Living at an Ashram in Bali

Anand Ashram- Ubud Bali

As a final hurrah for 2019, I decided to book a flight from Vietnam to Bali. Right after, I booked my first few nights at Anand Ashram to fulfill my lifelong desire to go to one. I have always wanted to see what it’s like, and since Ubud is known as the spiritual hub of Bali, I knew it was a good place to go. Ubud is home to the famous Yoga Barn and hip Puji hostel, but I wanted a more authentic, unique experience.

It was a heart-opening, enlightening few days that was a great foundation for the rest of my trip. After meeting the guru, doing meditation and yoga consistently for a few days, I felt centered and grounded again. In a previous post, I talk about the different areas of Canggu and Uluwatu if you’re planning to see more of Bali than just Ubud. Okay, let’s talk about what life is like in an Ashram!

First Thoughts on the Ashram

The Ashram is located out of central Ubud which is a blessing as it’s way too crowded. I’m not sure if that’s typical or if it was the high season in December Its lush surroundings of thick rice paddy fields and palm trees are sure to sweep you away.

At the Ashram, a man named Dave first greeted me and gave me a tour around. He was very clean looking in all-white linens and a little jade bracelet. He seemed to have high regard for his guru, Anand Krishna who would be leading a meditation that first night.

Even though they have signs saying “this is not a guest house,” I had to admit it felt like one, but not in a bad way. I had my dorm, common areas, etc. But something I had to remember is it isn’t a guesthouse or a homestay—it’s a place of worship that people are allowed to visit and experience.

There’s also a pool which I wasn’t expecting—the interesting thing is you have to say a Mantra before getting in. The center enforced the dress code and curfew. No shoulders or knees showing for girls and guys, and no bikinis in the pool. They locked the gate by 10 pm so they asked all the guests to be in before then. While some of the rules and regulations might put some people off, it’s a place of worship after all.

Typical Day in an Ashram

Chanting 6 am, 12 pm, 6 pm

The days all begin the same. Rising with the sun, we enter into the upstairs Shala for the first of three chantings of the day. Each is 30 minutes long but each is different and said in Sanskrit, a beautiful ancient language. The first day I was so nervous as I walked in. Many people were wearing white and I almost asked someone if it were okay that I wore black. But soon I realized it didn’t really matter what I wore (as long as I covered up).

Although I didn’t understand the chanting, I found that some lines really resonated in my heart vibrationally. And I could at least join in on saying the Om at some points. Although I was lost at first, by the third time chanting on my last morning I was following along better with the booklet provided in the room and saying more than just Om and Shanti. Om roughly means divine oneness and Shanti means peace.

This part of the experience can be observational or participatory—it’s up to you. Either way, it’s still nice to sit and listen to some chanting and focus on that or your breathing.

Puja Fire Ceremony

The 6 am morning chanting is always followed by a fire purification ceremony. The idea is that fire, the first element, both purifies negative emotions and thoughts and also gives light to our hopes and dreams. The leader says prayers or chants in Sanskrit again, and we are invited to repeat after him. Sometimes the prayers are a bit long and hard to repeat.

Then, we throw little pieces of wood into the fire after each prayer. I found it nice to think of specific, personal things I wanted to ‘purify’ with each toss of wood into the fire. There is a specific way to hold your fingers and the leader instructed us how to throw ‘lovingly’ and gently. I liked when they explained the ceremonies to us so it became more than just observation and actually gained meaning.

Yoga

After the fire purification ceremony, the Ashram held a yoga class for us in the Shala. As I stated earlier, this is all part of the morning routine. The yoga here is not like any Western yoga I’ve done previously, but I really enjoyed it for its slow pace and focus on breath work and affirmations.

Yoga has many parts, not just asanas or poses. Also, as they say at the ashram, yoga and meditation are a way of life. I personally don’t like how the West has made yoga into a workout form. It’s so much more sacred than that and deeper than that.

