

NOTE: 1pm Saturday classes are no longer available. Only private classes are offered.
Days/Times: students determine this depending on their availability
Location : Nawa Saraan Hotel, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Email: yoga@thelonerider.com
LINE Contact:
Yoga classes are offered 1-on-1 for a tailor fitted program or developed for a group class. Classes can be traditional yoga offerings or classes focused on optimum digestion, healthy eyes, power/strength, weightloss, breathing, therapy and/or meditation. Classes come with explanations on what we are doing and why we are doing them. It's important for any student to know the underlying principles of yoga. One session usually lasts 90 minutes and will always consist of the following:
Fee: Baht 1000/session
Note: RSVP, bring your mat, come 5 minutes earlier to settle down, we start on time
Teacher availability: GREEN area are the available time slots (as of this writing)
SUN | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | |
9:30-11:00am | |||||||
11am-12:30pm | |||||||
12:30pm-1:00pm | |||||||
1:00-2:30pm | |||||||
2:30-5:00pm | |||||||
5:00-6:30pm | |||||||
6:30-8:00pm |
Mantra: RAM
Asana: Chakrasana
Form: lotus flower with ten petals bearing Sanskrit letters
Element: fire
Statement: "I have a strong body and a strong mind. I don't get sick and I am determined. I am a doer. I make things happen. But is this all there is to life?"
Blocked by: shame (what are you shameful of? what in your past causes feelings of shame? Accept as fact of life and move on)
Pranayama: kapalabhati
Mudra: thumb tip by the base of the little finger, then close the fist
Assertion and Dominance
Manipuraka Chakra is the center of self-assertion. One attempts to dominate situations and other people. One seeks to manipulate the world according to personal wishes. This is expressed in the predominant motive of gaining wealth, respect, etc. This is the chakra level where people become very active and extroverted. They involve themselves with many external activities whether in work or play. Many people in the world are functioning at this level. They try to impose their will on other people and the world around them. It is the center where all things and other people are seen as a means of providing personal power and satisfying worldly ambitions. The Manipuraka Chakra is the center of dynamism and energy.
3 Gunas of Nature
Chakras fall within the 3 gunas (quality of energy) of nature. People at the Manipuraka are predominantly rajasic (active and intense) in nature; the lower chakras, Muladhara and Svadhisthana, are predominantly tamasic (lethargic and negative) in nature while the Anahatha, Vishuddhi, Ajna and Sahasrara are sattvic (beingness and harmony). At the level of the Manipuraka Chakra people seriously begin to question their attitude towards life and their place in the scheme of existence. This is in accordance with the Buddhist concept that the kundalini resides in manipura (but according to the Hindu concept, kundalini resides at the Muladhara, a lower and more primal chakra) - until the level of manipura (not muladhara), people are not knowingly on the path to expansion of the mind.
Blazing Fire
The word Manipuraka Chakra can be translated directly as 'the city of gems' because of the intensity of the pranic energy like the dazzling power of the sun. It radiates and distributes pranic energy throughout the entire human framework; without this chakra, each person would be lifeless and totally devoid of vitality. It is also compared to a blazing fire, since it burns up and assimilates the energy in food in the same way that fire burns up wood and releases the inherent energy. The absorption of energy in the human structure takes place at different levels - at grosser levels by absorbing the nutrients of food for the upkeep of the physical body and at a more subtle level by absorbing the more subtle essence of food to refuel the pranic body. The Manipuraka Chakra is intimately related to this entire process at all levels.
Navel as the 2nd Brain
Follow your GUT feel. According to Dr. Hansaji of The Yoga Institute, in the womb, our navel was our connection to life. But now as an individual, our navel continues to be our universe - thus the name solar plexus. Navel is a vital point in accupuncture and accupressure. Meditating on the navel (manipuraka chakra) gives us complete knowledge of our body and reveals its mysteries. In sickness, we can diagnose our bodies by meditating on the manipuraka. Activating this chakra cleanses the nadis and allow prana to flow freely throughout the body, eliminating disease and sickness in the process.
How to Activate the Manipuraka Chakra
Physical and Mental Virility
If consciousness (caitanya) is attained at the Manipuraka Chakra due to the strength of breath regulation (pranayama), then the practitioner will never encounter any physical or mental afflictions. These afflictions will flee his presence. One who has acquired caitanya in this chakra will be able to face any disaster or accident with mental fortitude. Not only that, he develops divine perception (divya drishti). He will experience the bliss of identifying universal self (atman) as a separate entity from the body. The main function of this chakra is to ensure that all organs or parts of the body function at their proper strength.
