Baan Chang Elephant Park

Asiya came to visit! She found us an amazing elephant park to visit. The Baan chang elephant park teaches you about the behaviors and lifestyle of elephants and how to wash and care for them.

Fed them full bunches  of bananas and sugar cane. "They never say no to food." We wanted  to feed the  ones  in the back, but it was a challenge to pass the  front ones without them asking for more  food!

We took them on a walk...or did  they take us  on a walk? Either way it was scenic with luscious greenery all around, a bit nerve wracking at first tryin  to relax without being too relaxed that we might fall off because sometimes the  elephants can be "naughty," our guide tells us...

We washed them in a  pretty gross lake. Our trainer guide took our elephant,  Baan Wat, to the center, deep! Asiya and I are  like " come here (to the perimeter)." He's just smilling, chillin  on top of Baan Wat motioning us to go there...grossss the water  comes to past our abdomens. Did I mention there are chunks of stools floating around...its ok,  we pretended it was just Greenlake and had fun! ..even though out  of no where the guides start throwin  buckets of the water on us..I used every piece of Asiya's dry shirt I could find  to wipe  my face on.

A few things I learned;

-Sleep only for about 4 hrs/day. Can eat the remaining 20hrs/day!

-lifespan similar to humans. 80yrs is common, but could live to 100 if healthy

-skin starts to pigment when ages, starting around 30yrs.

-skin is a few inches thick, so to tell them good job, or 'deet!' you must forcefully pat their truck. They won't feel it if you only pet them.

-Vision is poor. Color blind too. Smell and hearing senses are sharp

-Amazing creatures! Wonderful inspiration for 'elephant walking' in Thai yoga massage!

Thai yoga massage course in Thailand!

Baan Hom Samunphrai, 'the house of sweet smelling herbs,' and my home for 2 weeks. A humble family business with Homprang passing on the oral tradition of Traditional Thai medicine she learned from her grandmother. A comfortable and welcoming ambiance with every house, every chair, and every curtain handmade by the family. I, along with only 7 other students, were delighted and beyond thankful to be invited directly into their home.

Side note - There were 3 French students ..and  I ended up learning  more French phrases than Thai!

Each day consists of one hour of Radisaton (ancient Thai yoga) and 6 hours of Thai massage demo and practice. Tends to be challeging for those who are new to such practice...as for me, after Bastyr and  China externship with an average of 10hours/day, this is vacation and how learning should be .

Can't forget the herbs! Herbal compress day! We thought it would be a nice break from 'work.' Little did we know...
We foraged, we chopped and smashed, we wrapped, and finally we massaged them into all the meridians!

Vipassana part 2- yin to yang, yang to yin

Noticing more benefits as I go on. No, I wouldn't say I am enlightened , but would say on the path. Day 10 was like day 1 in sense I feel refreshed. With all that anger and pain (yang), comes peace and clarity (yin). Less irritated, less negative. I rid of excess garbage of last x # years and am finally feeling more "debbie" which is good cause  that is my name.

Conversely, with all that excessive  yin meditation, also comes yang! I sense the start of my Spleen and Liver healing.

Other benefits observed thus far:
-Wake  up more alert. No grogginess- even at 4 am in morning.
-Mind is more focused. Last few days of vipassana I pulled out a book ( yet another no-no. Oops) and noticed I could read faster and didn't fall asleep either! Annie - if you're reading this, it's true , don't laugh or roll your eyes!
- More efficient. Times when mind began to race, sometimes 2-3x within 30sec, but I was able to instantly return to clear quiet mind. I didn't give myself a hard time for not meditating like i did before. Learned to skip all that time consuming, unnecessary...um crap!

All right. That  is it for now. If you want to know more, just ask!

Vipassana part 1- pain and anger

Vipassana. Not sure  if I should even write about  this because it's now of the past. Also not even sure how to verbalize the plethora of sensations, emotions, and processings experienced!

Oh what the hell. It's a present  memory! And it will help me solidify my understanding of meditation, and then so I can share it!


Briefly, vipassana is a form of mediation anyone can do, non sectarian, universal . Course  is a silent 10 day course. Wake  up bell 4am. Last mediation ends  at 9pm.

First few days were excruatiatingly painful- physically and mentally. Physically, my neck and back made me feel old. Body hated me for sitting countless hourss in  day (I think more than when I was in school)! Mentally, from only sitting meditation and  from all the nos and can't-do list. All created so much anger, upset and new sankharas...exactly what's not suppose to happen.

So of course I rebelled. I controlled  my breathing- pranyama , I chanted sanskrit mantras and  even did some  yoga ..sometimes visualized sequences in my head, sometimes secretly in my room. All to maintain sanity and attempt to soothe my liver qi.

Marley, if you're reading this, came  to mind many times while  there to intensely question you, why you didn't warn me!!

Day 3 ..4..5...6...

Each day got easier and  more bareable .Relatively. Each day was also  roller coaster in itself. By day 4 or so it was enforced to maintain complete stillness for the three 1hr group sessions. So i put all my effort into those to stay still and meditate ..even if not 100percent vipassana exclusive. So subsequently, during the other meditations ( yes that's all we did meditation and then more meditation), I would be fidgeting and mind racing.

10th day. Who knows what results would have  been if I had followed all rules and gave  100. But received what I put  in and in the e nd I am quite content with outcome. No regrets..