Bali Yoga Retreat

Made it to Bali with no issues.  When I come back to Asia I will be looking for as many Korean Air flights as possible - they are by far the best.  At the Bali Airport I got my visa and made it through to my bag.  It was about 1:00 in the morning and there were so many people around.  A couple of guys helped me find my pay and proceeded to carry it through customs.  I knew I was going to be screwed.  Once we went through sure enough all they wanted was a big fat tip.  I gave them have of my Bali money I had in my pocket (change from the Visa).  Although it seemed like a lot at the time (100,000 Baht) it was only $15 USD. 

When I finally made it out of the air port 2 other guys were waiting for me.  We headed off to the resort, which I didn't realize was on the other side of the island - about 2 hour drive.  I found myself in a place called Ubud, a much smaller quieter area inland (so not by the beach).  I got to my room it is is awesome.  I have a great entrance with a stream under the walkway.  A living room with a floor table and bench.  French doors to my back patio and a walkway down to the pool.  My bathroom is outdoors (with high walls around so no one can peek) and my bed is upstairs with windows all around and a bug net hanging from the ceiling.    

Since I didn't get to bed until around 3:30am I decided to skip the morning walk (with a wake up call at 5:30am).  So I had to report at 11:30 to meet my guide for the week.  

In my life there are many times when I say yes to something without actually knowing what I'm saying test to.  With that I met my guide, Lastri.  Her and her partner, Yani, will be taking me through the program….hmmm program.  I bean I know I booked it awhile ago but I just thought it was yoga.  Turns out I signed up for a "Healing Week."  Everyday I have a schedule of where and what I'll be doing.  although each day is different - each day starts at 5:30am with a wake up call and some herbal tea.  At 6:00am there is a sunrise walk followed by an hour of yoga and a half hour of meditation.  This morning I missed all the excitement - so we will see how it goes tomorrow (Have I ever mentioned how I am not a morning person and I LOVE my sleep?).

For my first lunch I had a glass of carrot and lime juice, a multi-vitamin and then a glass of watermelon and mint juice.  Lastri pointed to the two pages from the menu that I could order from…turns out they are all fruit and vegetable juices.  UMMMM I'm on a liquid diet (hear my sarcasm???).

Next up was my first ever clonic.  Not really sure how I felt but again, "When in Rome…"  So I headed into the room, got something shoved up my butt and water flowing through.  THe water is at about 40 degrees celsius (100 degrees fahrenheit), which surprised me - but I guess its the best way to break up everything in the acceding, descending and transverse colon.    While one nurse was using the pressure gauge and release functions the other was massaging my intestines.  I won't go into much detail, but there is a tube you can see with your $hit flowing out - its difficult not to watch how disgusting it is…

After that I had some time to relax.  Went back to the bungalow, played some cards and read.  THen at 4:00 it was off to get skin brushing and mandi lulu.  These were awesome - literally someone brushing my body, then a aroma oil massage.  THis was followed by a scrub which dried and then she rubbed off like when you let glue dry on your finger and rub it off - but it felt like sand paper.  Then she poured feet smelling coconut milk to seep into my exfoliated skin.  Then a jump into a flower pedal bath for a soak.  Next up the dry sauna for as long as I could last then the steam room.  Last on the list was a glass of coconut water to rehydrate and quick shower and I was off to dinner.  

In my head I was really hoping for some food - but that was a no go.  Instead I was blessed with a cucumber, spinach, green apple and ginger juice - which was awesome.  Another multi-vitamin and 2 colon cleansers (pretty sure they were fiber pills or send pills) and to finish it off a glass of herbal tea (with real basil, mint, ginger and lemon grass).  At night lots of water and early to bed.  When I get back to the bungalow, my porch light is on, the curtains are drawn, bed turned down and incense burning - I'm loving this.

On my schedule I have a manicure and pedicure on the 5th day, so my goal is to stop biting my fails until then - hope there will be something there to get a manicure on….

Then next day I did wake up at the 5:30am wake up call.  Lastri brought me a cup of the herbal tea and told me it would help.  I wasn't too sure about it, but after 20 minutes I felt alright.  Me up with everyone and we took a nice long walk through the streets and then to the rice fields.  It was a pretty good way to start the day.

When we returned, I had a strawberry sunrise (smoothy…almost like food).  Then yoga class, definitely not as difficult or intense as Bikram, but it did get my muscles to start working agin.  Then we meditated for 30 minutes.  Sat in a circle around a candle an stared at the flame for 10 minutes.  Then closed our eyes and had to picture the plane through our 3rd eye.  This was for 20 minutes.  I did pretty well for the 1st 10 - then just lost it and started to think about everything else…I guess I have 5 days to perfect this…

Then breaky - I had carrot, orange and ginger juice.  I was skeptical again as I think ginger tastes like soap - but I really liked it.  Another multi-vitamin and three colon cleansers.  Then another amazing spa treatment.  Started with a body brush, then massage, another body scrub and a bubble jet bath with lavender cream and sea salts.  I enjoyed a watermelon and mint juice while relaxing.  Afterward I had a body wrap.  I"m not sure what the mixture was but to me it smelled like Jack Daniel's.  She wrapped me up in space paper and then an electric blanket and I baked for 20 minutes.  Luckily she would take a damp cloth and wipe the sweat off of my face every once and awhile.  When she was unwrapping me you could see the steam rising off of my body…finally a cold shower which was most welcomed.  Then I jumped into the sauna - although I didn't last long and back in the shower.  