Uddiyana Bandha moving Prana from the Manipuraka Chakra
Uddiyana bandha also has many subtle influences on the pranic body. The navel is the area of the Manipuraka Chakra, which is the center of prana in the body. Physical stimulation of this area (thru Uddiyana Bandha) has repercussions on the more subtle flows of prana and its distribution throughout the body. Uddiyana also redirects prana into the sushumna nadi. This helps to expand awareness and induces meditation.
Tantra vs Buddhism on Kundalini
In Buddhism, Manipuraka Chakra is regarded as the seat of the kundalini and not the Muladhara Chakra. It regards the lower chakras (Muladhara and Svadisthana) as simply instinctive levels of man. It asserts that the expansion of awareness begins at the Manipuraka. The Manipuraka Chakra is indeed the center of prana that permeates and controls the body from behind the scenes. It is the center that puts man directly in contact with the subtle forces of the cosmos, and thus the seat of the Kundalini shakti.
Tantra yoga, however, regards expansion of awareness, as starting at the level of the Muladhara Chakra, for it is here that man begins to become aware of himself, even if in a very rudimentary form. The Muladhara Chakra is also a vital trigger center that is very much concerned with directing pranic forces from the base of the spine upwards through sushumna to the higher centers. It is often associated with transmutation of sexual energy into more subtle pranic energy (ojas). Both of these chakras are centers of pranic energy but in a slightly different sense. Thus kundalini resides here.
Manipura kshetram
In kriya yoga practices, the area of the body directly in front of the Manipuraka Chakra area on the front surface of the body is also used as a point of awareness. This is called the Manipura kshetram and is exactly located at the navel. You should develop the ability to locate this region. Most people should find it quite easy to feel and locate the Manipuraka Chakra kshetram with the eyes closed.
Location
Two excellent methods of locating the Manipuraka Chakra trigger point and the Manipuraka Chakra kshetram are called Uddiyana Bandha and Manipuraka Chakra shuddhi (purification). These are practiced as follows:
Stage 1: Uddiyana Bandha
Sit in a comfortable position, preferably one of the traditional meditative asanas, with the knees flat on the ground. Perform uddiyana bandha. Be aware of the navel. Practise several rounds for about 5 minutes. Then stop uddiyana bandha. Fix your attention on the blood pulse at the navel. You should distinctly feel it. After a few minutes, transfer your attention to the Manipuraka Chakra trigger point in the spine. If necessary you can physically locate this region with your finger. Try to feel the blood pulse at this point. Continue in this manner for a few minutes. Then if you have time, again do a few more rounds of uddiyana bandha. Then again be attentive to the blood pulse at the Manipuraka Chakra kshetram and chakra for a few minutes each. Repeat the entire process again if you have time. Then proceed to stage 2.
Stage 2: Manipura Shuddhi (purification)
Take a comfortable sitting position. Hold the back straight. Keep the eyes closed. Breathe slowly and deeply. Feel the contraction and expansion of the navel as you breathe in and out. Feel as though you are breathing in and out at the navel. Fix your whole attention at the navel. Feel that the breath is being drawn from the Manipuraka Chakra trigger point in the spine through the navel and outwards as the abdomen expands during inhalation. Feel that the breath is being pushed inwards through the navel to the Manipuraka Chakra in the spine as the abdomen contracts with exhalation. Be attentive to this rhythmical process. Continue in this manner for at least 10 minutes. Then combine the mantra Aum with the inhalation and exhalation of breath. You should still continue to feel the movement of breath inwards and outwards, but it must be now synchronized with Aum. Feel the breath and mantra piercing the navel and the Manipuraka Chakra in the spine. At the end of exhalation, feel the Manipuraka Chakra kshetram being pierced, and feel the breath being pulled upwards from the Manipuraka Chakra kshetram during inhalation. Continue in this manner for as long as you have time available. Be attentive.
--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit
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For more train info: Bangkok to Chiang Mai trains - departing from Hua Lamphong - MRT (Bangkok)
(I'm using Bang Sue as a starting point because I was closer to it, but you may be closer to the Hua Lamphong station)
Travel Tips for Thailand
This process is BEFORE Covid 19. Not sure what it is now.
60-Day Thai Tourist Visa
NOTE: There is no need to go back to your country to get the Thai tourist visa. Any major city with a Thai Embassy will do. Apparently there is also no need to have an invitation from a Thai establishment to justify the visa.
30-Day Extension
NOTE: When your 60-day visa is close to expiry and you want to extend your stay. No need to leave Thailand.
Book Train Tickets in Thailand Online by Train36.com
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