Jasri, Bali

It’s taken more than a day or two to feel settled here but each morning my roots dig a little deeper into the tropical soil. 

After taking a two hour drive from the airport, I arrived at Shanti Agung and was surprised to see I had the whole place to myself. Not a soul was here but me and I was incredibly disoriented; I was on a fifteen hour time difference from where I was coming from, had been travelling for 24 hours, had not eaten in several hours, and was having quite a lot of trouble using my card which meant I had zero cash on me. I was thinking there would be at least one person at the retreat center that I could beg to make me food but instead I was left to spend the night calling my bank over and over while calls failed because of service. As famished as I was, the exhaustion beat out the hunger and I quickly went to sleep. 

The next morning I woke up to the owners making me breakfast. I practiced a bit, ate, then walked down the small path through palm trees and tall grass to get to the beach. I spent the next several hours exploring the shallow surf, admiring the silky, black sand as I massaged it into my skin, getting as close to the elements here as I could. 

The sun was intense but the breeze was sanctuary. 

Throughout the afternoon, folks coming to the Acro Elemental Immersion began trickling in. By 6 o’ clock or so most of us were here and we had a little opening circle to get acquainted while we waited for dinner. Everyone’s energies began to merge and as I wake up today for the second full day of the immersion, after a full first day of therapeutics and Thai massage, I can feel the group starting to sync up. 

The first day was a taste of the “Lunar Asana”; partner stretching, Thai massage, and therapeutic flying was the focus. Lots of slow, grounding movements so we could all connect with healing touch. 

It’s stunning here. The mornings and nights are sweltering but midday is unusually pleasant with a breeze that carries the ocean smells and sounds all the way up to the shala where we practice. There’s an ease about things here. Or maybe I’m just finally feeling rooted because we have begun learning and I’m getting more and more excited to have so many new things to teach and practice. 

Excerpt from my personal journal : 

“the owners here, mrs. and mr. Komang, facilitated a traditional Balinese ceremony for us before dinner last night. we all put on sarongs and met in a circle to begin chanting the Gayatri Mantra 108 times while two or three of us at a time went up to the small temple on the roof. we ascended with flowers and incense and laid them on the alter as offerings as we took a silent moment to ourselves to ask for what we needed. 

i asked to to be washed clean. cleansed of all the shit my body was still clinging to. i asked to let go and be fully here with my body, in my body.

as we completed the last chant after we had all returned, i felt raindrops dance around my shoulders. 

with gratitude,

sarah