2019 Bali Yoga Retreat

It has been a few days since I arrived back in San Diego from Bali and I am still in awe of how epic the Bali Magic Retreat was. In large part, this was because of the incredible women that came on the retreat.

When I set out to plan the retreat, my intention was to create an experience that allowed for healing, transformation, and finding balance in the mind-body-spirit. I have always said that the right people always find the retreat that they need, and this experience was no different. What we ended up with was an all women’s retreat with some of the most loving, open, and vibrant women I have ever met. It was truly MAGIC in Bali. 

The week was themed according to the Chakras system - which I have been studying since the first moment I heard of it 4 years ago (in Bali, of course!). My beautiful friend, Ava Johanna, brought her Manifesting magic into the retreat with a 3-part workshop and private coaching session for each of our guests.

Before I get into the recap of the week, I just want to say that the retreat center, Naya Ubud, was everything I dreamt of, and more! It was straight up DREAMY, every single meal was insanely delicious, and the staff was absolutely wonderful. I will definitely be going back to lead another retreat…maybe even next year!

Day 1

The retreat started off with a grounding Root Chakra yoga practice and meditation where I explained the importance of grounding - after flying in an airplane and in life in general - as well as the connection between fear and the root chakra, and how important it is to recognize your fears, where the come from, and to consciously work towards releasing them. 

Day 2

Day 2 was focused on the Sacral Chakra - our center of emotion, pleasure, sexuality, and creativity. Our morning meditation and vinyasa flow was all about tapping into the water element (the element of the sacral chakra) and allowing yourself to express your creativity and to feel pleasure without guilt in order to find the emotion of true JOY. This feeling of Joy is a guide in the direction of our highest self and through it we can discover our DHARMA - our soul’s purpose. In the middle of the day, some of the women from the retreat center led us through an offering-making class and a traditional ceremony. It was so fun learning to make the offerings and a very special, unique experience to go through the ceremony. The day ended with a fear-releasing restorative practice with Reiki, and then Ava led us through Part 1 of her Manifestation workshop.

Day 3

Next, we focused on the third chakra - Manipura, our Solar Plexus, the center of power, will, transformation, and self-worth. This is where we take those feelings of joy and the discovery of our dharma and do something about it! The morning class was twisty and sweaty to spark the inner fire. During the day we went to Tirta Empul temple for a purification ceremony, where we had the opportunity to cleanse under each of the sacred springs - who are said to have been created by the God Indra and possess curative properties. After that, we went to a coffee farm and took turns swinging on the Bali swing (EPIC) and then took a visit to Tegelalang Rice Terraces where I got my foot stuck in the mud. 🤣 Seriously though, you can see lush green rice paddies all over Bali, but these rice paddies are placed in layer, upon layer, creating a unique and breathtaking landscape.

In the evening Ava led us through a solar plexus inspired yin practice, followed by part 2 of her Manifestation workshop. Trust me, this girl has ALL THE TOOLS for manifesting the life of your dreams. 🙌

Day 4

Day 4 was all about the Heart Chakra - Anahata - our center of unconditional love, compassion, forgiveness, and relationships with ourselves and others. In the morning we had a Bhakti Flow focused on self-love - chanting and dance party included! Let me just say - this group LOVED to dance and sing and it was seriously the best thing ever. We had free time that day for people to get their spa treatments at the Naya Spa or to head into town and explore. We also discovered a couple of other great spas in town, like Sang Spa, which were visited frequently by the entire group. #retreatyourself :)

In the evening I led a Ho’ponopono restorative practice with Reiki. Ho’ponopono is a very powerful forgiveness meditation that can be used whenever you are struggling with forgiving someone else or even yourself. Forgiveness can be SO hard, but if we choose resentment the heart hardens, we become better and angry, and ultimately, we are held back from reaching our soul’s highest evolvement. So, it is ESSENTIAL to find ways to forgive, and Ho’ponopono is one of them. If you’d like to practice Ho’ponopono with me online, click HERE.

Ava ended the day with the last part of her manifestation workshop, and it’s safe to say that we are all ready to get what we want out of life. Ava, you are the QUEEN. xxx

Day 5

Day 5 was intense in the most amazing way possible. We got picked up at 2am to do a sunrise hike up Mount Batur (that means we woke up at 1:30am). Mount Batur is an active volcano located at the center of two concentric calderas.- It was raining as we hiked up 2,500 feet in the pitch black to get to the top before sunrise. Every single person in our group was a badass and had a great time through It all. We got to the top as the sun came out and we got to hang out with some monkeys! There is nothing more empowering than seeing what your body is truly capable of.

