Bali & My Yoga Teacher Journey

We had a few days before we were both flying overseas (to different countries) and we still both had to pack and more importantly attend my gorgeous Nana’s 88th Birthday dinner and also my beautiful cousins wedding on Magnetic Island. I had such a wonderful time catching up with so much of my family! It also meant we got to take the dogs to the island for a few nights before we headed off. The magical sunrise mornings with my puppies and the family’s beautiful 13 year old German Shepherd were very special and I adored every minute.

We got back to the mainland the day after the wedding. I packed my bag (finally) and I was Bali bound. Dan was prepped and ready to fly to Cambodia for a few weeks then Vietnam for a few more.

I flew to the beautiful island of Bali on July 2nd and arrived in Canggu at my yoga home for the month of July. Two dear friends of mine also signed up for the course that would, in one intense month’s time, mean we are certified yoga teachers in Hatha and Astanga yoga. We did our certification through a small and very professionally run yoga school called Samasti Yoga (highly recommended). The teachers warned all twenty of us students that the course was really intense, and did everyone know what they’ve signed up for. There was laughter from the students, but actually the teachers couldn’t have been more accurate.

Each day for the next month was full on with the days beginning at 6:30am and finishing at 9:30pm. An average of 10 hours of yoga every day. Yoga meaning; meditation, asana practice, breathing techniques (pranayama), anatomy and physiology, yoga history, philosophy and spirituality, as well as hands on workshops and assessed practicals to prove our competence.

In one month, we not only learnt to become confident yoga teachers but we also learnt an incredible amount about ourselves. Long forgotten emotional wounds that had previously been buried deep within ourselves were re-surfaced, things we thought we had dealt with years ago welled and spilled to the surface during some really full-on meditations. Some of the meditation sessions and techniques we experienced were so crazy I don’t even know how to describe them, there are simply no words. Some left us feeling good, others left us feeling sad or mad and some left us pondering deep in thought for days afterwards. All I can say is, it was the most amazing experience to get to know oneself on a much deeper level.

After one month in Samasti Yoga world, it was honestly a bit tough to burst the safety bubble of yoga we had created. Our first day ‘released’ back into reality was a weird experience. Suddenly we had to interact with everyday people again and it was weird for about a day. Cappuccinos and fresh juice smoothies at the beach definitely helped with the transition.

After a whole month with a bunch of beautiful new friends, it was time to say farewell to Bali and fly further afield to ‘The Pearl of India’, Sri Lanka.