BALI, INDONESIA

YOGA + CULTURE + SELF-CARE

We’re returning to one of our favorite locales for our annual retreat in Bali. This year we’ll be premiering a new itinerary – a fully balanced week of daily yoga and meditation, along with times for self-care (spa treatments spread throughout the week) and cultural experiences which connect us to the elements: EARTH: enjoy a tour of a gourmet organic garden during a private cooking class with a head chef; WATER: we’ll take a ride in a traditional jukung boat along the eastern coast to a secluded beach with luxury lunch; FIRE: partake in a traditional fire ceremony led by a Balinese priest before a delicious tasting meal; AIR: breathe deep in the misty morning air as we take a guided walk through the picturesque rice paddy fields; ETHER: end the week with a special spa ritual dedicated to the full relaxation of our minds and bodies, as well as a traditional Balinese ‘melekut’ blessing. Read more below for all of the activities included.

GIVE BACK RETREAT

This retreat is part of our GIVE BACK initiative, where EPM will donate at least 10% of profits to a humanitarian partner in the community where each retreat is held. Our partner in India is THREADS OF LIFE  a “fair trade business that works with culture and conservation to alleviate poverty in rural Indonesia.”

HOTEL

Our time in Bali will be split between two locations so guests can experience the best of what this lovely land has to offer! We will start at a seaside town away from the hustle and bustle and really settle in to this week by the ocean! We’ll spend half of the week in beach accommodations, a relaxing way to ease into our holiday. We will be taken care of by an award-winning boutique hotel family that will host us at both locations in Bali. The first is sumptuous, yet unassuming – an ocean-front retreat that lies in the shade of Mount Agung, held up as sacred by Balians, surrounded by opulent coconut groves. Mid-way through the week, we’ll head into Bali’s most famous town of Ubud. We’ll be hosted in luxury accommodations – a tranquil and secluded hillside retreat that sits high up on the edge of the rich green Ayung River valley in Bali’s central foothills, in the traditional Balinese hill village of Payangan. Both hotels offer award-winning design accommodations and even one of the world’s “Top 50 Pools in the World.”.

CUISINE

Healthful, vegetarian food is part of the retreat experience, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, either hosted at our hotel or out and about in town. Some even come served on a banana leaf! The cuisine is simple, delicious and Balinesian, using fresh ingredients from local markets. We will take our tastebuds further by exploring Indonesian cuisine in a cooking class – we’ll be accompanied by our chef to a gourmet organic garden with views to Mount Agung and the fields of rice paddies, where we’ll pick fresh ingredients and have a master cooking class to learn a bit of how to bring the flavors of Bali back home with us!

SURROUNDING AREA

Guests will not only enjoy the grounds of the villa, the outdoor areas, including a lovely pool, patio and lounges, but the retreat also includes some amazing day-trips to the surrounding sites. Various guided days in and around the East Bali and Ubud areas will lead guests through an introduction to this amazing country. We’ll participate in a Balinese healing and fire ritual, learn Balinese cooking during our cuisine lesson at an organic garden, explore the coast on a boat ride to a secluded beach, and enjoy a guided walk through the ride paddies. There will be time in nature and on the beaches, and we’ll split our times between the sea and rainforest to really immerse in the unique differences of each location.

YOGA

Daily meditation and yoga classes will be offered in a way to relax, stimulate, and help guests grow in their own personal practice. Classes are open to all levels, beginner to practiced, and can range from gentle and restorative to more vigorous vinyasa flow and ashtanga styles.* Style and class levels will be determined and moulded to fit participating students’ needs, and with a small intimate retreat class size, students will be able to get personalized attention and comfortability to deeply explore their practice. Depending on each retreat location, classes will be held in a dedicated indoor yoga space, and some also offer outdoor options for us to use if the weather is agreeable.

In this new itinerary in addition to a daily yoga class, we will also enjoy another activity in the line of mindfulness – either a second ‘asana’ (movement based) yoga class, a meditation class (or meditation walk), or a special Balinese ceremony or blessing. Each day will offer guests a way to enhance their physical health and bodies, but also a stimulating way to enrich also their mental and spiritual health as well.

* Participation in classes and activities is optional throughout the retreat. All levels welcome!