How My Bali Yoga Teacher Training Actually Changed Me (A 31-Day Reflection)
I arrived in Portugal last week, but I am still living this whole Bali life in my body, mind, and soul, and I thought it could be a great story to share.
The reality is that this journey started way before I went. I had been saying for too long that I wanted to travel, do a proper holiday, but the reality is that the years had been going by, and I had always been postponing this dream. Last year, 2025, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer, so I decided to book the trip. Initially, I wanted to go for a bigger period, but I knew it would be hard asking for those days off at work, and also my sister was pregnant and was about to have the baby at the end of the year, so one month would be the time I could afford, and that or nothing was already amazing.
I didn’t want to go only on a “holiday”, one month doing nothing would be probably too long, especially for someone who never takes holidays, and I wanted for a while to do a yoga teacher training, not because I used to do yoga - actually I could count in my hands the times that I actually did a yoga class before - but as a fitness coach, I knew it could be good for my curriculum. And I was curious about what all the fuss was about, and when I am feeling like that, I think the best is to do a proper training so I can really learn and understand. You can call me crazy, I might be just very obsessed. I did the same with pilates…
Anyway, this thought about doing a yoga course wasn’t new; I have been talking about it with some people. A year ago, I met a girl at my pilates class at the Kynd Space, in Lisbon, who was a yoga teacher training in Bali, and also knowing some other teachers who go to Bali often for yoga trainings and retreats, I thought that might be a good match. Also, for all that I searched about Bali, especially the fitness and food scenario, was really calling me.
I knew I wanted to be next to the beach, and I also knew the most spiritual place in Bali for Yoga is actually Ubud. But I was feeling more the desire to be at the coast, so I started searching for schools around Uluwatu, because there I could also surf. I found some of them, and around that time, I just saw a girl I follow on Instagram sharing some insights about her yoga teacher training in Uluwatu, and I texted her, asking how it was. She said good things about it, and that made up my mind. I booked it at Ulu Yoga School for January, so I could still meet my niece before going.
I first stayed 3 days in Dubai, which was a very nice surprise, with a lot to be said about it, but I am not going into that now. But I was very happy for being smart enough to decide not to do two big flights in a row.
Then I flew to Bali, I arrived at my place, and was crazy - in a good way. The place was magical, the bungalow where I stayed was very simple, yet very complete: a simple room with a bed and a corner with a sofa to study and rest, and a bathroom, then an amazing shared garden with a pool and a community kitchen. This place had only 3 bungalows in total.
Bali from the beginning looked very chaotic, 1h to do 20km by car on small roads completely congested with motor bikes, trucks, and cars. Still fireworks all the time at night, since I arrived on the 1st of January, but those stayed pretty much all the first 15 days I was there.
I had a week for myself before starting the YTT, so I got to really enjoy the gym, food, beaches, and walks while also studying parts of the course online.
I can proudly say that I did all month just walking to places, which was great. First, a challenge, with the horns, and bikers saying “bike, bike, bike” trying to sell you a ride. But in the end, I miss it already.
Bambu Fitness, the local gym I signed up for, was a dream, and a total other conversation too, but if I died and went to heaven, I hope it is That - the dream gym of all gyms, especially for someone who trains and coaches CrossFit and Hybrid as me.
Then the course started. And I was surprised - not very, because I believe in Life and its own meaning but still good surprised- to know that The girl from my Pilates class 1 year ago, was going to be my main teacher and mentor of this program - Héloïse: this enormous power of a woman, a little fairy-mermaid, with such a potential for bringing people closer to their emotions with Yoga.
We were in a group of people who were going to do the 200H YTT. Some people were going to do the course in 10 days, 14 days, 21 days, or 28 days. The difference was that those who would spend less time in person would have to do more online hours of the course.
