Thai Medicine In The Kitchen
Thai Medicine In The Kitchen
In Thailand the standard casual greeting is not "how are you?", it is "gin kâao rue-yang (กินข้าวรึยัง)", which translates to "have you eaten yet?". This greeting even preceded the modern "sawatdii/hello", for what is more important than knowing that all are nourished?
Food being medicine, it is the medicine that we fortify our bodies with more than any other elixir. In this delicious class we will explore Thai healing arts in relation to what we eat for health and harmony. Come let us blend Thai element theory, herbal medicine, and kitchen magic as we enjoy nourishing food and drink while gaining understanding of how to adjust our dietary habits based on individual, in the moment, needs.
We must be clear, this is not a “The _____ diet” (fill in the blank; Atkins, Paleo, Greek, Keto, blood type…) class. Traditional medicine systems such as Chinese, Ayurvedic, Tibetan and Thai, understand that there is no one size fits all perfect diet plan. These systems of medicine not only look at the individual, but they look at the individual right now; they take in your current health and imbalances, the season, the time of day, life capacity, and multiple other factors. This class will give students a step into understanding how to adjust what they eat and feed their families from day to day and season to season. May we all beings be well. May all beings be happy. May all beings be fed.
Upcoming workshops:
Dates: April 10-11, 2025
Time: 10 am - 5:30 pm, PST
Location: Gresham OR (just outside of Portland)
Instructor: I am Naj; your primary instructor for this program. I am the director, founder, instructor, and dish washer of The Naga Center, which I started in 2005. Basically, I am the Naga Center (and much of this website is written first person, in my voice). I have been a massage therapist since I was 21 years old (born in '69, so you can do the maths), and have been traveling to Thailand regularly since 1998 to study traditional Thai herbal medicine and bodywork and lived there for two years while writing my books on Thai medical theory and herbalism. I have had the pleasure of engaging in many cooking classes and one on one cooking instruction in Thailand over the years and look forward to sharing rice with you.