Save the date! It’s official! November 10-24th 2013 I am hosting a Yoga and Culture Retreat in the spiritual, sunny town of Ubud, Bali. You can choose to stay for 1 or 2 weeks and the cost is $1120+tax per week (early bird rate of $1020+tax if booked by March 1) including accommodation, breakfasts, 4 dinners, cultural excursions, and 3 hours of yoga a day.
I can’t even explain how excited I am. I was in Bali for 5 weeks last year and left a piece of my heart on the island. There is so much us westerners can learn from the Balinese people which is why it is so important to me that we get to experience the culture as part of this retreat. The Hindu religion of the Balinese is deeply connected to the roots of yoga; there is no better place to immerse yourself in yoga than in a nation historically connected to the yogic practice, art, and lifestyle. In fact, we will be staying in a retreat centre in the heart of Ubud on a street named after the monkey deity, Hanoman. The same deity that the yoga posture Hanomanasana is named after.
Guru!While in Bali last year I met a Guru who truly embodied the image of Balinese people I had created in my mind after seeing Eat, Pray, Love. He smiled even while explaining the most serious of concepts, and he was about as jolly as Santa Claus. After days of researching where I should host my upcoming Bali retreat, I found myself drawn to one particular place that seemed to have everything I needed; it was in the heart of town, had a yoga facility on site, plenty of clean looking rooms, and it had a pool! After booking the location I googled images of the retreat centre. Magically, Guru’s face appeared. Apparently he built the centre to house many of the people who come from all over the world to see him. It was meant to be.
If you are thinking of coming on the Retreat, here is a sample of a typical day we will experience while in Bali:
7:30am- Sunrise Yoga and Pranayama Practice
9:00am- Breakfast by the pool of Banana Pancakes and fresh tropical fruit with Balinese Coffee or Tea
10:30am- Visit sacred sea temple Tanah Lot
12:00pm- lunch and 8 limb conversation at funky organic restaurant Clear Cafe (complete with cashew milk lattes!)
1:30pm- Rice paddy hike
3:00pm- Free time
6:00pm-Dinner
7:30pm- Restorative Yoga Practice
Other activities may include visiting the Monkey Forest, shopping at the local market, seeing a Kecak dance, visiting a sustainable chocolate farm, driving to a surf beach, drinking Bintang beers by the pool:)Yoga with a view of sea temple, Tanah Lot
If you would like to attend, I need a $300 deposit to hold your spot. This can be paid via cash or cheque to Laura Martini (address available upon request), etransfer to laura@martiniyoga.ca, or via PayPal shortly.
Terima Kasih (thank you) and Rock On,
l.e. martini