thailand

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A magical yoga retreat in Chiang Mai

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A magical yoga retreat in Chiang Mai

Yogi’s! We’ve just finished a very magical yoga retreat in Chiang Mai. The thing that always amazed me about yoga from the beginning of my practice is that we do the practice in just an empty room. There’s nothing special there. You get out of your practice what you put into it. If you choose to make that room a sacred space then it will be a sacred space. If you choose to make your practice transformational then it will be transformational. You can choose to just do yoga exercise but why would you? Ride your horse to the destination. You’ve been given this incredible technology to conquer the mind. Don’t waste even one second getting distracted. Concentrate. Go into the fire. Take a journey into stillness and experience the true nature of your self. Yoga can change your life. But you’ve got to be ready to change. Here’s some pics from our opening night dinner and opening ceremony. We set the stage that first night for the week ahead. I love these opening ceremonies. I love hearing from each of the students and getting to know each of them a little better. Thank you, everyone. Thank you for showing up for yourself. What a nice start to the retreat. To survive, science teaches us that we need food and water. But to thrive, we need to also be seen and heard, to feel connected, and to know that we belong. So much of yoga practice is about finding that connection again. Connection to our self. And connection to each other, to our community. We were off to a great start after our sharing circle at the opening ceremony. I could feel that this was going to be a really great group right from the moment everyone arrived that first night and introduced themselves. Thank you, everyone!

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Chiang Mai Retreat - Day 3

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Chiang Mai Retreat - Day 3

Day 3 on our yoga retreat to Thailand! Another strong Shiva Power class to start the day! Lots of deep twisting, and some work on Mayurasana, the Peacock Pose. The Peacock represents Sattva, a state of balance and equilibrium, illumination, a state where the light can move through you. When you check in at the end of your practice, hopefully you are closer to a place of balance than when you checked in at the beginning of your practice. Maybe your body is a little more open and a little more relaxed, your breath is flowing a little more evenly, and your mind is a little quieter. You might even feel a little more calm and a little more at peace. You might even experience a deeper connection to your Self. During the practice, though, as you work on finding balance you might not feel balanced at all. The practice is supposed to take you out of your comfort zone. You’re supposed to feel vulnerable and uncomfortable, and your “stuff” is supposed to come to the surface. That’s the point. That’s the cleansing part of the practice. Yoga then asks you to shift your perspective. Sit in the fire. But try to stay calm in the middle of all that intensity. Walk to the center of your wheel. Stop asking the wheel to slow down. Stop asking the world to change for you. Change your relationship to the world. Change your relationship to the movement of the wheel. Move from Tamas, through Rajas to Sattva, and experience the true nature of your self.

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Core workshop in Chiang Mai

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Core workshop in Chiang Mai

Core strength Workshop! Here’s some pics of the students on our retreat exploring the function of each core muscle. One of the great things about understanding anatomy is that you can understand the purpose of each Asana a little better. The body is amazing at getting the job done. The problem is that we all have some muscles that aren’t doing enough and some muscles that are doing way too much. When we break it down and get really specific we can see clearly which muscles we need to strengthen and which muscles we need to stretch. We can start to undo some of the physical patterns that are leading to imbalances in our body, that might be causing pain, and that could lead to injury. Anatomy literally means to cut the body into pieces, so that by understanding the microcosm we can understand the whole body, the macrocosm a little better.

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First Shiva Power class in Chiang Mai!

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First Shiva Power class in Chiang Mai!

Shiva Power class! Here’s some pictures from our first morning practice together in Chiang Mai! After this class I felt like we had really arrived. I remember my teacher, Mr. Ramaswami teaching us the yoga sutras in my teacher training program with him. So clear! So easy to understand. And I’ll never forget him saying that if you understand the first 4 sutras then you understand the whole book. The rest of the book just elaborates on these first four sutras. Sutra 1.1. Now, time for yoga instruction. Sutra 1.2. Yoga is the practice of quieting the distractions of the mind. Sutra 1.3 Then, (when the mind is quiet) you experience the true nature of your self. Sutra 1.4 The rest of the time you are caught up in the distractions of your mind (and you never get to know your self). So simple! So clear. So easy to understand. Now, we know the goal. And the rest of the book systematically breaks down how to quiet the mind, how to reach the goal. The students were so focused and dedicated on this retreat. It was a lot of fun to hold the space for them and share the teachings. Really, they did a great job holding the space for themselves. My job was easy. Thank you to everyone for your hard work this past week and for going into the fire with me!

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mail@garthhewittyoga.com