Chilled out in Ubud

How lucky was I to get to Bali! I spent the first two weeks of June on a yoga retreat in Ubud, central Bali. A group of Iyengar yoga students, around 20 strong, from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia met at the Santra Putra studio for a fortnight of daily yoga classes given by one of the most inspirational, challenging, dedicated and passionate teachers you'll meet - Peter Thomson, director of Sydney Yoga Space.

Our days began at 7 am with a 3 hour yoga session. Three hours you may ask? It sounds like a long time, but it really flies. Peter is not there just holding our hands as he instructs us to 'do' poses - that's not his style. As a teacher at a yoga 'school', he gives us the tools to make discoveries on our own. So while he guides the class, he also teaches through the things that may arise - see here how her arm is buckled, look here at the alignment of his legs...It was an extremely involved workshop around yoga practice - its physical, mental and emotional aspects.

After class at around 10 am most of us would gather around for a breakfast of Made's sensational banana pancakes. They were green because she makes them with pandan leaf essence taken from a plant in her garden. She accompanied them with a carefully made banana leaf 'boat' of palm sugar syrup! Mmmmm - delicious food discovery number one was the palm sugar syrup!

Made is the wife of Karja - the man who owns the studio where the yoga retreat was held. He also has accomodation where some of us stayed, and where we were also spoilt rotten by Made's home cooking!


A note on the names in Bali. I found myself getting seriously confused a couple of days into my stay. There seemed to be so many Mades around - not only Karja's wife, the reputable masseur down the road but even one of the drivers. Hang on! Guys and girls sharing the same name? Apparently in Bali, you are called by the number in the family you are born - first, second, third...or made, ketut,...and it doesn't matter if you are a boy or a girl - the same name goes. Now since you see less and less 3+ children families, it means there are more and more Mades and Ketuts flooding the scene - hence my confusion!

After breakfast I typically spent my time reading or just soaking up the view over the rice paddy fields from my room. I was lucky to get a top floor bungalow room right next door to the yoga studio. It rained quite a lot so most of us kept a low profile. Town was pretty low key - not the tourism there once was, and this was extremely saddening.

I got out on a few walks over the hills and through the rice paddy fields though. On our day off I ventured even further afield than I had on previous occasions - 3 hours later I found my way back home! How ironic - the one time I really needed transport and no one was there to offer it to me? In Bali you get used to being asked for transport about 50 times a day! I could tell I must be getting lost because the kids playing outside would look at me like they'd never seen a Westerner, like they almost wanted to clap me as I proceeded on through their village. I had nearly reached an Elephant Park in the middle of nowhere, by the time I calculated that I should've been back at my bungalow. Luckily I managed to hitch a ride with a kind woodwork teacher back into town!

There were also afternoon yoga sessions - between 4pm and 6pm everyday. Such a luxury to have a decent afternoon practice. It is a challenge getting time in the evenings now that I'm back in Sydney, to have a really good unwind from the day. But the good thing is, I got to see what a difference it made to touch base with things again later in the day. Nowadays I try my best to at least get a couple of inverteds or just supta baddha konasana in, when I get home from work.

I have mentioned breakfast, but did I mention dinner? Most of us would stroll over to 'Made's Diner' (a different Made!) after the afternoon class where we'd feast on steaming gado gado, sizzling nasi campur or nasi goreng, mouthwatering tempe any which way you want it, dreamy banana fritters and fresh watermelon and ginger juice! All for about $4 per head - including the tip! How I miss their tempe! Delicious food discovey number tow! Most people played it safe and stuck to vegetarian food - and it was neat to see those who are usually big meat-eaters, be converted! Well, not completely, but to hear them say that tofu isn't that bad was worth a giggle!

I don't think I've ever been so mentally exhausted after a holiday in all my life! By the end of the two weeks, it was really time to come home. And I had so much to come home with! While my bags were practically empty, my head was full and ready to burst! I think I'm still feeding off that retreat - it has been massively inspiring for my practice. And I feel charged with a certain responsibility too. To make the most of that inspiration - the awareness and energy that was raised during my time there. I was so lucky to be a part of it!