Bali Surf Locations
One of the reasons Shades Of Yoga has chosen a beautiful location like Bali to host our yoga teacher training courses is that we can offer our students the benefits that come with being in such an idyllic place. After the intensity of a week focusing in the classroom and on physical asana practice, there’s nothing more pleasurable than a day lounging on a beautiful beach or riding a few waves in some of the world’s hottest surf locations.
An aspect of being a good yoga practitioner and teacher, and something that’s always encouraged on our courses, is having a good cross-training activity that helps build muscle strength and support around the ligaments, tendons and joints that are continuously being lengthened and toned during yoga asana. It is also vitally important to keep the mind fresh and invigorated by mixing up our daily activities, ensuring we don’t fall into a rut in which we do the same thing day in and day out.
My personal favorite, and a passion of mine for many years, is the sport of surfing. Surfing is excellent for building both aerobic and anaerobic abilities within the body as well as being a very effective form of meditation and a wonderful exercise of “being in the moment”. Yoga and surfing compliment each other incredibly well, both physically and mentally, and both of my individual practices have come on leaps and bounds since I started including them regularly in my weekly routine.
The Indonesia Archipelago is considered, by many surfers across the globe, to be the world’s best surf destination and Bali being the tourism epicenter of Indonesia, is a great place to travel to ‘score’ some good waves. Ubud, the epicenter of the new global phenomenon known as ‘spiritual tourism’ and the Indonesian home of Shades Of Yoga, is situated only 60-minutes from the world famous surfing real estate known as The Bukit Peninsula, and is easily accessible for a day trip if you want to get out of town for a few hours.
Dotted along this peninsula are roughly 10-20 really good surf breaks, include the world famous Uluwatu, Padang-Padang and Balangan. There are also some great spots for beginner surfers such as Kuta Beach and Seminyak where you can rent a board for the day and have a bash at riding some waves. The water is warm and clear, the beaches and reefs are spectacularly beautiful, and there is no shortage of restaurants to satisfy a post surf hunger or thirst. All-in-all, a perfect day trip to leave you feeling fit, invigorated and mentally ready to tackle your Shades Of Yoga RYT 200 hour course the following Monday.
