Saturday, January 8, 2022
After Yoga at Wild Rose

Another really challenging and uplifting yoga practice with May. Like all the Thai yoga teachers I have known, May is passionate about yoga, very skilled, and a very good teacher. She is also very good at adjusting her teaching to the general level of the students in a particular class. And, as with all the Thai teachers, the class starts slowly, and soon we find ourselves doing five rounds of surya namaskar A (sun salutation A) and then three rounds of surya namaskar B, all with one movement with each breath. So it can also be a vigorous and sweaty practice. All good, though. After class I took a couple of photos of the space in which the classes are held at Wild Rose. It is in an old, traditional Thai house in the old city.

And here is a view into the door from the garden:

Wild Rose is a small yoga studio. Before the pandemic, there were 20 students in every class with the mats about 8 inches apart. Now, Rose is limiting the classes to 12 students. Although tourism is far below pre-pandemic levels, every class at Wild Rose has been at capacity. The quality has not changed. Every class has been informative, challenging, and also uplifting. I am very grateful to have found Wild Rose Yoga.

Walk to Wat Sri Suphan

I met Rudy from France before yoga practice. He has been to Chiang Mai a number of times, but typically he is arriving about the time I am leaving, so our paths have not crossed. As I was telling Rose about my good experience with tok sen at Wat Sri Suphan, Rudy expressed interest. I told him I had her number, but she spoke very little English, and it might be best to book in person. After practice, we made the fairly short 20 minute walk to Wat Sri Suphan and introduced him to Noon. He booked for Sunday (the next day) right after my 3 PM session. Rudy had never been to Wat Sri Suphan, so we lingered a bit as he took some pictures, including one of me in front of the Silver Ubosot (yes, I really am here in Chiang Mai).

A correction about Wat Sri Suphan. Buddhist temples are [almost] always aligned east-west with the viharn (assembly or worship hall) doors opening to the east to greet the rising sun. The rising sun represents birth or the beginning, and the setting sun to the west death or the end. The chedi (pagoda), in which the ashes of someone are interred, is almost always immediately west of the viharn. I have noted in the past that I have found two exceptions: (1) Wat Lok Molee in which the viharn doors open to the south, and (2) Wat Sri Suphan in which the doors open to the north. This is not right. The road to Wat Sri Suphan, Wua Lai Road, is diagonal to the southwest, and then the soi leading to Wat Sri Suphan is also diagonal more to the west. I was a little disoriented and thought the viharn doors at Wat Sri Suphan open to the north. With a compass app on my phone, I now see that the alignment is almost to the east, at compass heading 68-70 degrees, where due east is 90 degrees. So not due east, but very close, and not at all aligned north-south. Mystery solved.

Smoothie Bowl at Khun Kae’s Juice

After booking with Noon and seeing Wat Sri Suphan, Rudy and I returned to the old city and went to Khun Kae’s Juice for a smoothie bowl. A smoothie bowl is just what the name implies – a smoothie in a bowl with added fruit. Here are our smoothie bowls:

After the smoothie bowls, I went back to See You Soon to rest after yoga and the walk, and to catch up on work-e-mail. Another good day in Chiang Mai.

Next: Back to Wat Sri Suphan for Tok Sen