Afterwards was lunch.  I had carrot, beetroot and something (I can't remember) and a glass of coconut water.  Afterwards was free time.  I read by the pool and took a long nap.  Not warm enough to go swimming.  Tonight was my second clonic - just as fun as the first.  But this time she told me that I had food poisoning that was coming out…hmm it took me awhile to figure it out - but I can only relate it to the first night in Vanuatu when I got so sick (see guys it wasn't the Kava….just the food).  I knew I wasn't a light weight!  Finally dinner (I was starving) - ummm some pineapple, celery, cilantro, spinach and beetroot.  At first it tasted like dirt from the garden but after a bit I started to enjoy it (and I'm not just saying that - I did order it again).  As an extra surprise I was given some vegetable broth.  Its only been two days of juices but man did it taste good.  So far I haven't had any real cravings (although in my dream last night I was eating a block of cheese like an apple, but I haven't had cheese in almost a month - so I find that understandable).  

So by now you are probably getting the gist of my days - so I won't bore you with every detail of everyday.  I did spend a lot of time by myself.  Sure there are other ladies around (note no men voluntarily came) and I did talk a bit the first few days…until I realized that everyone was having the same conversations over and over and over again.  "Where you from?  What day are you one?  What treatment did you have?" So I did a lot of reading and thinking by myself (which could be dangerous).  

Some highlights from the week:

Glow - My favorite shake of the retreat.  Made of cashew milk, carrot juice, pineapple, banana and mango.  

Sight seeing - my first time out of the resort and all I wanted to do was get back in!!! But I walked around the monkey forest which turned out to be pretty cool.  There were monkeys everywhere and you could feed them bananas.  

Cemetery outside of the Monkey Forest - I sure to love cemeteries!

Ubud Sari Organic Farm - we walked through the farm that produces most of the fruit and veggies that we had been drinking during the week.

Deep tissue massage - it was deep!

Detox wrap - I have never felt so hot in my entire life!!  I thought I was going to pass out when I stood up, so we took a really long time to walk back to the change room where I sat and drank 2 glasses of water.

Clockwork Orange - the book is just as messed up as the movie!

Loosing 3 kilos - and then gaining 3+ kilos back in Denver when I was able to eat Mexican food again…

Bio-Electic treatment - This was crazy.  I went into a room and a woman and her husband where there.  They tied a white sash around my waist and we prayed with incense and a flower.  THen I sit on a mat with my back against the wall and she has one leg and her husband has the other.  She asks me if I'm ready to accept her energy.   I say yes and she touches my foot.  All of a sudden there are electric currents in my foot!  She rubs her hand up and down my leg and I can feel electricity moving through.  I kept looking for the "box" or whatever it was that she was getting this from…but it was no where.  She then passed the current onto her husband who massaged my other leg.  They said that I have good energy - which is good to know.  After the legs were the arms - everything was going well until the power went out.  All three of us froze.  Terrified.  I'm sure all of us were thinking the same thing…An evil spirit has entered the room.  Then the lights came back on - but our hearts had already skipped a beat.  They finished the arms and then went onto the back and neck.  The whole thing was awesome.  

Advice from Made (our gumby yoga master) - We must rest everything.  We sleep to rest our bodies, we meditate to rest our minds and we fast to rest our organs.

Cranioscral - Paula stands in front of me and looks me over.  She asked if I had anything bothering me.  I said I carry a lot of stress in my shoulders and neck.  Then I lay on my stomach on her bed and she feels around.  She tells me there is a restriction of the life force to my shoulder.  She did some poking and proving and then told me to roll onto my back.  Some more poking and stretching my limbs.  She called it the recovery position and told me to stay there as long as possible.  Turns out I was there for almost an hour.  Not sleeping but just in a very relaxed place.   The next day I felt amazing.  I had another appointment with her the last day and I felt like everything was as it should be.  It was the first time that I didn't have should/upper back pain.  

Naps - Lots and lots of naps.  By the pool, in my room, on the comfy couches around the resort.  I love naps.

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury -  Its the second time I've read this, but love it and found a couple of great quotes.

"It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away."

"Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds.  See the world.  Its more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.  Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal.  And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day everyday, sleeping its life away.  To hell with that shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass."

FOOD - Finally on my last day I was able to eat.  I had a fruit bowl for breakfast.  Wow the taste of solid food - it made my mouth water for hours.  Lunch was tomato basil soup and spring rolls (not the fried kind).  The soup was delicious, it was a cold soup and very frothy like it had been whipped with a whisk.  The spring rolls were also good - avocado, carrot, cucumber, onion and pineapple.  Dinner was vegetable soup and raw lasagna.  It had jicama, tomato, zucchini and eggplant with pesto, avocado spread and marinara in-between.  Very different as there was no pasta and it was not cooked - but was fantastic.  

Overall a very pleasant experience in Bali - and incredible inexpensive.  It worked out to be about $230 USD a day, which was all inclusive of food (well juice), accommodation, 10 spa treatments, 6 clinics, 6 yoga classes, 6 meditation classes and time by the pool!  I would highly recommend for anyone who wants a relaxing week of detoxing.