The course is a multi-style yoga course, which is very nice for someone who’s just starting, to understand better all the types of yoga and which ones resonate the most with them. The course is very balanced, from proper yoga classes to anatomy, theory, history, and philosophy of Yoga, passing also through complementary paths like Ayurveda, energy healing, chakras, koshas, meditation... We also had very good teachers and classes preparing us to teach. In terms of yoga styles, we dabbled more into Vinyasa and Hatha, but we had good and consistent examples of Acro, Aerial, Yin, Kundalini, Ashtanga, Nidra, … and this was just to help us start understanding what this thing of Yoga is. Each week looked like months of evolution and growth, shredding layers of emotions and feelings day by day. And at the end of each week, we had to teach a colleague a whole class of 75 minutes. It was a very good preparation to be a teacher, but for someone who already teaches, my growth was specially interior. Although I also do feel like I grew as a teacher, too!
Not only were we good at deepening our relationship with the group we were in, but also with ourselves. Every class would move you inside, ask, and hold space for you to learn more and more about yourself. There wasn’t space to hide, just to find awareness. And it was intense in that sense.
Yoga is not an exercise or a workout; it is a way to find your true self. To ground, to restore, to discover, to arrive at your present spirit, in the moment.
I lost and found myself then and there. I thought I was more assured than I really am. The program - and Yoga - honors your completeness, your oneness, but/and holds a lot of space for you to feel and find your truth. And that is something that we don’t do often in our daily lives, because there is no time and no space.
I thought I was someone who was already very close to my emotions and feelings, and in the end, I understood that no, I am not, actually. I am still purging a lot of trauma, a lot of holding in, and bottled up inside.
I thought I was happy in general, but I also find a constant feeling of numbness in my life. I know a lot of things, and at the same time I avoid going there, so as not to create more stress and anxiety, to a person already very anxious and stressed - myself.
I fell in love with Yoga and this whole process of honoring your whole being and finding that space open to you and us. The asanas are great, challeging and a different stimulus from what I train, but what really challenged me was the whole energetic, emotional, holistic healing that I understood is crucial for my own path. And made me rethink a lot of the things I thought I wanted to bring to others, as a facilitator, as a teacher, as someone who really wants to bring more value to others in their own lives.
So I am at this moment, trying to be the most raw and honest with myself - and others, because there is no other way to be - trying to pursue my dreams, my ambitions, and conquer my fears, respecting my values and what I truly believe in. This - expressing myself more online - is exactly one of them, but I am compromising with myself to keep following my truth, whatever it takes.
So this year is going to be, for sure, a year of transformation. I know nothing about Chinese Astrology, but what people are saying about the Year of the Horse, might be true…
If you're looking for a place to start your path with Yoga Teacher Training, I cannot recommend Ulu Yoga School enough. Probably one of the best decisions of my last year, if not The best.
I am full of gratitude for this place and the people who went on this journey with me. As well as Bali. Although finding the island, or most precisely Uluwatu (because that’s where I was), very exploited by expats and people from the 1st world, like me, Bali has a very intense energy.
I went during the rainy season, which I actually loved. Every time it rained, I felt the energy passing through me, and I loved walking in the rain, especially in such tropical weather, where you are always sweaty. It didn’t compromise anything that I wanted to do while I was there; if so, it let me do more and be more.
Bali brings a sweetness to your body and soul that you really cannot comprehend how. And I’m not talking about how it's so cheap that you can be living a luxury life, drinking coconut water every time, working out 3 times a day, eating out amazing plant-based foods all the time, and having spa and massages the rest of the day. But mostly because the essence is there, is still there, and you feel it. You feel it in the people, in the nature, in the animals, in the land. Unfortunately, I really don’t know how it is going to last, when I also feel that it is overcrowded, overpolluted, and overwhelmed with capitalism, businesses, and superficiality. But everything was worth it. I feel more prepared than ever to embrace my path.
If you read until the end, thank you so much. If you want to know more about this experience or what I do, feel free to connect. I will try to share more and more. Until then, have an amazing day!
