Omsara Yoga

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This was my first yoga retreat and I fell in love with it! Omsara Yoga is located in Chiang Rai, Thailand. It offers a homestay experience. Omsara Yoga has two different bedrooms and can accommodate up to 4 guests. The luxury room is located upstairs. It comes with a private bathroom (includes a whirlpool tub) and access to an open terrace, which connects to the yoga studio. There is also a bedroom located downstairs with a private bathroom (includes a shower). Air conditioning is in both rooms, which makes a huge difference when visiting in July.

During my stay at Omsara Yoga, I resided in the luxury room and my friend stayed in the private bedroom downstairs. It was only the two of us during our stay as we opted to have separate rooms.

Since this was my first time signing up for a yoga retreat, I was a bit skeptical of booking it online. However after researching the website further, I found many great links to classes on bookyogaretreats.com. It was required that half of the yoga course be paid online through bookyogaretreats.com prior to leaving and the other half to our yoga instructor.

Pook, our instructor and host, is a very warm, funny, and talented yoga teacher. While at Omsara Yoga, Miranda and I participated in two yoga classes a day: one in the morning for an hour and fifteen minutes and one in the evening for an hour. Prior to teaching yoga, Pook used to work as a massage therapist. When she gave hands-on assistance for  yoga poses, Pook knew where to activate muscles to assist with holding positions. She provided the right amount of challenge and encouragement during her classes while incorporating Yin, Vinyasa, and Ashtanga yoga.

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Miranda and I went to Omsara Yoga during the rainy season in Thailand (e.g. June-October). Initially, we were nervous that it would rain all of the time during our stay. However, this was not the case. We were provided with many lush green views throughout Chiang Rai. When we had free time between our yoga classes, we explored Chiang Rai, relaxed on the open terrace, or played with Pook’s dogs Bailey and Balu.

Pook served us two meals each day during our stay after our yoga classes. The food was incredible. Normally I do not eat vegan food but was very impressed with everything that I ate! Pook always brought us dessert with our dinner. Initially, I was worried that I would be hungry between meals but I could never finish all of my food. Filtered water was also easily accessible each day. Pook offers a vegan cooking class with a fee for students interested in participating. Her partner, Ulf, who lives with Pook, also offers a meditation course. Miranda and I took the mediation course, which was well worth it. In addition, to food and accommodation, laundry and airport pick up and drop off are also included in the initial fee. I’m so very grateful that Omsara Yoga was my first retreat.

If interested in learning more about Omsara Yoga, refer to the links below:

Sarah Masse