e Preparation
m a yoga teacher by profession, and when
st found out that I would be attending the
Spirit Festival (BSF), I was over the moon.
d attended several yoga workshops and
eats in the past, but had never been to a
ga conference”. From what I could see
ne, there would be loads of yoga classes
seminars by instructors from all over the
ld. It was hard to conceal my excitement.
night before the trip, I spent hours
ecting the yoga outfits to carry along—it
s like preparing myself for a wedding party
ere I had to be properly dressed to show my
pect for the occasion.acred Ubud and Questions
e conference was in the cool mountains of
ud, about an hour’s drive north of the Bali
port in Indonesia. The flight from Singapore
Bali was short and sweet, just 2 hours and
minutes. Throughout the journey, I kept
nking about what it could be that attracts
many people from around the world to this
tival on a little island in the middle of the
ian Ocean? Why is it called a “spirit” festival,
d would it truly live up to its promise of
ng a “transformative” experience?reaching Ubud, I realized that it was a
y fitting venue for the BSF as there was
mething related to yoga and meditation in
ery corner of the city—be it yoga studios,
ga outfit and accessory stores, meditation
ots or organic/vegan cafes. Most of the
eets in Ubud are lined with traditional
linese temples and buildings that locals
lieve hold magical powers to protect the city
m bad luck.e Balinese architecture is traditional and
autiful, with a marked influence of Hindu
ditions. The streets that were originally
signed for ox-drawn carts are relatively
rrow, making it quite a challenge for two-
ay traffic, pedestrians and stray dogs. There
are a lot of motorbikes, aka “taxi services”,
along the roadside. Pedestrian sidewalks
are almost absent. And yet, there is this air
of peace and calmness amidst all the chaos.
Animism and ancestral worship can be seen
everywhere, so one has to be mindful while
walking to avoid stepping on someone’s Godly
My Beginning—All about
Love
The day I landed in Ubud was a hot and sunny
day with high humidity in the air. The venue
for the festival was the Bhanuswari Resort,
which was a 10-minute car ride from the town
center where I was staying with another YJSG
colleague. Once we reached the resort, all cars,
other than the festival shuttle services, could
go only as far as the parking lot. We were
told by the “taxi” drivers at the parking lot
that it was a long walk to the resort. I picked
up my courage, and for the first time in my
life, I sat behind on a scooter-taxi. Not only
did I struggle getting on to the bike, I had no
clue what to hold on to. Wrapping my arms
around a strange man’s waist seemed a bit
too intimate. But before I could conclude this
mental debate, I found that we had reached
the entrance to the festival. This l-o-n-g walk
turned out to be a 2-minute ride at 10km/hr.
That was a good lesson for a new Bali scooter
rider—don’t fall for a taxi driver’s animated
talk, and learn to bargain hard.The Bhanuswari resort is located in a valley,
surrounded by beautiful rice paddy fields with
mountains and greenery in every direction.
Just being there gave one a serene sense of
unity with nature. When I arrived at 9.30am,
the ground was already filled with people. It
felt as though I had travelled back in time to
the hippie era. There were “flower people”
everywhere—men with long hair and mala
beads in loose cotton slacks, and women with
tank tops and saree pants. I found that people
were super-friendly, and the general greeting
among strangers was warm body hugs that
lasted more than the standard three seconds.I spent the first two hours combing the
ground. There were more than ten open-air
pavilions and numerous huts/tents, as well as
a swimming pool dedicated to SUP (Stand-Up
Paddling). There were also small booths along
the pavement offering all sorts of services
from food and drinks to gong therapy, crystal
bowl sound healing, body massages, and even
“finding love” advisors. As I glanced through
the schedule, I came across a seminar called
“Single women, attract the love of your life”.
To my amazement, the session was already
fully subscribed. Apparently love was a keyI decided to first attend a yoga class by our
home-grown Singaporean yoga instructor,
Amanda Koh. Amanda teaches the Kalari yoga
flow that enables her students to explore
yoga in a free and non-linear fashion, thereby
encouraging self-love and liberation. There
were at least 60-70 people attending Amanda’s
class, many of whom were Singaporeans
who had followed Amanda to the festival. At
the end of the class, Amanda invited all the
students to move forward to the stage, and
started singing and dancing—reminding me
once again of the bygone ‘hippie era’ when
everything was a symbol of peace and love.My second class that day was an acro-yoga
session, which was held in a different pavilion
with about the same number of attendees. I
met people from all over the world, including
the US, Israel, China and Turkey. There were
relatively more men in this class. As its name
would signify, acro yoga is a form of acrobatic
yoga that requires strong partner support
and trust. For most of the poses, we were
supporting another person whose body was
somewhere mid-air. It was interesting how no
one seemed to care that they were falling on
top of strangers, equally smelly and sweaty.
Even yours truly, a Type “A” OCD (Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder) person, was oblivious
to all inhibitions. After each challenging pose,
people would be embracing and thanking each
other—it was an amazing sense of belonging
and you could literally feel the love in the air!Losing Myself to Find Myself
Through the eight-days of this festival, I
continued to attend a variety of sessions. One
morning, I attended a class taught by Laura
Burkhart. I was delighted to be in familiar
company as she had conducted a session
in Singapore just a week before at an event
hosted by YJSG. Laura’s class in the BSF was
about “demystifying arm balances”, and two
hours breezed by as she guided us through
poses such as the Vasisthasana (Side Plank),
Bakasana (Crow Pose), Parsva Bakasana (Side
Crow), Visvamitrasana and Ashtavakasana
(Eight Limbs pose).I find that yoga practice in Singapore is still
very much viewed as a form of physical
exercise rather than a lifestyle. As a yogaofferings to a stone or a gate. message on the menu of the festival. instructor in Singapore I too am guilty of theinstructor in Singapore, I too am guilty of the
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