OUR MANDALA YOGA BALI RETREAT

Take a short visit of our retreat

We have been home from Bali for just over a month now, and we still hear the sounds and smell the smells of that beautiful tropical island.

As we drove back to Canggu from Ubud one evening, the sweet fragrance of the Frangipani flowers mixed with burning incense from the offerings left on the roadside, and the sounds of Gamelan Orchestras ringing in the distance washed over me.

I can conjure up those sounds and smells in my mind today, sitting in my dining room in Northwest Washington - transporting myself half way across the world to a place of serene tranquility, filled with those lovely, Balinese who so graciously hosted us on our August 2013 Yoga Retreat.

Our week at the beautiful Desa Seni Resort Village was even more wonderful than I could have imagined.

Desa Seni Resort Village 

Desa Seni is a community unto itself.  We felt so welcome, so comfortable, so much at home there that we did not leave the grounds for the first four days.

The resort was built with recycled, repurposed or sustainable products from local sources.  The guest "rooms" are all individual structures - beautiful old teak wood cottages - deconstructed in Java, brought to Bali, refurbished and reconstructed amidst organic gardens and winding stone pathways to create Desa Seni.  Rather than altering or reshaping the natural land structures, they respected and worked with existing elements, placing small bridges over creeks and waterways. The setting is sublime.

One of the lovely rooms

The food was amazing.  Forty percent of Desa Seni's land is dedicated to organic farming. The vegetables growing alongside the paths from cottage to pool to yoga studio go right to their restaurant, and from there straight into our happy bellies.  Each day as you are walking to and from your room you cross paths with the smiling gardeners as they tend to and pick the spinach or carrots or herbs for the meals the chef will prepare for us.

And then of course there was the yoga!  The yoga studio is a spacious open air pavilion with flora abundant all around. The palm fronds, the flowers, the rich fresh tropical smells all created a peaceful welcoming practice space.  Our six foot round mats adorned the space gracefully.

Morning class in the open air Yoga Pavillion

Whether we were doing the morning full flow class or the gentle yin class in the afternoon as the sunlight sparkled on the foliage, the moment we entered the space we felt blessed, special. Delighted to be there, we were present and committed to our practice.

A bit of late afternoon YIN

This first retreat was so good for us, so well-received by all - of course I had to start planning our next retreat! So the time has been set aside and dates booked! If you're interested in attending our next retreat please don't hesitate to email or phone us with any questions you may have.

August 17 - 23 2014

earlybird discount until Dec. 31 2013

email  info@mandalayogamat.com or call 360-945-5536

for more information

If you would like help with ideas for self fundraising we would be happy to support you in any way we can.