The Spirit of GAIA - with Tal from Gaia Yoga

The past few years has seen Sri Thanu explode into the spiritual promised land of Southeast Asia.

Gaia is the fourth major yoga school to have opened its doors and with rumors circulating of a fifth tantric/yoga school opening in the small district later this year some people are wondering if there is such a thing as too much yoga?

I put this question to one of the yogic CEO's of Gaia when we sat down to talk last week .

You'll find Gaia Yogashala by taking the first left off the road that leads to Golden Rock Bar and Bungalows or a hundred meters inland from ‘naked beach’ for the nudists playing at home. 

I pulled up to the school and realised I had been here before back in 2014 on the way home from the beach with a friend. We stumbled across some derelict buildings. Peering in through a smashed screen I realised  behind the darkness and the dust I was looking at a yoga hall "this place has potential" my friend said "it just needs some love"

Beginnings
I met Tal and Ajay a year ago when I was last on the island and, when Gaia was a dream without a name. A little over a year later and Gaia has made a thriving home for itself, "it's still a dream" Tal tells me "it's just also a reality now too"

"Every couple of weeks for almost a year Ajay would call me and start telling me about this spiritual school we were going to open together. And I was like yeah sure, that's great, we should definitely do it. And that's as far I went"  says Tal.

After a few months she had returned to the island and resumed teaching for Samma Karuna another yoga school in the area, opened just a year before. Ajay was back in India, traveling through the Himalayas.

"He called me from Dharamsala one day and he sounded different. I remember him saying ‘This isn't just talk, I want to do this, this is real. we have to start this’. I told him the only place I could imagine doing that was Koh Phangan and if he was serious he could come here"

Two days later they were having coffee together in Sri Thanu.

"He got straight on a bus, then on a plane and was here before the weekend finished"

Alignment, Alignment & Alignment....
The Mantra of Gaia Yogashala.  The one thing Tal doesn't like about yoga is the sloppy practice of it.

"Everything starts with the physical body, there is a lot more to yoga but you have to begin with the foundations" She tells me passionately.

Her classes are a unique blend of Ashtanga and Hatha poses practiced with the rigorous attention to detail and focus on posture of Iyengar. It's an ingenious idea.

With a multiple of teacher training under her spandex belt, high quality practice is the beating heart of Gaia. 

"Firstly we are a yoga school. Our Vinyasa teacher has more than fifteen years experience and she's here same time, five days a week every week. Come back in three months and she'll still be here same days same time. We offer people a lot of different spiritual practices and we've got  big plans to bring things to the island that have never been here before but before anything else we are a Yoga school and like traditional schools when you practice here you'll be with the same teacher the whole time, someone who will get to know you and your body, who you form a relationship with. This is how things still are in India, the relationship between teacher and student is very important and we're trying hard to bring that to Koh Phangan"

What does Gaia mean?
It's the spirit of the earth in Greek mythology. The mother goddess. The force that surrounds and supports all living things and that's what we strive to do. Support, welcome and hug for everyone who walks through our doors.

We're about grounding people in their practice. Ajay is always encouraging people that want to ground to walk barefoot. Theory and practice.

What's on?
If you friend Gaia Yoga on Facebook we post our schedule every week. We offer classes of Self Practice as well as slow and fast flow classes depending on how hard you want to work.

There's Alignment class every morning and twice a week advanced alignment in the afternoon for those who want a more active practice. There is Kirtan night which is awesome and free and we have the best quality audio speakers on the island

So is there such a thing as too much yoga?
Don't be silly. Can a sunset be too beautiful? How about too many cute girls on one street?

What do you want tell people about Gaia?
Nothing. I want people to come and experience Gaia for themselves and make up their own mind. Your first class is always FREE so it won't cost you a single baht.

What does Gaia offer that's new?
A Chakra pyramid, because that's how we roll. Oh and a vegan restaurant that won't bankrupt you.

Future Teacher Training Courses
We want to grow slowly, long term teachers and long term students. In June or July we will start TTC's (Teacher Training Course) but we plan to integrate yoga therapy into the courses, a greater emphasis  on anatomy.

There are a lot of injuries in the yoga world today, I'd like to train teachers that can help protect their students from this.

What is your life philosophy?
Whatever makes you happy, whatever makes you feel good in your body, mind and spirit...
Until it changes.
Have you seen the Woody Allan Movie whatever works?
YES! That's where it's from. I love that movie.

Summary and looking forward
Sri Thanu already has more than its share of spiritual centres and yoga schools. Gaia is the new kid on an already distinguished block but rather than crowding it the block simply keeps growing as both Thailand and yoga keep growing in popularity every year.

The other schools in the area have at their head a single white man in their 40's, 50's and 60's respectively. This is not negative about the other schools experience does come with age but with youth comes energy and Gaia has a very special kind of it.

Interview and Photos by Neb Nomad