Christmas Day...Chaing Mai

Well its Christmas Day and I have spent the last couple weeks acclamating to life in Chiang Mai. Pictured above is one of the 1,253 temples in Chiang Mai called Wat Chedi Luang. You can't walk more than a few paces in this city without coming upon an extraordinary temple. Most are open to the public all day and you can even spend the night if you are in need of a place to stay (but you can't have any bags with you). The temples are elaborately decorated and teaming with practicing monks and golden Buddhas. An incredible site.


I had a nice Christmas Eve dinner last night with a wonderful group of folks (travelers mostly) at a guest house here in Chiang Mai. Holland, Italy, Germany, France, Minnesota, Arizona and New York where all represented at the table. Most (in fact all of them) are here studying some type of bodywork or healing art. It was really humbling to be with so many knowlegable (and kind) healers ... and just to talk with them about their experiences illuminated the massive potential there is to use the body as a tool for healing. Exciting stuff.





I have completed my first course in Thai Massage at the Loi Kroh Massage School in Chiang Mai. It was a very brief introduction to the basic sequencing and philosophy behind Thai massage. I worked one on one with an incredibly strong little thai woman named Napa (Naw-Paw). Her patience was extraordinary while I was fumbling my way around her limbs trying to figure out what was what. As I was pressing my palms on her legs, attempting to find the energy lines, she just kept exclaiming, "Walk heavy and slow like elephant toward banana! Don't think about banana, just walk to banana! Right now you like monkey, CRAZY for banana!"

By the end of the course I did get a small taste of letting the body weight, gravity and chi do the work while not forcing it so much (kind of). Oh and on a random note: I met a yoga teacher from LA named Peter Barnett who just happened to be studying at Loi Kroh at the same time...turns out my sister Kathleen is a student of his in LA. Small universe.




I hope everyone is doing well and the transition into the new year is an easeful one.

Much love,

Kevin