Lotus Wellness: A Home for Yoga and Healing

“Ong…namo guru dev namo…”
In a cosy home studio, we chanted this mantra as part of a Kundalini Yoga session led by Melanie Irene Giles, founder of Lotus Wellness in Bangkok. Over the next ninety minutes, Melanie guided us through breathwork, postures, and meditation with calming flutes and sound bowls, creating a deeply relaxing experience.
“Sometimes I begin my class by asking if anyone has done yoga before. When someone says no, I tell them that they have already done yoga. After all, breathing is a form of yoga,” Melanie said.
Kundalini Yoga, known as the "yoga of awareness," focuses on awakening energy at the base of the spine. Its blend of asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), and mantras emphasises spiritual and mental well-being. Melanie explains that the practice goes beyond the physical, often leading to emotional release. “People’s energy opens up, and many feel like they want to cry,” she says.
In contrast to mainstream yoga studios, Lotus Wellness offers a personal, organic approach to yoga, particularly attracting expats seeking a sense of community. The studio’s mainstay of Kundalini Yoga is accessible to beginners, with seated breathwork and adaptable meditation practices.
Kundalini Yoga was introduced to the West in 1968 by Yogi Bhajan, who began teaching the once esoteric practice publicly in the United States. Since then, it has spread worldwide, blending physical postures with meditation, breathwork, and spiritual elements. Melanie learned Kundalini through teachers who studied under Sunder Singh Khalsa, the person responsible for bringing it to Thailand in the 1990s.
While Kundalini Yoga has its origins in ancient yogic traditions, modern practitioners, like Melanie, focus on the benefits of the practice, rather than its historical controversies.
Kundalini Yoga is known to provide health benefits such as increased vitality, improved clarity, reduced stress, and improved respiratory function. As a spiritual practice, it can also provide emotional balance and greater awareness of self.

I wasn’t just Melanie the mum, Melanie the wife, Melanie the marketing director, I was also Melanie the yoga and Reiki teacher
Melanie’s Journey
Melanie’s personal journey began in Hong Kong, where she navigated a high-powered career in the music industry. After moving to Thailand and experiencing a painful divorce, Melanie turned to yoga and Reiki as paths to self-discovery and healing. “Yoga helped me move through my own pain,” she shares.
Through Kundalini Yoga, Reiki, and water therapy, she began to reconnect with herself.
“I wasn’t just Melanie the mum, Melanie the wife, Melanie the marketing director,” she said. “I was also Melanie the yoga and Reiki teacher.”
Lotus Wellness, founded in 2012, became her way of sharing these holistic practices with others. The studio also offers Kundalini Teacher Training, where participants learn not just the practice but the lifestyle, including diet, breathwork, and daily rituals.
When significant aspects of your life fall apart – be it draining jobs, stagnant relationships, the weight of grief and trauma – consider using all these challenges as a catalyst for growth and new beginnings, much like Melanie has done.
Holistic Practices at Lotus Wellness
At Lotus Wellness, Melanie incorporates a variety of Kundalini practices beyond yoga.
One of the studio’s most unique offerings is water therapy. During a session, participants float in warm water while Melanie plays gongs and rings sound bowls, creating vibrations that ripple through the body. This practice, like many others in Kundalini, is designed to help release emotional pain and facilitate a process of rebirth.
During my experience with Melanie in water therapy, she played gongs and rang sound bowls that vibrated through me in waves. In the aquatic realm, I felt like an embryo again, as my anxiety and pain washed away into the warm pool. I imagined myself carried by a jungle river flowing into a sea of my own consciousness.
In addition to water therapy, Melanie integrates other powerful Kundalini techniques. For instance, alternate nostril breathing is a simple yet effective technique that involves breathing through one nostril at a time, helping to lower stress and regulate cardiovascular function.
Melanie also teaches Breath of Fire, an energising and detoxifying breathwork practice. This technique involves rapid, rhythmic breathing that increases oxygen intake, stimulates digestion, and cleanses the body. It's particularly effective for increasing vitality and clearing mental blocks.
These practices, combined with Lotus Wellness’s focus on breathwork, postures, and meditation, provide participants with a holistic approach to wellness. This home for yoga is designed to nurture emotional healing and mental clarity while fostering a cosy, supportive community.

Sometimes I begin my class by asking if anyone has done yoga before. When someone says no, I tell them that they have already done yoga. After all, breathing is a form of yoga.