The first yoga class was mostly affirmations combined with movement, such as “I accept all possibilities” while opening your arms wide and then closing your arms to gently hold yourself saying “I am grateful for everything.” The next morning’s yoga class was a bit more focused on poses but nothing difficult or fast paced. At 7 am, this was a warm welcome for me as I am often slow to rise (and can be lazy in the mornings).

Breakfast & Lunch Provided

After the morning routine, we ate breakfast prepared by the staff. All meals served (breakfast and lunch) were vegetarian and pretty tasty. One day we had fresh banana bread, another day some lovely fried bananas.

After that, you have free time, but since it’s so hot in Ubud around December mostly I would hang out by the pool and relax. If you want to see more touristic things in Ubud such as the Tegallalang rice terraces or the Ubud monkey forest, there are nearby places to rent motorbikes.

Evening and Afternoon Programs

Inner Journey Meditation with the Guru

Aside from the morning routine, the other programs vary day by day. Since I arrived on a Thursday, I was lucky to experience the “Inner Journey Meditation” with the guru himself. Honestly, it was kind of surreal because it reminded me so much of the documentaries and Youtube videos I’ve seen on gurus and cults.

At the end of it he said, now let’s dance! And then everyone broke out into ecstatic dance which is like something straight out of the Netflix Documentary “Wild, Wild Country.” His demeanor reminded me a lot of these larger-than-life guru figures as well, opening up questions at the end of meditation to which he would answer with a series of old wise tales about Krishna and other Hindu deities. The staff passed around a microphone and encouraged us to ask questions.

In a bold move, I asked the guru, “Have you read The Power of Now?” to which he replied yes, and then I asked, “Why is it so hard to be in the now? I recognize that it’s where I want to be but why is it so hard to stay present?” His response was not what I expected, saying he thought the Now was somewhat of a myth. I replied, “I didn’t think of it like that, I think that’s a good way to nuance it.” In retrospect, how the hell is anyone supposed to answer that question? It’s a tough one.

For many questions, his answers had a kind of side-stepping manner to them; he was anything but direct. Nevertheless, his voice and guidance during the mediation relaxed me so much that I fell asleep. Also, I felt a very strong presence when he was answering my questions and we were making eye contact. The next day, the experiences got even weirder.

Chakra Empowerment Mediation

This was by far one of the strangest (and also amazing) meditation practices I’ve ever done. It was even a little out there for me, but luckily I was able to suspend my doubt and go along with the practice and reaped the rewards in the end. Our body has seven chakras starting from around your anus going to the area just above your head. In this exercise, by breathing in and out of the mouth and moving the hands in a V shape, we directed energy into each chakra, one at a time.

As you’re making the chopping movement back and forth with your hands from around your groin up though your torso to your head, it’s sort of like you’re fanning your body. At the same time, you gradually breathe faster and faster out of your mouth. To add even an extra element of weirdness to it, the audio playing in the background sounded like a bunch of cave men whooping and breathing heavily around a fire.

However ‘out there’ it may have been, when I laid down at the end of the “chakra empowerment,” I had really crazy visuals as if I had just taken mushrooms or something. It was like I saw my own reflection as if staring into a still pond and knew deeply that I was so much bigger of a force sitting within and looking out from this body. It was a real out-of-body experience.

Ubud & Around the Ashram

Closing Thoughts

Even though I only had one full day at the Ashram, arriving Thursday afternoon and leaving Saturday morning, it was a beautiful taste of the life there. It left me with a feeling of openness and joy in my heart, making space to make many more beautiful connections on my trip. Even though I couldn’t stay somewhere so traditional for a long time, I feel that even for a short time it had a strong, grounding impact on me.

It reminded me of the vital practice of yoga to check in with my body and the healing experience of mediation to go deeper into being. If you are in Ubud, I would definitely recommend this immersive experience as an alternative to taking yoga classes at various studios. Their website is https://ubudashram.org/.