I called this day Entering The Ethers since we were now shifting into the upper, ethereal, spiritual chakras and this hike literally took us up into the clouds. After hanging out at the top of the volcano for a bit and taking in the scenery, we trekked back down, stopping at another coffee farm on the way home.

We had time to relax and spend more time by the pool or at the spa in the afternoon, then in the evening we did a Throat Chakra yin practice with Yoga Nidra - a yogic “sleep” meditation. The throat chakra is our center of communication, where we can speak our authentic truth with confidence, courage, and clarity.

Day 6

On day 6, we shifted into the last two chakras - the Third Eye - our center of intuition, guidance from our higher self, and inner sight - and the Crown - our center of spiritual connection with the divine and the inner knowing that we are all connected, we are all one, and in fact - we are divine beings capable of anything and everything we can possibly dream of.

We began the morning with a vinyasa practice that took us upside down quite a bit - allowing energy to flow towards the upper two chakras. Then, we went and volunteered with BAWA - the Bali Animal Welfare Association - where we met the sweetest dogs that we got to walk and take photos of to hopefully help them to find their forever homes. It was heartbreaking to see these sweet animals without homes but also heartwarming to see how much this incredible organization has done for them.

Thank you so much to Deb for helping us to arrange this. I know many of us are now inspired to come back home and do more. Remember, we are all ONE. Not just humans - but animals, insects, plants, water, etc. Everything is connected. 💓

We ended the evening with a Kirtan circle led by local musician named Vasu Dev. We sat in a candle lit circle chanting mantras all together and it was absolutely magical.

A little bit more about BAWA:

BAWA works to save, protect and improve the lives of all animals in Bali and beyond. They directly relieve the suffering of animals by providing emergency response and rescue, food and medication, rehabilitation and adoption. BAWA practices humane population control, disease control and runs intensive education and advocacy programs for sustainable improvement to animal welfare now and into the future. BAWA will respond to alerts of any animal in distress – from snakes to dolphins. A key focus is Bali’s Heritage Dog – the island’s genetically unique street dog that is under threat. They are funded entirely by donations and relies heavily on a staff of dedicated volunteers.

In addition to volunteering with BAWA, a portion of each retreat package was donated to spay or neuter a dog or cat OR to save a puppy or kitten. I also ran a Facebook fundraiser and in all, we were able to donate $555. If you’d like to donate to this incredible cause, please click HERE.

Day 7

Our last full day was all about tying it all together! In the morning I led my 3 hour chakras workshop with chakras balancing master class. In this workshop, I broke down each of the chakras and we practiced an activity to help us to connect to it. The 75-minute master class took us from the root up towards the crown, practicing postures, mudras, breathwork, and chanting to help bring each into balance.

We had the middle of the day free and pretty much everyone went into town to shop and explore. Then, in the evening, we began with a little cacao ceremony where we shared one thing that we wanted to manifest right now with the group. Then, I led a Manifesting Through The Chakras Yin Practice.

Click HERE to read my steps for using the Manifesting Current of the chakras system to manifest anything your heart desires!

Day 8

The last morning we focused on just BEING. While it is essential to take radical responsibility for your life and to take action towards living out your dharma - it is also essential to be present and to find gratitude every single day for all that you have had, do have, and will have. It is essential to love yourself and to just allow yourself to BE right here, right now. You’ll notice that when you focus on this, your vibration actually raises, and you don’t have to try quite as hard to make everything happen that you want to. It just flows naturally into your life, as it should. Magical, right?

I have known for awhile that I want to shift my focus towards specifically empowering other women and I have come home with more clarity that ever that this is my Dharma. I want to thank all of the women that came on this retreat for teaching me while I was teaching them. Thank you, thank you, thank you. My heart is bursting with love and gratitude. 

Thank you to our sponsors Athletix CBD, Coola, Art of Tea, Genuine Health, Valiant Daughters, and Four Sigmatic for all of your support and for making this retreat even more magical with high-vibe goodie bags that every girl dreams of!

Click below to join me on my next retreat to Peru September 1st-10th where we will spend 5 magical days in the Sacred Valley followed by 3 days of trekking through the mountains and rainforest to Machu Picchu!

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu - May all beings be happy and free. 

With Love & Light,

Kelly