My week at BaliSpirit Festival 2018

My week at BaliSpirit Festival 2018 started when we landed at Denpasar airport on a warm afternoon. Outside, a long cue of waiting taxis frenetically offered their fares to our destination: Ubud. We bargained a ride and boarded the taxi. Bali roads are narrow and the traffic is usually murder, but we managed to get to our final destination, Ubud, in less than one hour. 

Ubud is an historical small city dotted with ancient hinduism temples and surrounded by rice field. Along the way, we noticed scores of small shops selling crafts of local manufacture: statues, wood carving, colorful blanket and more colourful items. 

 

BaliSpirit Festival grand opening kicked off at 7pm at the Yoga Barn, and after barely a few minute there, I felt so involved! All around us, artist and yogis coming from all over the world exchange words, and I immediately recognized some of my beloved teachers whom I had already meet in other festivals. 

The atmosphere was warm, everyone was relaxed and cheerful, and we felt at home and loved. The evening proceeded with a short presentation of what the week ahead would offer us. A few of the masters were introduced, and the special event continued with music and dances that involved everyone present. The rhythm was great and we all joined in the warm and friendly dancing. I was impressed by the number of kids running around, in a so peaceful, lovely and alcohol-free environment!

The following day we ready to rock! A very convenient shuttle service brought people from Ubud to the festival grounds all day long. BaliSpirit Festival 2018 was hosted at the Bali Purnati Center, a twenty minutes ride from Ubud Town. Bali Purnat is a resort with huge garden grounds surrounded by rice field and submersed in the lush Bali nature. For this famous event, the organizers decorated and furnished the entire area with bamboo roofs and colorful tents. There were at least ten different pavilions and workshop areas, all of them isolated enough from the others in order to achieve a quiet atmosphere. BaliSpirit Festival is branded eco-friendly, as the grounds provide several differentiate trash bins and access to free water.

There is free WiFi access in the whole aerea and a food court that serves a huge variety of delicious

vegetarian and vegan food. Dishes are served in banana leaves and crafty, hand made leaf spoons. There is no plastic at all and participants seems enjoy this eco-friendly way to eat!

Whith more than fifty yoga masters and thirty dance and movement artists,  BaliSpirit Festival is indeed considered one of the most impressive festivals in the world! There are so many activities that I wished to attend, and I was helped on my choices by BaliSpirit Festival application that I freely downloaded to my smartphone. There, I got all the information and I was easily able to organize my daily schedule.

 

BaliSpirit Festival lasted six days and seven nights. Workshop were divided in ten different groups: dance, daytime music, healing, kids and family, martial arts, massage, night time music, seminars and dharma talks, sound healing and breathe work, yoga and meditation. 

Not only I had a chance to practice my favourite activity, but most of all I also could get to know so many new workshop and techniques I had only heard about until then, and some that were completely unknown to me.

My daily schedule was more or less the following: yoga and meditation from 8am to 10am, dance from 10am to 12am, a short break having a delicious vegan lunch while listening to the day music (everyday a cool different group), 2pm to 4pm workshop activity and 4pm to 6pm a rocky power yoga class or a relaxing meditation class, depending on how much energy was left in my body.

At 6pm, after a full day of activities, I had a chance to shower in one of the many areas designed for rest and restore, and I was ready for the night music! But not until I had a delicious dinner at the food court. Once again, every evening I was spoiled and tried several different food, some dishes I had never tasted before, and others I knew already but cooked in a way that turns into a vegetarian even the biggest meat lover on the planet. 

BaliSpirit Festival was one of the greatest experience I could have! Spiritual feelings, awesome people and a huge amount of knowledge that you can get from so many artists in a cool natural environment! 

There is so much more to say about BaliSpirit Festival, so read on my articles about ARTISTS AT BALISPIRIT FESTIVAL and about BALISPIRIT FESTIVAL FOR KIDS.

Namaste from BaliSpirit Festival.