Bali Immersion
18th – 21st February 2026
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ARMA: Agung Rai Museum of the Arts, Ubud
A 4-day Immersion in the Heart of Yoga and Balinese Culture
Dear Friends,
I warmly invite you to Bali, to a very special yoga gathering in the sacred city of Ubud Bali. The heart of yoga in the heart of Bali, hosted in the Ubud hub of culture, Agung Rai Museum of Art.
We are invited into our own Heart, not a conceptual teaching but the age-old technologies of breath and movement that enable us to participate in Reality.
“The Heart is the hub of all sacred places. Go there, and roam.” — Bhagavan Nityananda
Spend four days immersed in Yoga transmission and culture. The gathering is not in any one style or brand but the basic principles that help us all feel our own intrinsic joy, freedom, and authority.
This gathering is hosted in the splendour of ARMA, the Agung Rai Museum of Art in central Ubud. Our shala is a sacred space used for ceremonies and cultural gatherings, surrounded by gardens, and graciously extended for our visit.
Our goal is that together we clarify our own Yoga into direct participation in the nurturing force of reality, as it is appearing as humans, animals, plants and everything else.
Mark shares the teachings of Yoga, as brought forth from the Indian tradition by the "teacher of the teachers," Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. He first met him and his son TKV Desikachar in 1973 and has dedicated his life to sharing their clarity.
The Yoga that came through in this way is not religious but is useful to all religions and belief systems, to actualise their beautiful ideals. If we have been inspired, we need something practical we can do to honour and nurture that inspiration, and integrate it into our bodies.
All bodies and backgrounds are welcome. We could call it “Advanced Yoga for Perfect Beginners.” Everyone’s practice will look different because we are all different.
If you have questions, email studio@heartofyoga.com or send a message on whatsapp to Rosalind at +64277159538.
This retreat offers:
Krishnamacharya's basic principles of practice, restoring receptivity and sensitivity to asana (and life);
Precise instruction in the breath: how to breathe as the heart and gently unfurl hidden aspects of ourselves.
Asana (postures), pranayama (conscious breathing), meditation (natural stillness), and use of sound (Vedic chanting, Tantric mantra, and nyasa — placing sound in the body) as practical tools for each person's participation in Reality;
Releasing stuck points and obstacles in our spiritual life that are stored in the body
Individualised instruction to shape your own personal practice
Clarity on the "social dynamic of disempowerment" that can exist in teaching situations. The teacher is no more than a friend, no less than friend, and must stay ordinary to not create weird circumstances and pitfalls for all.
Heartfelt community, feeling our prior and indestructible unity;
Deep relaxation and reset of the nervous system surrounded by beauty
Schedule:
Tuesday 17th February: optional special Chinese New Year Dinner and Balinese Opera at ARMA. Additional cost 175k per person (350k for the public).
Wednesday 18th - Saturday 21st February 9am-5pm daily, plus dinnertime
Price: US$480 / 8mil IDR
What this covers
Four full days instruction, discussion and practice
Vegetarian Buffet lunch and dinner within ARMA
One-on-one discussion and personal practice help as required
We are committed to supporting Balinese indigenous practitioners and teachers, please write to studio@heartofyoga.com if this is you and you would like to attend.
15% discount available for Online Studio Supporting Members (from at least 2025)
What is not included:
Accommodation - some may choose to stay at ARMA (see below for costs) or else there are many, many affordable places within 5 mins walk.
Breakfast
Airport transfers - we recommend trusted drivers however
Any other optional extras
Accommodation at ARMA
If you would like to stay onsite inside the Museum, they have beautiful accommodations available at a special cost to participants:
Superior Room – IDR1,500,000/night
Deluxe Room – IDR1,800,000/night
Villa (inc pool) – IDR2,500,000/night
This is billed separately to the retreat and payable direct to ARMA. Email studio@heartofyoga.com to arrange.
Schedule (flexible)
9am – 5pm daily in the shala, followed by dinner together each night
Morning and afternoon spontaneous sessions of teaching, discussion, practice with a one and a half hour lunch/rest break in the middle of the day. Approx 12.30pm.
Coffee breaks at morning and afternoon tea time.
Accreditation
This programme can be used for 35hrs CE credits with the Yoga Alliance
Recommended Reading
Prior to the course beginning, you may like to look into:
Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar
Yoga of Heart by Mark Whitwell
God and Sex: Now We Get Both by Mark Whitwell with Rosalind Atkinson and Andy Raba
FAQ
Is it the right gathering for me?
Some people who have resonated with these teachings in the past:
sincere devotees of diverse traditions who are looking for a whole-body practice to enact their devotion within
those who have been practicing in the heart of yoga already;
those teaching yoga but feeling bored or confused or disillusioned within it;
those looking for a gathering that is about transformative relationships and accurate practice, not information-gathering
those who always sensed there is magic in yoga but haven’t been able to touch it yet
those who found Desikachar’s The Heart of Yoga or Mark’s Yoga of Heart useful as a book
those who have trained with students of Mark and would like to take the opportunity to “go to the source”
Those who live in Bali and want a “top-up” of inspiration and clarity
How is it different from most other yoga retreats?
We look back to the actual practice tradition brought through by Krishnamacharya that is mostly not available in the yoga industry. Once you taste the power of your own breath, you cannot go back.
You will not be cramming your head with endless knowledge. It is an experiential process for the whole body, allowing you to teach from the body’s intuition, not from the head’s knowledge.
We don’t presume to try and know better than each person’s natural bodily intelligence… what could know better than the force that grew you from a single cell, and presently beats your heart and moves your breath? So there is no gross adjustment, and no imposition of teacher knowledge over another person. We all share the breath practices through which each person can participate in the power and beauty of their own natural life. As such there is no hierarchy because each person is already the beauty of the natural world.
We usually host a very diverse group of ages, nationalities, and a pretty even balance of male and female. There is no one “type” of person drawn to study in the heart of Yoga, it tends to be those drawn to what is authentic and deep, and we come in all shapes and sizes.
The mood is fluid and responsive to the needs of the group. Exact lunch and break times will vary a little according to the flow of the day.
This immersion is in traditional tantric hathayoga made uniquely relevant and accessible in modern life. It is not about information gathering. Yoga is in your entire embodiment or it is nowhere. We explore subtle anatomy as the movement of energy in the body, not body part anatomy from a western medical perspective. You won’t learn names of muscles, bones or detailed labels on the body from the outside (if you have a personal interest in this that’s totally fine). We will be considering how to share the precise practices that enable others to feel their own intrinsic intelligence, not trying to approximate that intelligence with mental knowledge.
Discussion will include relationships, sexuality and anything else in your life you wish to bring yogic understanding to. You can speak as much or as little as you like and be assured of being listened to with respect and love. This is a conversation, a two-way flow of information, not a broadcast or a lecture. It is not any kind of neo-tantric workshop or space. You will get the most out of it the more reading, questioning and exploration you bring with you. You are a co-creator of this course, not a consumer of it. It does not exist outside of your presence.