Returning to the Sacred
- rayoflightyoga000
- Jun 27
- 3 min read
Slowness. Stillness. Ceremony. These are not luxuries—they are medicines.
When we arrived at our retreat space in North Bali, we were welcomed not just with warm smiles, but with a traditional Balinese ceremony known as Tri Sandhyā and Pañca Sembah. It was a devotional ritual of prayer, stillness, and offering done both with and without flowers in our hands. The Balinese way of prayer is deeply sensory. We feel the flowers in our hands, the incense in the air and the cool sprinkle of water on our skin, tasted the sweetness of blessed inflused with honeysuckle. It was as if the whole body was invited into presence, into communion with her.
At the close of the ceremony, grains of uncooked rice were pressed into our brow and throat centers, like the sacred kumkum used in India. A quiet act, and yet, it shifted something—like placing a seal on the moment. A reminder to speak from truth. To think from clarity. To live with reverence.
A Slower Way of Being
The retreat is held in the lush quiet of North Bali, where the sacred is not something you chase, it’s something you remember. Here, life moves with intention. The people I meet shine with a kind of simple joy, a purity in the way they offer themselves to each moment. They remind me of what’s possible when life is lived as prayer.
What I love about teaching on retreat is the spaciousness. We’re not rushing from one thing to the next. There is time to feel. Time to listen inward. This morning, I guided a sacred practice where we each created a personal altar using a single flower from the garden. We lit candles to invoke fire and light, and we moved through the subtle practice of bandhas not with effort, but with tenderness. We explored how to empty, and then contain, our life force. Each breath became an offering into the holy fire of awareness. This wasn’t just a class it was a culmination of the past five days of quiet preparation.
The Nourishment of Retreat
Retreat offers something few places do: a sacred pause. A place to lay it all down, the emotional weight we didn’t even realise we were carrying. The over-stimulation. The unconscious tension. Here, we exhale. We soften. We remember ourselves again. A recieved a note from a guest, thank you for reminding me to return home. The beauty of ritual is that it doesn’t need to stay here in Bali. You can bring it home.
3 Simple Ways to Connect with Nature and Devotion at Home
Create a home altar. Choose a small shelf or table and let it become a living space of beauty. Place items from nature, stones, leaves, feathers, or a flower. Let it be a reflection of what nourishes you. Tend to it with care.
Light a candle and say a prayer. Begin or end your day by lighting a single flame. You might whisper the words: “May all beings everywhere be happy and free.” Let it be simple. Let it be real.
Return to it daily. Keep your altar clean and beautiful. Let it be a reminder that even in your busy life, the sacred is always near—waiting for you to notice.
Over the past eleven years I've been leading retreats here at Gaia Oasis in North Bali I am deeply humbled from what I've learned from my time here. It has offered me so much: peace, practice, and presence. The land here holds tradition, the people live with heart, and I feel blessed to be a guest here. I’d love to share this place with you.
Join me and my dear friends this November for a retreat rooted in devotion, beauty, and deep rest. It would be an honor to sit in circle with you.
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