BaliSpirit to Celebrate Ten Years of Yoga and Music in Ubud
Jakarta. BaliSpirit Festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year as the yoga and music festival returns to the Bhanuswari Resort in Ubud, Bali, on March 19-26.
This year, the week-long festival will host some of the biggest names in the global yoga scene, such as Duncan Wong, the creator of what is known as yogic flow arts, and Katchie Ananda, who was named one of the world's top yoga teachers by Yoga Journal. Nickie Hanley, the founder of the distinct yoga style "disco flow" has also been named as a presenter at this year's festival.
BaliSpirit provides more than 200 daytime yoga workshops, seminars, sound healing and meditation sessions and hosts live music performances by leading teachers and artists from around the world. Guests of the festival are allowed to change classes as they please.
A range of different tickets, from one day passes to full access badges, have been available for purchase since last year. Noviana Kusumawardhani, the media manager for BaliSpirit, said most festival passes have been sold out since January.
"People are so thirsty for spirituality. Ten years ago, when we told people that we were going to hold a yoga festival, they had no idea what yoga was. Now, yoga festivals are everywhere, there's one in Bogor, Yogyakarta and even up at Prambanan (temple)," Noviana said.
"That's why it's very important for BaliSpirit to provide classes for beginners, so everyone can be a part of it, and not just those who are already advanced yogies," Noviana added.
Made Murni, who teaches yoga at The Yoga Barn in Ubud, said that festival director Megan Pappenheim used the meditation form as a way to draw people back to Bali after the island suffered a prolonged lull in business and tourism following the nightclub bombings of 2002.
In 2004, Pappenheim, married to artist and designer Kadek Gunarta, opened a small cafe in Ubud which eventually turned into The Yoga Barn. Three years later, in 2007, Kadek and Pappenheim hosted the first BaliSpirit Festival with co-founder Robert Weber, who currently serves as the festival's music director.
In 2016, BaliSpirit Festival attracted more than 7,000 people from over 50 countries. To cater to the diverse interests from festival attendees, the committee has extended the annual event to span across seven nights for this year's event.
Novi said the festival is also trying to offer unique classes in an attempt to distinguish the festival from similar events around the world. Emily Kusner, one of this year's presenters, will talk about sex in a special workshop where attendees will be taught about their sexual anatomy and how to keep their spirituality intact.
"Understanding sexuality means understanding your own health and it is part of spirituality. It is not taboo," Kusner said.
Ticket prices vary for foreigners and locals, starting from Rp 950,000 ($71) to as much as Rp 10 million. Tickets can be bought on the spot or through Go-Jek's Go-Tix platform on its mobile app.
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