yoga, legong dance, and massage under a full moon

I am a bit behind on my postings, but here is the continuation of my last entry.  

After leaving Café Wayan I continued to have an amazing day in Ubud.  I wandered back to my hotel where I checked in and happily discovered that my room overlooked a sparkling pool and beautiful rice fields in the distance.  Nice view ey?  

I spent the afternoon walking up and down the streets of Ubud in search of the Yoga Barn. After turning left based on the recommendation of an almost nonexistent, faded street sign I followed the tiny street and walked into the first of many buildings in time to join the 4 pm vinyasa flow class.  The facility took my breath away and upon stepping inside the complex I felt immediately right with life- no exaggeration. The whole area, much like the rest of Bali, is surrounded by lush tropical plants.  The first building (below) was one of 12 or so on the grounds. I followed the stairs down into an area facing a 2 story outdoor pavilion.  

I paid the fee for the class ($10) and walked upstairs into the main pavilion which overlooked rice paddies and more lush foliage. There was incense burning and yoga devotees walking around in their shanti shirts and dreadlocks with their green juices in hand. I was in heaven. There was a Buddha altar at the front of the room with a fresh marigold garland, tea candles, and more incense. After the hour and a half class I walked to a vegan café where I enjoyed raw jicama and cucumber slices and vegan nut butter with a glass of kombucha. 

As if my day could have gotten any better, it did.  I walked up to a traditional Bailanese dance show and enjoyed it for about 20 minutes.  An hour and a half of yoga was great, but this dance wasn’t able to captivate my attention in the same way.  But I did enjoy the technical movements and orchestrated live music.  

I loved this guys feet.  His toes curled up when he walked.  Obviously he needed Stabilizing Orthotics.

No idea what was going on here but lots of flower petal tossing and kneeling and bowing.

The beats of the music were hard for me to follow initially, but  I eventually got to anticipate the rhythm and enjoyed it a bit more (though not much).  Like anything, it’s harder to connect with something in the beginning when it is so foreign.  Commitment prevailed.

After the show I walked back towards my hotel and before I turned in for the night I stopped off for a nightcap massage.  Though only 30 minutes, Kayman Spa impressed me with the flower footbath, followed by a 30 minute tension relief massage focused on the upper back.  The citrus oil was soothing and refreshing. The cost of this luxury treatment was $6.50, which included a chilled tropical fruit plate and fresh ginger tea at the end.  

I got back to my hotel and laid out a few of the trinkets I purchased that day.  Under the full moon the paddy water was shiny and glassy- enough to see my reflection.  The sky was bright and I reflected how grateful I was for each experience I enjoyed that day.  When I made my plans to travel by myself it was exciting because I didn’t plan anything- no agenda.  The experience of traveling brings me such great joy it is often difficult to articulate it to people.  I live to travel.  I work to travel.  The people I meet, the warmth, and connections I have with others feed that part of me that otherwise feels unattended to.  I am most alive and myself when wandering the world.