Interview with RSM International School

We recently sat down with Hironori Ikeda (Hiro), Managing Director of RSM International School which offers unique recreational and Sports Medicine courses in Chiang Mai, the best known of which are Balance Ball Yoga and Yogi Mahout Courses.

Dining Guide (DG): Hi Hiro, thanks for your time to sit down with us to chat a little bit about you and your business. So, let me ask you first, what made you come to Chiang Mai and do business here?

Hiro: Well, it all goes back to my home country Japan, where I studied Biology and Sports Medicine and received training as a ski instructor. I always liked outdoor activities and nature and was looking for a way to make a living out of this. About 8 years ago I came to Chiang Mai where I received training as a Thai massage therapist. This was perfectly complimentary to my previous Sports Medicine studies, so I soon thereafter set up my own company to teach Sports Medicine and Massage.

DG: I understand that your business now comprises Balance Ball Yoga and Yogi Mahout courses. How did you come up with Balance Ball Yoga?
Hiro: Balance Ball Yoga was created to combine Sports Medicine Studies with Thai Massage. During my university studies I had met many international students who all had specific physical properties. So I soon realized that everyone needs targeted and personalized exercises to make meet their specified physical characteristics. Balance Ball Yoga allows just that … in a fun way. I started giving Balance Ball Yoga courses about 5 years ago, and have ever since taught in Thailand, Japan and Europe. My students’ feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Here at the school in Chiang Mai we teach Balance Ball Yoga classes every day from 9 to 10am.

DG: How do the Yogi Mahout Courses fit into this?
Hiro: Well, the basic idea for our Yogi Mahout Courses was to combine one’s knowledge of Sports Medicine, Balance Ball Yoga and nature – all in a fun way. Our slogan from the beginning was to always have the customer in mind. I have seen this work at Disney World in Tokyo, where they are incredibly customer oriented. I wanted to replicate that service-mindfulness in our Yogi Mahout Courses … and our customers’ satisfaction tells us that we are doing it right.

DG: Can you tell us a little bit more about a typical day at your Yogi Mahout Course?
Hiro: Sure. We usually pick up our customers from their hotels or guesthouses and bring them to our school. Here they get to practice a little bit on the Balance Ball, maybe for 10-15 minutes. Once everyone’s gathered and ready we go the elephant camp in Mae Taeng district. Once there, our students first learn how to communicate with elephants, how to touch them, give food, and how to interpret their reactions. That last for about 40 minutes. Then we practice how to properly ride an elephant. Our students sit directly on the elephants, not on one of these wooden constructions that you see at most elephant camps. This way, you got a much more intense relationship with the elephant. We first ride for about 1 hour, either 1 person per elephant or 2 people per elephant.
After that it’s time for a lunch break. That’s not ordinary lunch, though. Our students rather learn how to make their own food, such as papaya salad and herbal soup, using only basic and locally available equipment. Lunch break is about 1 hours, then we turn to the elephants again.
We now ride our elephants through the jungle, which is quite challenging, but so far everyone of our students has mastered it. That takes about 1 hours 30 minutes. The elephant journey culminates in bathing the animals in the river. This is also the opportunity to do Yoga performances on the back of the elephants. This is usually the most fun for our students. We then go back to the elephant camp by raft, another existing moment for our customers, many of whom have never done this before. We leave the camp at 3.30 – 4pm and drop off our customers at their hotel at around 5pm.

DG: If you could summarize what the Yogi Mahout Course is all about, what would that be?
Hiro: The Yogi Mahout Course is all about recreation, community and friendship among the participants. Our philosophy is to unite … unite humans with the elephants and nature. Our aim is simply that our guests feel happy. They should forget about their lives back home and just enjoy the moments while they are here with nature…
All details about our courses, schedules and prices are on our website at www.yogimahout.com

DG: Thanks for this interesting chat. And all the best for your business in the new year!
Hiro: Thanks. The same to you.

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