Posture Postcard: VANG VIENG

These rice fields are everywhere in Laos.

I went to Vang Vieng, Laos to teach yoga at the beautiful Silver Naga Hotel. They have an infinity pool with a stunning view of mystic mountains near an unpredictable river. If you come to a yoga class, you get free access to this view and it is so worth it!

List of my favorites in Vang Vieng:

• Best food and drink: Earth Café. Their burgers (even the veggie burger) and French fries are a nice change of pace from the local food.

• Best Activity: (Besides going to yoga class) Go tubing down the river. Have a drink and dance at the bars alongside the riverbank. Or rent a motorbike and go on an adventure to the blue lagoons. The mountains set a backdrop for something straight out of Avatar.

• Nightlife: Go out to Sakura Bar and dance with the Koreans. This town is a mini Korea and they are so charismatic and enthusiastic. It’s a wild time!

• Chill: Hang in the hammocks at Smile Bar and have a smoothie while you watch all the drunk tubers try to get to land. It's an entertaining and comical afternoon.

• Get Local: The staff at Silver Naga took me out one day to help plant rice in the rice fields and then fed me local cuisine like spicy snails and a green leafy stew. It's laborious work, but a once in a lifetime experience.

Practicing at the yoga shala in the rice fields.

Overall, Laos is very Thai influenced with hints of French, since it was colonized by them. And with the Koreans making an appearance after a popular reality show was filmed there, the whole little town is quite a melting pot of culture. Rainy season is during July, August, September, and it’s best to go during December, January February.

I was there during the wet season and still had a fantastic time, but the river can be dangerous some days.

My yoga experience in Laos was very challenging as I was teaching to non-native English speakers. There were times when no one in class spoke English. Thankfully, yoga is very visual and I would teach Vinyasa by demonstration, which can also be quite exhausting. But overall, I think it made me a better teacher. We had access to a yoga shala* out in the middle of the rice fields on the other side of the river. That was one of the most beautiful places I’ve had the pleasure of teaching and doing yoga. It’s spectacular!

Crossed this bridge on my accidental mountain biking adventure.

Stay curious. Be boundless.

xx

B

*Check out this Magazine Article (page 63) for more info