YOGA TEACHER TRAINING (YTT): MY EXPERIENCE WITH YOGA UNION IN UBUD, BALI
Are you considering doing your yoga teacher training (YTT) in Bali and not sure which school to pick and what to expect? I’ve summarized and shared my experience of doing my YTT with yoga union In Ubud, Bali and put all the most important info together so that you can get a better picture about the school, schedule, place, food, accommodation and some more tips before planning, booking and doing your YTT.
Let me say already that you can look forward to a unique experience with beautiful likeminded people which will potentially change your life and for sure stay with you forever. I’m so happy for you for taking this step for yourself and your yoga practice.
Lots of love,
Magda
the school
The school Yoga Union offers their YTT in Greece, India and Bali. The school has been founded by Ourania and her husband Spyros and if you’re doing you’re YTT with them you most likely will meet either one of them or both during your training. The school is really well organized and at the same time feels like a family. The teachers have been practicing yoga either since many years or even studied yoga in their Bachelor and Master in India (did you know you can do that? I defiantly didn’t!) such as the popular and talented teacher Himanshu. Thus, you are really in the best hands as the respective teachers are really masters in their fields. You can find more details about their offers and upcoming courses on their website here.
The schedule
Every day starts with a joint pranayama session at 07:00. Afterwards you can enjoy some tea and get ready for a vinyasa class. Each day a different flow is taught and often the poses from the morning will be discussed in more detail in a later class. After the morning yoga it is time to nourish the hungry yogis with delicious breakfast (more to the food in the dedicated section below). Then the popular alignment class is taking place, for us Himanshu was leading this session in which all of the major yoga poses are analyzed in detail so that you understand how to do them properly as well as how to adjust students and go deeper in them. Afterwards there was a joint lunch break in which we also often went for a walk, rest to the room or the pool or if you’re super motivated to practice a bit in the yoga shala. But we had to grab one coconut for sure (the best place for the biggest chilled coconuts is the beluna cowering in my opinion, I even introduced the coconut pass to not pay every single day)! The afternoon classes were iterating between alignment and philosophy classes followed by a special workshop or yoga class e.g. cacao ceremony, yoga nidra, headstand workshop, inversions, hip openers and yin class. The last point on the official schedule is the joint dinner.
the place
One of the first reasons why the YTT at yoga union attracted me was their location in the rice fields of Ubud. I didn’t want to be „distracted“ by the beach or a big city and focusing in my yoga practice in the heart of Bali, the spiritual center felt natural to me. What I particularly really enjoyed was that you are really far away from the hustle of Ubud while you still have the opportunity to walk by food to the town for grabbing for example a coffee or enjoying food on Sunday. Still it’s your choice and the first week we didn’t leave the rice fields at all. I remember when we finally did, we were all actually a bit overwhelmed from being around cars etc. again. Living in the rice fields with only motorbikes being able to make it all the way up to the yoga union center is really unique and thus you can enjoy the tranquility and amazing atmosphere of this special place really fully without any distractions.
the food
As I’m a (vegan) foodie the food option at the YTT was also quite important for my choice. I’ve read and heard good things about the food at yoga union, but my expectations were more than met! You will enjoy food 3 times a day each day of the week (except Sunday) and you can choose between vegetarian and vegan options. If you have any allergies e.g. gluten you can let yoga union know beforehand and they will adapt the menu for you as well. Here are some of my fav dishes from the YTT (this reminds me I should try to make recipes as a reminder of this beautiful time!): Breakfast: scramble tofu with local veggies, homemade granola, oatmeal, homemade peanut butter, soy protein milk, pancakes, coconut yoghurt, fresh tropical fruits, veggies, coffee, tea Lunch: eggplant tempeh sandwich, eggplant dip, avocado & tomato salad, vietnamese glassnoodle salad, laksa tofu, tomato soup, sticky rice with grated coconut, fresh fruits Dinner: jackfruit curry, typical nasi goreng, sate, bam goreng, samba, rice in all variations, veggie curry, pad thai, ice cream, banana bread, fresh fruits
the accommodation
When registering for the YTT you have the choice to either select a double room which you will share with a fellow YTT student or a single room (the price difference is around 200-300€). I chose to get my own room as I wanted to have my privacy after spending the whole day with the other yogis. All the yoga union partner accommodations are located within walking distance to the yoga shala (max. 10’) and the walk itself is actually really beautiful through the lush rice fields. All of the accommodations were equipped with a privat bathroom, some had AC and some a pool as well. I was really lucky to stay at the beautiful Ajung’s guesthouse which offered place for 6 yogis in total and located directly next to the yoga shala with a great view over the rice fields. My room had a beautiful balcony and windows on three sides so I was able to enjoy the stunning scenery fully. I would really recommend this accommodation and funny enough one of my friends to whom I’ve recommended the YTT stayed in the exact same room when he did his YTT now, what a funny and lucky coincidence right?
Some last tips
Try to not pack too much. You will basically just wear your yoga outfits all day long and don’t need much more for the YTT. Still also make sure to bring some „warmer“ clothes as especially during the pranayama sessions in the morning it can still be a bit chilly. Also don’t go crazy with the yoga outfits, it’s Ubud and not a fashion show. If you want to buy a local yoga outfit as a „souvenir“ I would recommend the small shop of yoga shanti, where almost everybody of our class got a matching set - the quality is really good and I’ve been wearing my set so much since!
Plan enough time for arriving and after the YTT. You will meet amazing people who will become lifelong friends and with whom you want to spend a bit more time after the YTT. Plans will evolve during the YTT so just stay open and flexibel and if you can don’t leave Bali straight after the YTT.
Try to be fully present during the YTT and if you can leave your phone/ laptop at the accommodation as much as possible. I turned off my phone for the first week completely to be fully there but then used it again in the second week as communication and organization was simply happening via WhatsApp (scheduling a massage, organizing a driver for trips etc.) - still try to use this special time for yourself without being to much distracted with what might happen home.
Spend your Sundays exploring Ubud. There are so many things to discover in and around Ubud and you got more than enough time on the Sundays (you can use the long lunch breaks etc. to study so you don’t have to spend a whole day studying, trust me) to explore e.g. the stunning waterfalls surrounding Ubud (check out my favorite spots in my dedicated blog post here), the beautiful pool places (I’ve summarized my favorite one’s in my blog post here) and the amazing (vegan) coffee & food scene (check out my guide for the food here and for speciality coffee/ working/ studying here).
Any other questions? Don’t hesitate to drop a comment or write me a message.
I am more than happy to help you with anything that is still on your mind after reading my complete guide for the yoga teacher training.
