Bali 2025: 12 days between the Indian Ocean, the Sacred Jungle and the Gili Islands
In November 2025, BeYoga took a group to Bali: Uluwatu, Ubud and the Gili Islands, with practices at the island’s best studios, Balinese ceremonies and moments no one saw coming.
There are journeys you take to rest. There are journeys you take to get to know a place. And there are journeys you take to discover yourself — to shake off what’s superfluous and see what really matters.
In November 2025, we left Lisbon bound for Bali. It was the third edition of the BeYoga Experience — after Morocco in 2023 and India in 2024, the Island of the Gods was the next chapter. Twelve days, three destinations, a group that barely knew each other at the start and returned as a community.
The BeYoga Experience isn’t a retreat in the classic sense of the word. We didn’t shut ourselves away meditating in silence for a week. It was a journey of total immersion: yoga with world-renowned local teachers in three completely different settings, Balinese ceremonies, sound healing at the Pyramids of Chi, the Sacred Monkey Forest of Ubud, the Tirta Empul temple, a car-free island and sunsets over the Indian Ocean.
The journey was led by tour guide Luís Sanchez, who guided us through landscapes, local traditions, flavours and small pauses that reminded us of what really matters. This is the account.
Uluwatu: the clifftop welcome
Arriving in Bali is always a shock to the senses: the humid heat, the smell of incense, the chaotic traffic of Denpasar and, suddenly, the first palm trees announcing the south of the island. We settled in the Uluwatu area, near Balangan beach — wild, carved by limestone cliffs that plunge into the sea.
The Indian Ocean at dusk, seen from the cliffs of Uluwatu.
At the end of the first day, after restoring our energy, we took in the Kecak dance at Sanggar Tari Dan Tabuh Karang Boma — a chorus of a hundred men, fire, movement and the epic Ramayana narrative unfolding at sunset over the cliffs. A deeply immersive performance, charged with rhythm and ancestry.
Max Andrei da Costa — La Joya Bali
Our first yoga practice took place at La Joya Bali, in Balangan. Teacher Max Andrei da Costa guided us through an immersive, dynamic practice full of meaning, where we explored pranayamas, asanas and philosophical reflections. The energy was warm, welcoming and inspiring — exactly what we needed to open this journey.
The Istana: where the phones are set aside
Later, we headed to The Istana, one of the most special places in Uluwatu. A technology-free space: phones are set aside, presence gains strength, and everything we experienced there calls for silence, respect and surrender. There are no photographs of this practice. It is precisely that absence that makes it unique.
Ubud: where Bali breathes deeper
On the fourth day, we made the move from Uluwatu to the interior. When we reached Ubud, it felt like entering a different Bali: denser, greener, more spiritual. The older Bali reveals itself there: Hindu temples with moss-covered stone gates, the sound of the gamelan at dusk, markets full of colour.
The Sacred Monkey Forest, a sanctuary in the heart of Ubud.
Bex Tyrer at the Yoga Barn
At the Yoga Barn, one of Ubud’s most iconic studios, we took a Yin Yoga class guided by Bex Tyrer, a gentle and deeply aware presence who invited us to slow down and listen to what lies within. To be at the Yoga Barn is to feel that the whole world gathers in one place: people from everywhere, distinct cultures, different stories, with a single point of connection.
Tirta Empul: the moment we didn’t expect
If we had to choose a single moment from this journey — the one that stayed with everyone in a different, inner way that’s hard to explain to those who weren’t there — it would be this one.
The Tirta Empul Temple, in Tampaksiring, is one of the most important sacred places in Bali. Its holy springs have flowed for centuries, and Balinese people come here regularly to purify themselves.
The purification ceremony at Tirta Empul, dressed in white with a purple sash, in silence and presence.
Dressed in white with a purple sash, we entered the sacred pools and passed, one by one, beneath the springs. The water is cold, the current strong, and there is a precise ritual: an intention, a prayer, the head plunging under each spout. The local priest guided us with the serenity of someone who has repeated that gesture all his life.
Some people came out and stayed silent for twenty minutes. Others simply said: “I don’t know what happened in there, but something changed.” That is, perhaps, the best summary possible.
Gili Air: the island where time moves at another speed
From Ubud, we caught a ferry and sailed to the Gili Islands. No cars. No motorbikes. None of the noise that usually fills the days. On Gili Air, you get around by bicycle, on foot, or in a donkey-drawn cart along the shore.
Mount Rinjani cutting across the horizon, the view that saw off each afternoon in Gili Air.
Jane Janneke at 5:40am — Flowers & Fire
Gili Air holds one of the most memorable moments of the whole journey. We began the day at 5:40am, still in the island’s silence, to welcome the sunrise. The light rose slowly, the sea said good morning, and we headed together to our practice at Flowers & Fire Yoga Sea View.
Jane Janneke, with her gentle, firm and deeply human presence, led us to a state of true renewal. The yoga happened in the salty air, in the rhythm of the sea, in the warm earth under our feet and in the silence that envelops everything.
What remains when the journey ends
On a group journey, the experience isn’t made only of places. It’s made of people. And this group was extraordinary.
The final group photo. Morocco. India. Bali. And we’re already thinking about the next chapter.
About the BeYoga Experience
Do I need yoga experience to take part?
No. The BeYoga Experience is open to any level of practice, from beginners to experienced practitioners. The sessions with local teachers are adapted to the group. The focus of the journey is cultural immersion and wellbeing, not physical performance.
Do I need to be a BeYoga School student to take part?
No. The journey is open to everyone. The only condition is a willingness to immerse yourself in the experience and respect for the group spirit that forms along the way.
Can I do the journey on my own?
Absolutely. Many participants in previous editions travelled solo. That’s precisely what made the experience richer. Setting off alone for a group experience is often the most powerful way to open yourself to what the journey has to offer.
When is the next edition of the BeYoga Experience?
The dates of the next edition are announced through the BeYoga newsletter and social media. To secure priority for enrolment, get in touch with us first. Places are limited and tend to sell out quickly.
Are flights included in the programme?
No. Return flights Lisbon–Bali are not included. Each participant arranges their own flight. The organisers share information about the best times based on the group’s dates, so that everyone arrives and departs in a coordinated way.
Want to join the next edition?
The 2025 BeYoga Experience stayed in the memory of everyone who took part. Places for future editions are limited. Get in touch with us to secure priority information.
