots of love and thanks for reading xoxo

-Alexandra