Day 6, January 20th, 2020
Today we were joined in the morning by Abbie and Rowan, our new friends from Bristol. Also joining in was Ishita who I had met at the airport. Joyce was the remaining yoga retreat student and it was nice to have additional students, making it a full and fun class. Although Rosa, Lorenzo and Augusto are irreplaceable. Miss you guys 💗.
After our morning yoga session Rowan, Abbie and I headed to Legian Beach for my first ever surfing lesson. I have a healthy fear of the ocean. It’s a big ocean out there and there’s all kinds of creatures in it. I am slowly getting more and more comfortable in the water. If it weren’t for Rowan’s ravings about the surf school UP2YOU surfing, I might never have tried it before!
Once I donned on that wetsuit (shirt only) and got my board, I was feeling psyched. And we were a small group – our instructor and KT from Canada.
I got the hang of it towards the end of our 2 hour session and was getting into it. Getting onto the board every time was a lot of hardwork! But I was addicted! Will definitely try surfing again ☺️.
After hanging out at Legian Beach for a bit, we had lunch at the Amadea Resort next to our villa in Seminyak, and I took a few laps in the pool.
And it was soon time for yoga class number 9. But this one was special. We were all going on a field trip to Niti Mandala Park in Denpasar where about 70 students gather for a community yoga session. I wanted my student Joyce to experience the local yoga scene and she was totally game! And Rowen joined us as Abbie rested up in the villa.
Doing yoga with the backdrop of the Bajra Sandhi Monument was an awesome experience for my students and I. And so was the yoga in Balinese. We would not understand but were able to decipher the poses pretty easily. Doing yoga in this fabulous park as the sun set was truly incredible. And some friendly locals stopped in to say hello at the end of class.
This was my last night in Bali. We went back to Char Char and had a fabulous dinner there. The surfing had wiped me out, so I lay down for a bit and after some work, eventually went to bed.
Day 7, January 21st, 2020
Today was our last day in Bali. It was our last yoga class – class number 10 and this time I taught a Yin Yang class.
Yin Yang – Our Last Class
After a few swims in the pool I went for a little souvenir shopping. And once done with that I was ready to go to the airport. Joyce and I had our flights a the same time at 16:30, so we were picked up by Dewa, our driver at 13:00. Joyce returned home to the San Francisco Bay Area and I caught my flight to New Zealand.😊
Bali exceeded my expectations in all ways possible ways. I will be returning for sure. In the meantime follow me to Buenos Aires where I will be having my second Urban Yoga Retreat. Email me at nabeel@travelswithnabeel.com for more info.
Until next time …
Nabeel Atique
January 22nd, 2020
Auckland, New Zeland