Becoming a "Warrior" in Thailand. Ch 1, Pt 9 : YOGA.
The Renaissance Man Project is an original non-fiction novel by Nathaniel Kostar, occasionally known as Nate Lost. Follow @natelost
The next day I wake up feeling revived. I’m still sore, but my body feels fresh and energized. I eat a yogurt from my mini-fridge and head to yoga, where Simon, one of the only non-Thai trainers at Tiger leads a group of about 15 students through a gentle flow class.
“Yoga is about mastering the mind. Fighting is half mind,” he tells us as we sit down on our mats. The morning is cool and misty. The grass and trees are still moist with dew, and the sound of heavy bags being pounded has yet to begin.
Simon, an English expat in his mid-40’s, sports long black hair with streaks of gray pulled back in a ponytail and speaks in a cockeyed accent. He’s not a particularly big man, about 5’8,’’ but his muscles are hard and defined. His right shoulder is tattooed with a sun and moon depicted like a Ying-Yang, and he has an archer on his chest above his heart—perhaps the Hindu god Ram.
“Inhale,” he directs us in a voice that is soft and smooth but full of conviction, and the class moves together in unison; raising our arms to “salute the sun,” bending at the waste to touch our toes and stretch our spine.
In college, I remember doing yoga once and getting the impression that it was for women. Perhaps that’s why my friend and I went to the class in the first place. And yet the idea that yoga is a female sport is a bit absurd, considering that for thousands of years before the West ever got wind of yoga, it was practiced only by Indian men. Regardless, the class today has its fair share of both genders, and the morning mood is calm, meditative, and peaceful, especially when compared to the high-energy vibrations of a Muay Thai class.
Like any good teacher, Simon is aware of his environment. This isn’t a yoga class at a suburban mall. This is Tiger Muay Thai—a training camp for fighters. So throughout the class he highlights the benefits of poses in relationship to certain aspects of fighting. For example, “pigeon,” a pose that uses a gravity-stretch to open your hips, will help improve kicks—something I’m in dire need of!
“A fighter who is always in control of his breath has a superior advantage. Yoga will teach you how to breathe,” he says. “Inhale through your nose and follow your breath deep into your stomach.”
It seems odd that anyone would need to learn how to breathe, but as class continues I start to understand what he means. The method he is teaching us is similar to the way you are taught to breathe when running or playing sports—through the nose and deep into the stomach. But the profundity of the breathing method in this yoga class lies not so much in the technique itself, but in making the conscious effort to breathe in unison with the body’s movements. It isn’t long before a certain harmony develops between my breath and the rhythms of my body. Though subtle, the effect creates a feeling of tranquility and stillness.
I’m unaware of this at the time, but yoga is more than a form of exercise. It’s an entire philosophy, and the “asanas” we do in yoga class are just a very small part of yoga. The ultimate goal of a yogi, as Simon has accurately informed us, is for the practitioner to gain control of their own mind. Yoga is a path to enlightenment, or as it’s called in the Yoga Sutras, Samadhi.
What I also don’t know at the time, is that years later I will become a certified yoga teacher. And when I think back about how, why, and where I first practiced this philosophy that would grow to have such a strong influence on my life in years to come, this class is my clearest memory.
After yoga, I head to the beginner Muay Thai session feeling limber, loose, and calm. I doubt one yoga class will change much, but it feels as if my hips have loosened up and I’m ready to blast some heavy bags.
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MAD Love.
Read Intro, Part 1
Read Intro, Part 2
Read Intro, Part 3
Read Intro, Part 4
Read Ch 1, Part 1
Read Ch 1, Part 2
Read Ch 1, Part 3