About Us
Hey, we are Ning, Adam and Yai.
Before we started True Nature, we lived in the city of Chiang Mai where we ran our yoga studios. Freedom Yoga Chiang Mai, Hidden House Yoga Chiang Mai and Ning’s Kitchen Vegetarian cooking school Chiang Mai. All of these businesses were closed down during the covid pandemic and despite the possibility to re-open them, we instead decided to move away from the city and develop a plot of jungle land in the mountainside north of the Chiang Mai's Old City. Here we started creating our long term vision of creating small, family Homestay and Yoga/Meditation retreat center We spent the next 2 years gradually developing this land into what we now call True Nature Yoga & Meditation Homestay Retreat and we hope you have a chance to come and enjoy it with us.
As a team of three people we run all aspects of our Yoga retreats and homestay from the yoga & meditation classes, through to the preparation of the healthy food. We value simple balanced living, connection with Nature, and the Nourishing practices of yoga and meditation.
Ning
Meet Ning. She is known best for her kick-ass yoga classes and homestyle Thai cooking classes! She is the backbone of True Nature and loves sharing her simple approach to life and the peaceful, natural environment that she and her mum developed together.
Ning wears many hats on a daily basis and takes on many of the roles and tasks that need to be done, she can be a yoga teacher, a mother, a tailor, a farmer, a cleaner, a builder, and the master chef who serves up all the delicious hearty food at True Nature all on the same day! Without her, it would never be possible for True Nature to exist.
Ning grew up in a poor rural part of North-East Thailand, her parents were farmers and at a young age she was pulled out of school to work with the family. During this period she was forced to grow up quickly and developed skills in farming, growing food and tending animals. Here she developed a strong bond with the animals that she cared for and learned how to live a simple life with simple values.
As an adult, Ning lived in Bangkok for many years with her 2 children and worked long hours as a tailor. When her employer closed down she moved to Chiang Mai with her daughter to make a fresh start. Here, away from the big city lights, she started a new phase in her life. She began to practice yoga, to re-reconnect with nature and animals, and to get back to the simple life that she led in her earlier years.
for many years In Chiang Mai, Ning managed 2 yoga studios and her own vegetarian/vegan cooking school. Most recently she and her mother developed the land that we now know as True Nature Chiang Mai where enjoys being a gracious host and meeting the various people that visit.
Adam
Adam is originally from Australia. He first visited Thailand in 2010 during a backpacking trip around Asia. There was something about the culture and way of life that touched him deeply and caused him to return multiple times before officially moving to Thailand.
He is a Yoga Teacher of 12 years and counting. Through his own journey, using yoga to heal his own physical injuries and trauma, Adam developed a passion for using yoga to heal, revitalize and re-invigorate the body so that it can be a stable vehicle to support us through the journey of life, because if the physical body is suffering or in ill-health, all other aspects of life will be compromised.
Adam has vast experience in numerous forms of yoga and sees his teaching as a means to support, encourage and inspire others. His classes are breath focused with foundations in alignment and conscious movement. Adam is skilled in guiding students into deeper sense of awareness and connection with themselves, while encouraging them to explore their own bodies and limits in a safe and respectable way
While living in Thailand, Adam became interested in Buddhist culture and philosophy, he was lucky enough to spend time practicing and learning about meditation and mindfulness at many of the monasteries throughout Thailand over the past 8 years and also ordained as a Buddhist monk for a short period.
Adam's passion has become utilizing the powerful and life-changing practices of yoga and meditation together in harmony to allow both body and mind to find balance in their true nature
Yai (grandmother)
Yai is Nings mother, she is a living example of what true nature is all about. Living most of her life in extreme poverty and burdened with hard laborious farm work, she never lost her spark for life and shows the utmost compassion and love for anyone she crosses paths with. Yai is a great help around the place, she gardens, cleans and cooks non-stop, but most of all we love her because she inspires us by the way she approaches life and shows up every day for both the good and the bad!
Yai is a living example of what it means to live a life of compassion and mindfulness. She gives endlessly and we are so happy and proud to have her with us
