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Yoga, yoga and more yoga :)

Keep going, don't look back...

It will come as no surprise to my friends and family that I did a lot of yoga in Bali and, when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. While I tried to make sure I did at least one class a day, some days that extended to two or even three. The yoga was just so good here and it would’ve been rude not to :) I was first disappointed to only be able to find Bikram yoga (a type of yoga practice that I cannot agree with) within walking distance to Tim’s house, but as soon as I got on a scooter on my second day in Bali I was free to explore and see what else was on offer.

Desa Seni, Canggu

At first, I spent a good amount of my time at Desa Seni. Wow, what a facility! I recommend this place to anyone: new or experienced yogis, young or old. The teachers are fab, the space is wonderful, and there are a lot of classes on offer. I even managed to persuade my brother to go to his first ever meditation class there on the second evening of his holiday. It was a sunset class and, since there were a lot of mosquitos, we were draped with sarongs. It was incredibly atmospheric in the dark with only very low light. Trying to be a good Buddhist, my brother decided not to flinch when he felt an insect land on him, but instead ‘embrace the discomfort’. Two days later he came up in a severe burn-like rash that had blistered terribly. Multiple doctors visits later, the conclusion was that he’d been stung by a tom-cat, a small, ant-like insect that secrets a kind of venom on its victims. “See! This is why the Buddhist concept of worry doesn’t work! If I’d only been allowed to worry, then I would have flicked the insect off! But I was trying to be a good Buddhist and not worry and leave the insect alone and now look… Ugh. That’ll teach me to meditate.” You can only imagine my amusement :)

The Yoga Barn, Ubud

Then there’s the famous Yoga Barn in Ubud. I’d been so very much looking forward to going to this place having heard so much about it from friends and looking it up online - it didn’t fail to live up to the expectations. With around eight classes to choose from each day, I was in heaven. This experience was made all the more special since the first class I went to was taught by my childhood friend Sarah who, in her new role as an international yoga teacher, has left Hong Kong where she previously taught in order to use her yoga teaching to travel and experience more of the world. Her class was fantastic with 78 yogis joining in: I was so proud of her and happy to be a part of this wonderful journey she is on. We stayed together for the next five days and spent the whole time going to yoga classes, eating vegan food (including the best chocolate cake we’ve ever tasted) and laughing lots. So wonderful to reconnect with good friends who share your values, interests and humour!

So wonderful to reconnect with good friends who share

your values, interests and humour! Thank you, Sarah!

Even as a yoga teacher, Sarah declared that, while she loves yoga and loves the Yoga Barn to some extent, it’s easy to be intimidated by the hardcore yogis there. I felt the same and, after a while, the Yoga Barn started to feel a little intense. That is when we met Ketut. Ketut is a local Balinese man who lives in his own ashram called the Garden of Heart. It happened to be very close to our hotel so was extremely convenient. We were hooked after our first class with Ketut and never looked back at the Yoga Barn. First of all, it was full of local people. It was a community class meaning that, while we Bulé were to pay a very small fee of 50Rupiah (£2.50/25kr), the class was free for them. This was just wonderful - the class was full of laughter and energy and… belching! The meditation part was a lot of chanting which the locals all knew the words to so it was very calming and therapeutic and the class itself was challenging. It was just fantastic and we were in love. From that day, we boycotted the Yoga Barn and only went to Ketut’s classes.

"Smile, smile, smile... Beautiful soul, beautiful body, beautiful life...

You are the creator of your beautiful life... Relax; relaxing is a blessing...

You are blissful, bountiful and beautiful; smile..."

Ketut, Garden of Heart

One particular morning, when Sarah and I turned up for Ketut's 10am class, we found we were the only people there. It turned out that there was no yoga on Wednesdays but Ketut taught us anyway and we felt immense gratitude to be sharing this practice with him. It was a wonderful two hours and something I’ll remember for a long time. Ketut repeats the same mantras over and over again throughout the class and his words are incredibly uplifting, empowering and effective. I know that I will go back to Bali one day and I will be sure to visit Ketut again to either practice yoga with him or else stay in his ashram for a while.

The Garden of Heart

My brother was once again persuaded to try something new and, rather than take his first ever yoga asana class at the Yoga Barn where they have a dedicated ‘Intro to Yoga’ class daily, he braved Ketut’s class. I was super impressed - it’s a challenging practice - and he says that he thoroughly enjoyed it. As long as he wasn’t stung by a tom-cat it was bound to be a better experience than the first time, I guess!

I feel immense gratitude for having been able to spend just under six weeks in Bali, that I am fit and healthy enough to enjoy a regular yoga practice, that I was able to practice with such incredible teachers in such fantastic facilities and that I happened to meet Ketut, the best yoga teacher I’ve ever experienced.

I’ve come on a long journey since I was first introduced to yoga in 2009. While staying with friends in New Dehli for a couple of weeks, I benefitted from a private early morning lesson with Dr. Rawat every day. He would rock up in his jeans and a t-shirt and express complete shock and horror at my tight back, hamstrings, hips and… well, everything. Yoga was still something I reserved for holidays until around 2012 when, during my second year in Copenhagen, yoga started becoming a part of my lifestyle. When I found Yoga Mudra in 2013, yoga became a daily activity and helped me a lot with my whole lifestyle and approach to life in general.


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