After almost two weeks in Thailand with teaching, practicing yoga, great food, resting and a sprinkling of site seeing shaping the days, Richard headed out to Taipei. Taking a puddle jumper from Koh Samui to Bangkok, there was time to reflect on how the new fusion of yoga–reflecting the ancient tradition of the practice with a modern, stylish international twist–has just begun to take off in Asia. With the underlying Buddhist and Hindu roots so intimately rooted in the cultures, it’s no surprise.
Departure from the Bangkok airport was punctuated by a reminder of why this Asian yoga scene is such a natural. Instead of the friendly volunteers wearing cowboy hats who Richard is used to being greeted by when he goes through Denver International Airport, he was stunned by the crew greeting him in the Bangkok airport. There were the gods and demons–bigger than life-sized–churning the ocean of samsara, in hopes of scoring some nectar. Shiva, was waiting patiently atop Mt. Meru to scoop up the hala hala (or toxic sludge as we’ve grown to it) that was about to be procuced.
This kind of cultural root, as opposed to the great Western approach of becoming a gunslinger to restore law and order, made Richard’s job in Asia so much easier. Nobody was surprised to hear the explanation of why when the hala hala begins to rise in our practice, we have to hold it in our throats without swallowing or spitting it out (rather than pulling out our colt-45 and blowing it’s head off)!
Richard’s hosts welcomed him to Taiwan, having him stay in a beautiful home in the foothills on the Southern edge of the city. Clean, crisp air, quiet surroundings and views of the city as well as the extensive mountains of Taiwan made the transition from beach to a city of about six million easy.
Richard felt right at home when he went to Space Yoga, as he entered the spacious studio with an impressive boutique, three receptionists, huge practice rooms and an efficient back office (accessed by key card). Ahh….just like the Yoga Workshop! Well it, was in that it really did feel like home: comfortable, inviting with a genuine quality among the staff who all seemed to possess a sense of authentically looking for some answers to something that yoga might be pointing to.
Classes at Space were filled with well primed, eager students. Richard was moved by the spirit of Taipei and it’s people–independent and strong, with a deep sense of humility, respect and compassion. This was reflected in the yoga students’ approach to practice and to learning. Richard taught Friday through Sunday and over the course heard for the first time phrases such as “kidney wings, camper’s pose and blossoming buttocks” spoken in Mandarin.
There were a few days for site seeing with new friends from Space as well as our own Yoga Workshop teacher, Angel Lin (who’s family lives in Taiwan) as a guide. On September 11th, they went to the top of the worlds tallest building, the 101 (enough said). They also saw stunning Buddhist temples, ate a remarkable range vegetarian foods, and later in the week went to the National Museum which houses the famous Jade Cabbage. Richard had heard that seeing the Jade Cabbage is equivalent to seeing the Mona Lisa….so upon his return to our studio….in October….we may be being told to smile subtly–like a Jade Cabbage for a while.
Stay tuned for more from Hong Kong……………..