Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Yoga YTT

There are so many things I could talk about in regards to my training in Bali. Being away from home in the middle of the jungle, allowed me to not only delve deeper into nature, but into myself and the practice of Yoga. Having previously done my 200hrs training in a city, being in Bali felt like a dream come true. I loved waking up to the sound of roosters and frogs, walking through the rice fields to make it to the shala for our morning meditations. I loved the silence, the quiet time we all got to experience being immersed in a vortex of peace and transformation. We were lucky to have had different teachers throughout the 5 weeks. From learning about somatics and mindfulness with Pam, to Thai yoga massage with Eva, the wealth of information we were receiving each day was wonderful. We went to bed each day with a little more knowledge about the body, mind, breath, senses, and ourselves. What challenged me the most was the fact that I had to unlearn everything I thought I knew, in order to assimilate and teach Yoga that would be suitable for all bodies. However, I love that Alicia and Oliver are at the forefront of an all inclusive yoga practice. I love that they want Yoga to be accessible for everyone of all ages. Having experienced injuries prior to coming to Bali, I knew in my heart that the way I had been taught and was teaching Yoga would not be sustainable in the long run so I took on the challenge with an open mind and heart. The community we had built was what kept me going. Knowing that I had the support of the teachers and students made me feel cared for and loved. We might have all been strangers at first, but by the end of it we had all become like family. I’ve already seen so many people since I left Bali 6 months ago. It’s always a beautiful thing to be connected to people that are on the same wavelength as you, that love to talk about the same things you do and share a common passion with the same enthusiasm: Yoga. Oliver and Alicia are both very grounded teachers. As yogis, we tend to be a little bit more airy sometimes but they were our anchors throughout our journey there. Oliver had a beautiful way of simplifying complex concepts. Till this day, I use the sentence “mini me vs biggie We”. Simplifying what it means to be interconnected or discussing energy can sometimes feel a bit too intense for some students (even yogis) but Oliver has a special gift of getting the message across in a simple way. I also loved his passion for permaculture and for our planet. Alicia is like an encyclopedia when it comes to anatomy and science in general. She has tremendous amounts of information stored in her and she teaches with passion and excitement each and every time. “Movement is medicine” “issues in your tissues” are also things I repeat constantly and I have to say people are always amazed when I explain these concepts to them. Eva was like our fairy godmother, bringing healing to us all through the art of touch and Thai yoga massage. At the end of our very long days, learning about Thai yoga massage was what we needed to restore our bodies. If I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat. It almost feels like it was all just a dream, but then I remember that it actually happened and it was once part of my reality. I’m forever grateful for the time spent there, and for all the new things I got to discover, examine and change.