Bali Time- bringing in a little self-care therapy...inhale exhale.
As a parent I think its extremely important to take some time out at least once a year by yourself to recharge your batteries.
Being a mother of three highly-active children, working, running around to different sporting activities, as well as fitting in your own exercise and running a household becomes extremely draining on the body and mind.
I love my family but you know its time for a break when you feel like you're on a hamster wheel and its not slowing down anytime soon.
So I decided to book a little recharge getaway to Bali for 10 days to practice yoga, surf, eat clean, read and re connect to the breath.
I spent my first three days up in Ubud as I find its always the perfect place to just stop, relax and breathe.
I have been practising yoga for a while now and Ubud offers some great yoga studios to practice. One of my favourites is Radiantly Alive just tucked down one of the side streets off Jalan Hanoman. The studio has a wonderful feel to it and offers a variety of yoga for all levels and abilities.
I’d start my day with early morning yoga practice followed by breakfast of fresh local fruits, banana pancakes made by the local family at the little boutique home stay I stayed in.
My simple routine was to have a swim before I set off to explore Ubud for the day then enjoy an afternoon massage at Ubud Bodyworks. Ubud has some fantastic healthy cafes in some beautiful surrounds the food is always fresh and so many options of local cuisine, vegetarian and raw foods. My pick of places to eat in Ubud is KAFE the food is amazingly good.
On day two, I decided to hike the Campuhan Ridge trail. I went fairly early because of the heat and humidity. The hike is around a 9km hill track passing over the Valley of the Sungai Wos River surrounded by lush grasses and forrest.
There are a few little cafes along the ridge that offer fresh drinks and food as well as local art studios.
Ubud offers so many things to do close by and my favourite places to visit is the Holy springs of Pura Tirta Empul temple. The Hindu Balinese water temple famous for its holy spring water where Balinese Hindus go for ritual purification.
If you do go to the Temple be sure to dress appropriately with a sarong but they do have the option to hire one if you don’t have one on hand.
After three days of chill time in Ubud I went down to stay in Canggu. I love Canggu it offers great options for food, really fun surf and my favourite yoga studio Samadi. I have been practicing Ashtanga yoga at Samadi for around 4 years now with two beautiful teachers Damien and Andrea.
This studio is a beautiful little community in itself offering an amazing cafe of raw foods and accommodation. On Sundays the fresh local produce market and if you get the chance to go you must try the Jamu. Jamu is a traditional Indonesian herbal drink made up of turmeric, ginger, tamarind, lemon or lime juice and raw honey. It has so many health benefits and tastes amazing too. I have this daily whenever I am in Bali.
While I was in Canggu I was lucky enough to catch up and have a few surfs with a dear friend of mine Mark who is now based in Bali with his wife as they both travel and teach Ashtanga yoga around the world. I was really lucky we had fun surf everyday and not to be time restricted for a surf was really nice.
Canggu offers quite a few options for surfing from cruisey longboard waves to fun peaky waves at Echo beach. Most of my days were based on my doing yoga practice, surfing, reading, relaxing and eating really good food.
My favourite places to eat in Canggu would have to be Shady Shack, Betelnut Cafe and Oma Jamu Vegan offering Nasi Campur (multiple small dishes) normally consisting of rice with numerous vegetarian dishes which are affordable and so yummy. The daily struggle was which one to eat at.
After 10 days of yoga, surfing, swimming, daily reading and a few massages thrown in I was well and truly recharged and ready to go home and see my family.
Drinking plenty of water (bottled in Bali due to the water quality and I highly recommend bringing your own re useable bottle with you) having freshly cut coconuts on hand in the hot humid weather in Bali is always a bonus to keeping yourself hydrated.
Using a good zinc and suncream in the sun to keep your skin protected especially when you’re out surfing for an extended length of time.
My skin saviour in Bali was definitely using the Cleansing serum to removing all the zinc from surfing, the Multi Vitamin Enriched Whip and Vitamin C serum daily keeping my skin hydrated and nourished especially from sweating so much through yoga practice, spending hours out in the water and sun.
Taking the Greens Wheatgrass capsules first thing in the morning to make sure I was getting in my minerals supporting and maintaining my energy levels even though I was on a holiday and relaxing, I was still doing plenty of exercise daily.
I am blessed to be a part of the Mayella family and a have the chance to travel, Iive an active healthy lifestyle and share my experiences. Sarah xxx
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