Tanya | Bali 200hr YTT Testimonial
I arrived in the jungle of Bali feeling overwhelmed and curious—two emotions that perfectly captured where I was in my life. I knew this training would stretch me, but I didn’t realize how deeply it would unravel old patterns I had been carrying for years. The moment I stepped into Bumi Cinta, surrounded by the hum of insects, the weight of the heat, and a chorus of unfamiliar sounds, it felt clear that I was no longer in the life I had known. The land itself asked me to slow down, to listen, and to meet myself honestly.
I didn’t choose this YTT because it felt comfortable. I chose it precisely because it didn’t. I’ve spent most of my life avoiding nature’s critters—the spiders, geckos, frogs, beetles, and anything else that crawls. The idea of training in the jungle was both terrifying and strangely appealing. I wanted to stop letting fear make decisions for me. And when I learned we’d be working with the Peruvian Medicine Wheel—another spiritual “yes” for me—I felt the Universe hand me a doorway: You’re ready to shed, ready to see, ready to rise.
Serpent Cycle — Shedding the Old Skin
On the first day of the Serpent cycle, I wrote that I felt overwhelmed and curious. By the end of it, I could already see the layers beginning to fall away. I realized how often I rush through life from one achievement to the next, barely pausing long enough to experience the moment I worked so hard to create. Perfectionism and speed had become my armor, and the jungle began peeling that armor off from the moment I unpacked.
I found myself in conscious incompetence in our early teaching practices, and instead of beating myself up, I softened into it. My mantra for that first week became simple: Slow down. Be here. Let this in. Even before the deeper cycles, the land was already working on me, showing me the places where I had been living half-present.
Jaguar Cycle — Facing Shadows in the Jungle
If Serpent peeled the layers, Jaguar showed me my reflection. Every fear I thought I could leave behind met me in Bali—in the form of spiders I wasn’t prepared to see, frogs who decided my toilet was their personal hangout spot, and the general unpredictability of jungle life.
The most powerful moment came during what I now call my “frog lesson.” One night, a frog appeared in my bathroom, and instead of spiraling into panic the way I normally would, I took a breath and recognized him immediately as a messenger. As I coached one of my peers through her discomfort earlier that day, I had unknowingly been speaking to myself. The frog encounter forced me to confront how often I rush through discomfort—analyzing the lesson quickly, wanting to extract the meaning, and then hurrying to get back to safety. That night, I realized this was how I had been living my life.
Jaguar taught me to stay.
To breathe.
To stand in my truth without trying to escape it or power through it.
And the beauty was—I didn’t do this alone. My cohort held space in ways I didn’t expect. Their compassion in my moments of fear, and the way we supported one another through shadow moments, mirrored the kind of community we were becoming.
Hummingbird Cycle — Joy, Sweetness, and Community
Hummingbird brought a softness I didn’t know my body needed. I fell in love with the silence from 9 p.m. to 10 a.m.—a daily chance to turn inward, sip Rosella tea, watch the morning mist rise, and hear the jungle wake up before the world began moving.
Our group of fourteen women, ranging from 21 to 60, bonded with ease. On our second night, during Sat Sang, we learned where everyone was from, how old we were, and the stories that shaped us. There was no judgment—only curiosity, respect, and a sense that every single person belonged.
We sang mantras together with our facilitators—fully, loudly, joyfully. Even they commented that not every group sings like that. Ours did. We were all in.
And when it came time to design our final yoga class, all fourteen of us collaborated and created a flow in just two hours. We arranged our mats in a semi-circle so each of us could step into the center and teach our portion when it was time. I expected chaos. Instead, it flowed like magic. That experience showed me the beauty of shared creation, shared breath, and shared intention.
Even the monkeys added to the joy. On our first morning practice, a monkey came and sat on the shala ledge for several minutes, as if blessing our training. Moments like that reminded me to stay present—to savor, not rush.
Eagle Cycle — Trust, Breath, and the Power of Choice
Although it happened just before Eagle officially began, my scuba diving experience became the purest expression of my Eagle learning.
I had always loved water but feared it because I’m not a strong swimmer. Still, I challenged myself to dive. When the instructor told me to put my face in the water and breathe through the mouthpiece, fear rushed in. My breath became shallow, my body froze, and my mind spiraled into “I can’t.”
But something deep within me whispered, Slow down. Just breathe.
In that split second, I remembered who I am.
I took long, steady breaths until my body settled.
And then—I descended 26 feet into the ocean.
What once felt like danger became beauty: a shipwreck, schools of fish, the quiet pulse of life underwater. In that moment, I understood a truth I will never unsee: fear is a story, and breath is the bridge back to truth.
I came out of that water alive, inspired, and certain that I could trust myself—my body, my choices, my Spirit—in ways I had never allowed before. That clarity carried into the Eagle cycle and through the rest of the training.
Integration — What I Carry Forward
I left Bumi Cinta a different woman than the one who arrived. Nature didn’t erase my fear, but it transformed my relationship to it. I learned to slow down, to experience each moment fully, to trust my breath, and to meet discomfort with presence instead of panic. I learned that community is sacred, silence is medicine, and joy is an essential teacher.
Most importantly, I remembered that I can rise.
I can shed.
I can face my shadows.
I can fly.
This training taught me that integrity lives in the body—and when I breathe with truth, my entire life aligns.
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