Media Reviews

Thailand's Hidden Yoga Gem

In my time I have been to many retreats around the globe with the yoga, health and wellness "theme" to it. But none seemed to quite hit the spot as Yoga Thailand in Koh Samui did. Perhaps this is one reason why I keep coming back. Unlike other wellness centres around Asia and globally for that matter, Yoga Thailand offers something the others don't. SINCERITY. This teacher - owned, teacher - directed Hidden Gem is the genius of Paul and Jutima Dallaghan, who have instilled a sense of balance to this unique place on all levels.

With a home away from home atmosphere, (but not lacking the comfort and chiq-ness we are used to) this niche 28 room retreat and wellness centre offers a proper understanding and teaching of yoga for beginners and non beginners a like. With a beautiful and well- equipped wellness centre providing detox programs and treatments tailored for you, it is a complete embodiment of health and wellness on every level.

Where other "spa type" retreat and wellness resorts have a very stagnant almost Club Med feel, Yoga Thailand provides personal, dedicated and unique attention you just won't find anywhere else.

As Hong Konger's we often cannot seem to take too much time off, so with direct flights to Koh Samui on Bangkok Airways, there really is no reason not to go.

Go pamper yourself. Go get a detox 3,5,7 days and come back and make all your friends jealous.

Check out www.yoga-thailand.com and www.wellness-thailand.com for more details. Well worth the trip! Do it for your health.

Finding the inner I

Take a deep breath when you reach the full stop at the end of this sentence. Now exhale. Again: deep inhale, feel the cool air as it moves through your nostrils, see your abdomen and chest expand; now exhale slowly through your nose, the same air coming back out warm, feel your face relax. Last time, and now don't read on, just breathe. And smile. Plug your ears with your fingers and listen to yourself breathe. Continue reading >>

Headstand on the Beach

When in 2001, with modest savings, Paul and Jutima squinted at the light at the end of the Lincoln Tunnel, they were leaving not only New York and their former years in training as yoga teachers behind them. Their destination was Los Angeles, their next stop Bangkok, Jutima's place of birth. Before they founded Yoga Thailand, they travelled to India in order to study in Mysore with their teacher Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath. Continue reading >>

Take up yoga in Thailand

Miles from the thrum of Chaweng beach, with its tandooried Euro backpackers, designer fakes and pesky touts, is one of Koh Samui's hidden gems: Yoga Thailand.

Irishman Paul Dallaghan and his Thai wife, Jutima, established the yoga centre six years ago after relocating from Manhattan to raise their family. The result is a dedicated yoga retreat, a place where yogis aspiring or experienced can take up residence and immerse themselves in traditional ashtanga vinyasa yoga, the discipline responsible for 51-year-old Madonna's rock-hard physique. Continue reading >>

Yoga Thailand

Koh Samui, Thailand
www.yoga-thailand.com

Paul and Jutima Dallaghan's Ashtanga Yoga shala (school) and retreat center may be the only smoke- and alcohol-free getaway on the island of Koh Samui. The couple opened Yoga Thailand in 2003 after living and teaching in New York. This year, they're relocating to the southern part of the island and reopening just in time for their annual Christmas and New Year's Retreat. The new center can accommodate as many as 60 guests. Its eco-design features include rainwater harvesting and solar water heating. Continue reading >>

Paul Dallaghan, Founder of Yoga Thailand and Centered Yoga Institute, Thailand

Paul has been teaching constantly since he arrived on Koh Samui in 2001 when only a small number of yoga studios existed there. He believes strongly that yoga's spread can not be attributed directly to the influence of people, but will spread organically through the effect of yoga itself. Continue reading >>

Best for honest yoga practice.
Technically not a spa but very much wrapped up in healing philosophy, Yoga Thailand is a haven for yogis

and yoga want-to-bes worldwide. Situated on a secluded beach facing the island of Ko Pha Ngan, to the north of Samui, it is the brainchild of Irish yogi Paul Dallaghan and his Thai wife. Jutima. Dallaghan is one of just a handful of practitioners in the world registered by Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois (the founder of Ashtanga yoga) and the centre is totally dedicated to the practice of the dynamic Ashtanga practice. Retreats are held regularly through the year while locals and visitors appea r fromall corners of the island for regular morning yoga practice. If clean energy,. honest practice and some time out to listen to the heart or become enlightened is needed, then Yoga Thailand is a must.
For more information, visit www.yoga-thailand.com