#202 Silence, Fire and Boundaries
Nyepi in the Middle of a Yoga Teacher Training!
Today is Nyepi, the silent day in Bali and Balinese New Year.
Yesterday was Ogoh-Ogoh.
And it’s Day 4 of my March 2026 Yoga Teacher Training.
This is the first time I’ve ever hosted a YTT over Nyepi and Ogoh-Ogoh here in Bali—and I planned it this way intentionally. After how incredible last night was, and how today has felt, I’ve already decided: I will run a Nyepi YTT every year. (Next year’s dates are officially live.)
Last year, I experienced Nyepi in my village for the first time. I remember thinking: this is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced! And I knew I wanted to share it with my students.
Ogoh-Ogoh
In the weeks leading up to Nyepi, boys and men across Bali build massive demon statues. This is Ogoh-Ogoh.
The statues represent everything we carry: ego, attachment, fear, suffering.
On the night before Nyepi, these statues are paraded through the streets, lifted by groups of young men, moving through the village with intensity and energy, before finally being burned.
A symbolic release.
Last night, after three full days of training, we walked together to the nearby temple to watch.
It was so incredible, and powerful.
Nyepi: The World Goes Quiet
Then, we went to sleep, and woke up in silence.
Nyepi is unlike anything else. The airport shuts down. The roads are empty. Shops close. Even lights are turned off at night.
The island goes dark.
The belief is that by becoming completely still and invisible, the spirits will pass over the island—and we can begin again, clean, in the new year.
At times, Nyepi reminds me of the early days of Covid. That strange stillness. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do.
But also, Nyepi is different - because it’s chosen. Because it’s sacred.
The Three Sandhyās
My original plan for the day was to let it be free for everyone, but I realized that is a pretty big empty amount of time to fill! So I designed the day with a light YTT structure, centered around the three sandhyās - the sacred transition points of the day.
These are the thresholds where one state dissolves into another, and the mind becomes naturally more quiet, receptive, and subtle.
We meditated together during these three sandhyas online with my teacher, Dr. Rajani in India:
Prātaḥ Sandhyā (Sunrise, 5:00am)
Awakening. Clarity. Sattva.
Brahma energy — creation.Madhyāhna Sandhyā (Midday, 11:00am)
Action. Intensity. Rajas.
Vishnu energy — preservation.Sāyam Sandhyā (Sunset, 6:00pm)
Softening. Surrender. Grounding.
Shiva energy — dissolution.
The rest of the day was intentionally unstructured.
Rest. Journal. Be.
The Unexpected Practice: Cleaning
Mid-morning, I decided to cook eggs for myself - something I haven’t done in a long time (I’m very spoiled by my amazing Mindful Bali staff).
And that’s when I saw it.
The pots and pans in the kitchen needed a deep clean. (I’m not in the cupboards very much because food is often cooked while I am teaching yoga, lol!)
What followed was completely unplanned: a full, whirlwind cleaning session.
I cleaned everything.
And somewhere in the middle of it, something shifted.
I realized: this space - my space, this shala, this home - is asking for more structure. More clarity. More care.
So I started creating systems. Cleaning standards. Procedures for the kitchen, bathroom, and yoga shala.
Not from pressure, but from clarity.
This YTT at Mindful Bali is forcing me to step into a newer version of myself, and the business.
What Silence Reveals
As the day unfolded, something deeper started to emerge.
I began to see all the ways I’ve been making myself smaller.
All the moments I’ve overridden my intuition.
All the things I’ve allowed to continue, even when something inside me said, this doesn’t feel right.
I found myself asking:
Where am I settling?
Where am I crossing my own boundaries?
Where am I not trusting myself?
This week has given me a few moments to practice.
Someone I recently started seeing asked if he could spend Nyepi at my house.
On any other day, maybe I would have said yes.
But Nyepi is different. You can’t leave. You’re fully contained.
And after everything I’ve experienced in the last year, my body knew: no.
Saying that boundary - clearly, more than once - felt grounding.
Empowering.
Like something in me had shifted for good.
And from there, more boundaries came.
It felt like a release. A culmination of everything I’ve been moving through this past year.
Integration
After three intense days of YTT, this day of silence felt like medicine.
So far, this group has already experienced:
Sunrise yoga practices
Workshops on What is Yoga and the Yamas
Multiple standing pose intensives
Meditation trainings
Yin classes and workshops
Kirtan
Guest teacher sessions
A field trip to Radiantly Alive
The Ogoh-Ogoh ceremony
All in just three days.
I’ve never built a YTT with a full day of silence and integration this early - but now I can’t imagine not including it. (Today I was wondering if I could even do it for trainings that don’t happen over Nyepi in the future!)
It felt essential.
Tomorrow, we return.
Another full day: practice, philosophy, chakras, creativity, kirtan.
And I’m so curious to hear what each student discovered in the quiet.
A New Chapter
This is the first time I’ve been fully responsible not just for teaching of the YTT - but for the space itself.
The home. The shala. The systems.
And I’m learning so much.
It feels like a new level of leadership.
A new level of responsibility.
A new chapter.
And I feel so grateful.
Grateful to open my home. Grateful to have a home that I’m proud of (as it slowly comes together!)
Grateful to hold this space.
Grateful to witness what happens when we pause, go inward, and listen.
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Bali Bhakti Flow - Mantras for the Heart (Asana/Chanting)
Devotional yoga, mantra, and meditation to open the heart and reconnect to your true nature.
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Yoga Sutras 1.5 - 1.15 Next Group Begins April 9, 2026
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