Ruesri Dat Ton (Thai Yoga)

Ruesri Dat Ton is a traditional Hermit exercise developed in Thailand about 2500 years ago. In ancient times, Hermits (monks) lived and trained themselves in the mountain for their Buddhist practice. From doing meditation for a long time, their muscles and ligaments became tight and sore, so that they had to stretch and release pain in order to stay healthy throughout their trainings. That was considered the origin of Ruesri (hermit) Dat (self) Ton (stretch.) Although it was influenced by Ayurveda and Yoga originating in India, Ruesri Dat Ton’s breathing method and pauses are quite unique compared to any other exercise method.

Ruesri Dat Ton is also considered a healing yoga. Meditation plays an important role during the practice. The students meditate about 15 to 30 minutes at the beginning and at the end in the class. The meditation helps to keep the effectiveness of the physical trainings, and usually, the practitioner would experience deeper level of meditation after the exercise. Along with physical training, meditation awakens one’s healing energy and promotes self-healing.

There are about 200 Ruesri Dat Ton poses that are officially approved by Thai Health Agency. In each class, the students will practice 10 to 15 poses which are selected from 50 basic poses. After the meditation and warm-up, the students will practice these poses in the seated, standing, and prone positions.

During the exercise, the student holds the breath at the end of the inhalation, and sustains the pause for 5 to 8 seconds. Stretch and isometric contraction of the muscle during the pause will stimulate the energy line (sen) of the body. As the pause is released with an exhalation, the blood circulation will increase and negative energy will be released from the joints, vessels, and organs. As a result, you will balance the energy flow of the entire body.

The movements are gentle and slow throughout the class, and constant practice of the slow movements help to develop deep postural muscles that keep the stability of the body in daily life. Moreover, strengthening those muscles, which include red muscle fibers (slow twitch muscles), helps to improve body metabolism and fitness, reverse aging, and build stamina.

In addition, there are so many more physical benefits, such as release of muscle tightness and aches, improved joint function of the body, improved organ function, improved immune system, and heightened sense of well-being.

This is the very first Ruesri Dat Ton class in New York. If you would like to challenge the new exercise method, or if you have not been satisfied with other exercises in the past, try Ruesri Dat Ton.

Yuki Hasegawa Thomas is a native of Japan, and came to New York in 1998. She earned her MA in Dance and Dance Education at New York University. While at NYU, she enrolled in courses such as Dance Alignment I & II (Pilates,) Anatomy and Kinesiology, Dance Movement Therapy, Laban Movement Analysis, and Teaching Creative Movement for Children.

Yuki studied Ruesri Dat Ton (Thai Yoga) at Loicro Massage School in Chaing Mai (Thailand,) and has completed her teachers training with Tassanee Boonsom (Coockey.) She is also certified in traditional Thai Massage from Shivaka Komarpaj Old Medicine Hospital (Thailand.) She studied traditional Thai Massage at Healing Space Ashiya (Japan) with Yoshimi Konishi and Junko Hanada, and she has given Thai Yoga Bodywork sessions at several locations in the NYC.

Yuki has taught Pilates at Peridance Capezio Center, Kane School of Core Integration, and Kinected in the NYC. She has worked with many dancers and musicians, helping them to maintain body alignment, improve core strength, and injury prevention.

As a dancer and actress, she performed in musicals (Japanese productions) such as Oliver, Golden Boy, SANADA, Tea for Two and Little House on the Prairie, as well as in Japanese TV dramas and commercial films in Tokyo. She has been an artistic director and choreographer of Azul Dance Theatre in New York since 2004.

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