Imagine a place where yoga is practiced all day, where your particular eating regimen is honored and where the outdoors is revered. Now, add an international mix of like-minded souls, island foliage and general good vibes to the vision __ and you'll have The Yoga Barn. The indoor-outdoor compound in Ubud, Bali, has several yoga studios and at least 15 classes a day; a juice and smoothie bar; a cafe offering vegan, raw, macrobiotic, gluten-free, Balinese and even ayurvedic menu items; and an ayurvedic spa.
There are even adjacent guestrooms at The Yoga Barn, but houseguests are not the only ones who plan their Bali trips to include days spent entirely contained within the barn. A friend of mine (who visited Bali months before me) made sure to stay within walking distance of The Yoga Barn, and going there for a prolonged visit was her No. 1 recommendation. And an acquaintance recently returned to Bali for her fourth trip __ this time to really focus on yoga and spirituality. Where did she go? She made a beeline to the The Yoga Barn, where she visited for multiple classes per day.
This might sound like fanaticism __ and sure, it's possible, and cheaper, for yoga lovers to park themselves at a local studio for the weekend, instead __ but there's something special about The Yoga Barn.
The love child of a Balinese man and his American wife, The Yoga Barn benefits from an East-meets-West approach seen through its nurturing ambiance, lush surroundings, Balinese architecture, embrace of international yoga, abundance of healing foods and dynamic programming.
For example, it's possible to start the day with an intermediate vinyasa flow class, replenish with a smoothie and some sun, then restore in a gentle yoga class before an ayurvedic dinner and a Tibetan bowl meditation.
I didn't get to all of that on my visit __ but there's always next time.
