Suan Sati: Yoga, Meditation, 6 Days of Vegan Food Post #16

This post will skip over our Bangkok and Angkor Wat times (to be covered in later posts) to try to capture the experience we had in the Winter Retreat at Suan Sati, just outside of Chiang Mai. If it starts to sound like a love letter, that is probably because it is.

Our Suan Sati Family

So Susan and I are in Bangkok planning to fly to Chiang Mai to get to our 6 day yoga/meditation retreat. The flight is planned for late Tuesday afternoon because, you know, nothing happens before late afternoon on a tour. Then I get an email that says we will get picked up in downtown Chiang Mai at 8:45 a.m. to start our program. Susan looks at me with that look ("you should have consulted me before making those plane reservations") and I spent some time trying to get our booking company to reschedule our flight to early in the morning - a 6:10 a.m. flight. Well, after a day of BS, the booking company says "no change, no refund". I went online and booked the early flight, watching the dollars for the later flight disappear. Let me just say there was no better action taken on this trip.

So we leave our hotel at 4:00 a.m. The flight is perfect and we are at 3 Kings Monument at 8:15 a.m. - first ones there, I think. And over the next 25 minutes the corner fills up with people and bags and backpacks, with three vans waiting to take us to our next adventure. The ethereal Ms. Luna appears and gives us very kind but clear directions to give our stuff to the drivers, who pop all the luggage on the roofs of the vehicles and we hop in for our first of many gatherings with our new companions. About 45 minutes later we unload at the Suan Sati grounds -- rice fields all around, about 6 bungalow residence buildings, open dining hall, and the Shala -- the building where we did our yoga practice (2 times a day, almost2 hours each) and we danced and sang and grew into a family.

The Shala, with Lisa waiting to lead the way

The first experience was the sheer beauty of the place. Distant mountains outlined in haze in the background with a few clouds for interest. Beautiful deep green rice fields surrounding on all sides. The first sunset over the mountains should have put us on notice that this is a special place.

I think the variety of expectations for the week were as different as the 28 souls who

showed up that day. Lots of Germans, some Austrians, Australians, Americans, Romania, Czech Republic, Ireland, Scotland, Poland,Thailand, Korea, Taiwan --all were represented. There were long-time travelers, digital nomads, people on a long holiday, seekers, skeptics, and folks who just signed up for a yoga week. Whatever we thought was going to happen, the experience turned out to be more than we could have ever anticipated.

Susan Sati was founded in 2016 by Will and Lisa. The sheer act of building Suan Sati and surviving through Covid and a building fire, and all the other difficulties of starting a business (in Thailand, no less) represents their drive, creativity, belief, and tenacity. But the result is a product of their love and desire to serve and belief that others would come to, even needed, such a place. And they had help. We were lead by several of their friends and colleagues during the week: Tessa, Luna, Nue, Tom, and Matt. They all were part of our experience.

OK. So at 5:30 a.m, some tired soul would wander through the residence area banging on a gong. I thought I could hear their tiredness in the tones even as they sought to rouse us to the first yoga session at 6:00 a.m. And the first day WIll lead us through two hours of active yoga before we came to the final savasana (rest) position for about 10 minutes. This was my first inkling that this was going to be a good week. The smile crept onto my face about an hour into the exercises and just grew until I felt quite wonderful even after waking up so damn early and working my ancient body extremely hard.

The next revelation was breakfast at 8:30 a.m The food was completely vegan. And breakfast was completely silent. We stood in our first breakfast circle holding hands and then the covers came off a breakfast that was worthy of many photos and tasted fantastic. The fruits were fresh, the grain cereals were filled with nuts and berries and god knows what else. There were the occasional vegan cakes or waffles with a chocolate sauce. This was the beginning of a week of healthy and tasty vegan food like I had never imagined. And there are a few "friends" who would have predicted I would never make it without hamburgers, brownies, and alcohol for a week.

So we had our morning (internal) Weather Report circle. We had afternoon workshops on yoga position Alignment, Shaking Meditation, Voice Release, and the Ice Bath. Evenings were filled with Authentic Relating, a movie about Ram Dass' stroke and death, Kirtan - singing chants, and Ecstatic Dancing.

Sounds a little New Agey? Hippy-ish? Yeah. But with a difference. The leaders and the participants made each experience real and fresh. In between the activities, we talked to each other. And we came to know each other in this extraordinary setting.

The structure of the week had been developed and refined over several years. The seriousness of Will and Lisa's (and their co-conspirators') intent was never at question. They wanted each of us to explore and open up in 6 days. They believe in their process and for most of us (maybe all of us?) it happened.

The yoga practice was the basic structure. After each session I felt a happiness that was somehow different. And during LIsa's bhakti (heart) yoga session there were tears that had needed to be shed. Each activity asked that you push yourself a bit in the company of strangers and in doing so they became less strangers and more like companions on a journey that was a bit scary and exciting. But these companions were also your supports (sometimes literally!) and their kindness and humor and willingness to reach across the chasm of our isolation encouraged you to do the same.

I tried to stay open to each experience. At age 71, I felt like there was not much of me left unexplored. Yet the repetition of yoga, holding hands before meals, conversations, and afternoon and evening activities did wear away some of the armor that we accumulate. And after 6 days, the strangers became people that I truly care about.

And then the Ice Bath. Six minutes in water so cold that you had to force your breathing initially. Yes, a bit of a stunt, but try it once and see if you don't feel pretty damn good for having done it.

Our Suan Sati experience was more than we could have ever anticipated. Susan and I are grateful to whatever brought us there. We are grateful to Will and Lisa and their fellow instructors. And we are so grateful to the others who shared the experience with us and made it much more than a week of really hard yoga and weird activities. We wish you all the best and will always keep you in our hearts.