After just six yoga classes, she gave up her high-flying career in Hong Kong and checked in to yoga boot camp with Bikram Chudury. Benjaporn Karoonkornsakul knows all about life-changing decisions.

Now, five years later, she's opened seven yoga studios, with plans on the drawing board for a new yoga retreat in Koh Samui next year.

"It all started with a search for ways to keep myself fit," says Benjaporn. "Yoga was the answer that worked for me."

At that time, she was also searching around for a new business opportunity in Bangkok, and recognised the signs of a growing trend for yoga. She set up her first Absolute Yoga studio with the hope that it would do well enough for her to return to her old job. But the baby business had teething problems, and she had to be there to solve them all. Less than two years down the road, Benjaporn opened a second branch in Soi Thong Lor (Sukhumvit 55).

"The expansion gave me a clear direction," says Benjaporn, explaining how finding this direction was all down to choice.

"We had to choose - either settle for a small boutique-style yoga studio, or go for the grander scale. At the time I thought we were ready to expand, so I jumped in."  Since then she's got together with several business partners in Thailand, as well as one in Singapore, where she's opened the Yoga Infinity studio.

"This year Absolute Yoga has expanded a lot, with our biggest studio yet at Amarin Plaza, for which we've secured the detox programme run by Rasayana."

Benjaporn says she may slow down with just one new branch for next year, plus franchises in Chiang Mai, Phuket or Pattaya.

Slowing down or not, it's a shock to hear such a power-house of a businesswoman talk of work as fun. But trial-and-error, she says, is the secret to her progress.

"If I stop it means we go backwards. That's why I have to be active and show the way for my team of 80 staff, and the thousands of customers."

Benjaporn works hard to keep all her instructors updated, holding a teacher meeting every Thursday to keep them abreast of the latest techniques and teaching methods. Absolute Yoga Studios currently has two to 3,000 clients who practise regularly, out of a total of 20,000 to 25,000 members.

Benjaporn still finds time to leave her office and walk down the hall to attend the odd yoga class, but the missed calls on her phone when she gets back show just how busy she is. 

"Other people can leave their work behind and come and relax their minds in our yoga class, but I actually practise in my own workspace. I know it's not good for my yoga, but I can't help looking at the wall, monitoring the light, seeing if the towels are clean. It's hard to switch off."

A break from distractions does come when she teaches, though. "It's when I feel at peace - I can focus purely on teaching." She still manages three days of yoga practice a week, but only teaches one or two classes a month.

 Benjaporn's most recent venture, opened earlier this year, is an Absolute Yoga studio and "Love Kitchen" in Bo Phut village, on Koh Samui. The rising popularity of retreat holidays, along with her love for Samui, have given Benjaporn the idea of opening a second Samui branch.

"It's rooted in my fondness for the island, and this is the right time for me to take on a big resort project," she says. "People today don't go on holiday just to lie on the beach - they tend to have other reasons too, like health. That's why I've decided to open a detox resort on on Cheong Mon Beach on Samui next year. I think the detox trend is on the rise, just like yoga five years ago. Eventually it'll be a part of people's lifestyles."

The 30-room retreat decorated in Moroccan style will be christened Absolute Sanctuary Samui.

 But what about the imposing feats of superhuman asceticism sometimes associated with yoga - can't it be, well, just a little daunting?  This is not what yoga's really all about, says Benjaporn: Anyone can make it part of their daily life without going to extremes. She understands that many yoga teachers arrive with a critical attitude, looking for "the real thing", but believes that her role is first to popularise yoga by introducing it to as many people as possible.

"The first thing is to try it, then get comfortable with yoga. Then these people may go deeper into the practise over time."

Vipasai Niyamabha

The Nation