Suan Sati – A Yoga Retreat in Chiang Mai

Just last week I had the pleasure of staying at Suan Sati Yoga Retreat which must one of the most unique and enjoyable places to stay in Chiang Mai. I had no idea that such a place existed in Chiang Mai and I wish I’d known about it sooner!

It’s about a half an hour drive outside of Chiang Mai, towards Mae Jo. They have various types of accommodation available such as dorm rooms, shared bungalows or even private rooms for couples. The rooms are all extremely clean and well maintained. The showers and toilets are all shared. Yoga sessions twice per day, vegan meals three times per day and other additional workshops are all included in the price.

I arrived as lunch was being served. It’s all buffet, so you just help yourself. You can take as much as you want but you should eat all you take. There is more than plenty to go around all the guests. There are usually around 12-15 people staying at one time. The huge rainbow salad was very satisfying especially with the green salad dressing that was full of so many different flavours that it was hard to identify what it was actually made from. They also had a couple of other dishes such as some fried veggies, a curry and brown rice.

After lunch you have time to do what you like. This place is away from the city but it’s so calming and relaxing that you won’t find yourself bored. There are all kinds of different areas among the grounds to explore. You could climb the tree house, practice yoga on the outside slack lines, use the yoga room for extra practice or just chill out in the hang out area on the Wi-Fi or mingle with others. You can of course go outside of the grounds if you wish and I believe there is a swimming pool within easy walking distance.

Before you know it, it will be time for afternoon yoga practice which begins at 4 PM. The session lasts for two hours but it goes by surprisingly quickly due to the variation within the session. For example, sometimes we started with some singing and chanting and we always finished with seated meditation. Even though I’m a complete beginner I was able to follow along and the teachers were very professional, knowledgeable and patient. These sessions are suitable for anyone with any level of experience.

Right after the session comes dinner. This was another great meal. As well as another big salad there was steamed sweet potato, yams and taro. There was also a very flavourful Thai style mango salad as well as a soup dish and rice. I was particularly impressed that I was able to fill up on plant-based whole foods rather than anything cooked with too much oil or salt or anything processed at all. Tamarind and other sweet fruits were there to finish the meal off nicely.

After dinner there are additional free workshops available for you to try. This was one of my favourite things about my stay at Suan Sati. I took part in a creative flow workshop which was like nothing I could have imagined. At one point we were writing a stream of consciousness and then later on this transitioned in to us all making a song together. I was amazed at the talents that had been brought out by the session. Being a part of the song-making (even just as a pencil-tapper myself!) was an experience that I shall never forget.

The next morning you will wake-up at 5:30 AM to prepare for the morning session at 6:00 AM. After another revitalising two hour session, you will then have the pleasure of my most favourite experience of my stay, breakfast. This was the most amazing buffet breakfast that I have ever been served. It started with a huge array of tropical fresh fruits including watermelon, dragon fruit, passion fruit, banana and chopped mango. Then there was also muesli to add. The next part was hot chocolate oats with coconut sprinkles on top. Then lastly, there were the most fantastic waffles I’ve ever eaten.  They were light and fluffy and delicious enough to eat by themselves but the sauces were what really made them. One was a mouth-watering dark chocolate sauce and in addition there was some kind of peanut butter. It was soft and crunchy, wholesome yet sweet and went perfectly on top of the waffles and the other sauce. A true breakfast of champions.

Are you a yogi? Are you a vegan? Are you a foodie? Do you have some creative flow you need to release? Do you need to escape from the city for some peace, quiet and a relaxing time? Suan Sati might be just the place for you.

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