When you look at the dynamic postures performed in Thai Yoga (Reusi Dat Ton), you will notice that quite some movements have a form, style, and gracefulness that resemble Thai Traditional Dance.
We’ve already written about the way Reusi Datton is practiced and taught in Thailand, and depending on the style and application it can be a form of meditation, Thai Traditional Dance, fitness and prevention, cardio training, self-stretching, self-massage, or therapy.
In this post, I would like to show you some of the Reusi Dat ton exercises that have a relationship with traditional Thai Dance. First of all, in the pictures below, you will see exercises for the fingers, hands and wrists. In Thai Dance you would see these typical hand movements and extremely bent fingers. Of course, this needs years of training, and in Reusi Datton you would see some exercises that do just that.
Another set of pictures is about balance. Balance is important in Thai Dance because the movements are generally performed slowly and gracefully, and one needs to control one’s equilibrium. Below I’ve displayed some standing balance exercise poses from Thai Yoga that benefit Thai Dance (just as the the lead picture of this post does).
And last but not least, just take a look at the video The Hermit’s Art of Healing – Self Physical Healing – Part 1 and observe the relation between Rue-si Datton and Thai Dance. It’s a very nice and instructive compilation and was filmed at the Wat Pho temple grounds. It includes sitting, kneeling, and lying Reusi Datton Thai Yoga exercises.