Combining mindfulness practices in a deeply spiritual place works well.

Seminyak is the ideal spot to begin our retreat so we could indulge in the famous (and fabulous) Bali sunsets. And yes, we saw a couple of amazing sunsets.

We stayed in Seminyak for two nights and our mornings began with a private outdoor yoga session. There was an extra element of relaxation doing it in the beautiful gardens of the hotel.

By a unanimous vote, we held our workshops outdoors too. It’s be criminal to be stuck inside in Bali.

One of the group had a birthday while we were in Bali and we celebrated the occasion at Indonesian high tea at Biku in Petitenget.

Mindfulness requires you to be present, in the moment, so we certainly were when on a bike tour with Bali Fat Bike Cycling. We got out of our comfort zone riding through the local villages, learning about local village life.

On our way to Ubud, Jay took us to his home, where we learned how traditional families live. We checked in to Alaya Resort just in time for our daily complementary afternoon tea.

Because Ubud is central to so many things to do, see and experience, we took advantage of this and headed out each day after our workshop. One morning we got up early and did the Campuhan Ridge Walk before breakfast. It’s a fabulous walk. On the way back we were lucky enough to see the funeral pyre (ngaben) for a member of the royal family

Of course we did the ever popular and very instagrammable swing + pod + boat + nest, because we could. But it also required us to be fully present, to step out of our normal.

Stopping quietly and just being, while at Pura Gunung Kawi Sebatu was the quiet our busy minds needed to relax. Few people around made the experience better.

We all agree that our sidecar tour with Happy Hearts Tour was a standout, not least because you are seeing things from a different perspective, which is a part of mindfulness, but also because this tour is owned and operated by and for people with a disability. It ticks all the boxes. And we finished the day in style at Jungle Fish, sipping cocktails and swimming.