Ubud Yoga House — Local services in Pulau Bali

So in coming to Ubud I wasn’t sure where to call my ‘yoga home’ as there are so many world class studios so I went to 5 of them for several drop in sessions each to try to get a feel for them before committing: Yoga Barn, Radiantly Alive, Ubud Yoga House, Alchemy, and Intuitive Flow. ALL had world class instructors and ALL were amazing yoga experiences for their own reasons. I hope this is a bit helpful.

The Yoga Barn (YB) – Far and away the busiest center, arguably twice to five times busier than the next busiest (radiantly alive). It’s just nuts how many people there are here, it’s a total circus, and that’s one of the reasons why, in the reviews, YB gets a bad rap (the yoga ‘factory’). BUT they have the most classes, the most instructors, the most variety, and they have classes the other centers simply don’t. Sometimes the big class actually made it more powerful too.

Ubud Yoga House (YH) – So this is, in every way, the complete opposite of Yoga Barn. Its small, personal, out in nature (not in the city like YB/RA), and feels more like the heart of yoga. Not flashy at all, no instagramers, no deli/café/juice bar confusing the concept – just pure Yoga. Classes are limited to 9-10 people on a single balcony overlooking the most amazing rice terraces. Its personal, intimate, beautiful.

Radiantly Alive (RA) – The second busiest center in Ubud and the most centrally located and easy to get to. They offer classes at all hours of the day and with excellent instructors. Unlike YB some of the classes I went to here were actually not that packed…some were of course, but given its popularity and location I figured all the classes would be wall to wall and they weren’t. RA strikes a nice balance – it has a wide variety of instructors and classes, has special classes and visiting instructors, has classes all day long every day, has lovely facilities, and has more personal attention than YB per student.

Intuitive Flow (IF) – Like Ubud Yoga House this place is further off the beaten path, out of town, gorgeous drive/walk to get to, and is far less crowded than RA/YB. It has a single studio overlooking a beautiful valley facing back to central Ubud. Also like Ubud Yoga House this place was ALL about the yoga only. Nothing flashy, just pure yoga. The classes I attended here were about 15-18 people, with incredible instructors, and by far with the most active adjustment to my posture as compared to other centers. Cheapest drop-in prices too.

Alchemy – Another HUGE center as far as the grounds and the truly incredible yoga studios (shalas), but not huge as far as crowds. While its in a quasi-busy area its still out of town and therefore more quiet and peaceful. HUGE beautiful open air yoga studios - lots of space to spread out. Instead of seeing traditional classes like hatha, vinyasa, ashtanga, flow, power etc… you see classes like ‘fire’, ‘water’, ‘earth’, ‘ether’. It turns out these classes were all just very cool hybrids of concepts from breathwork, vinyasa, hatha, etc. Very cool approach. Fewer instructors than YB/RA and less classes but in a gorgeous setting and with lots of personal attention.

Personally, I went with the month unlimited pass to RA and continued to do drop in classes literally at every center listed above. Note – this is NOT the most economical way to do this (~$300 for the month total between the pass and all the drop ins, yoga 2-3x/day for 30d). No place has it all and every place was special for its own reasons. Sometimes I wanted the huge class, especially for active meditation (YB), other times I wanted to get out of the city and be in the smallest class possible (YH). Sometimes I wanted yin in an immaculate and spacious shala (alchemy), and sometimes I wanted the balance of it all (IF). As far as which one FELT the best overall – it was the Ubud Yoga House. But keep in mind, if you're staying in central Ubud and don’t have a scooter getting regular transport to places like alchemy/IF/YH really adds up! Might be reason enough to just call RA or YB...

I was apprehensive about committing to this training but I am so glad that I did, it has been one of the best experiences of my life I consider myself a relative yoga novice; I didn't do the course specifically to train to teach yoga, more to develop my own practice, but even though I was older, less fit and less flexible than any of my peers I was still able to learn and participate in all aspects of the course. UYH pride themselves on providing 'yoga for every body' and I can attest that this is true - everybody is made to feel welcome and encouraged to accept where they and their body is at, whilst being open to the possibility of evolution and progress.

The standard of the teaching on the course was phenomenal and the expertise of the teachers was second to none. More than this all of the teachers were very approachable, open and generous with their time and knowledge, and they seemed genuinely interested in our development, both as students and teachers of yoga. Whilst all teacher training programs have to be commercially viable at no point did I feel like this was a purely commercial enterprise, our group was small (and group size never exceeds 12) so there was always a fantastic teacher to student ratio, and everyone involved in the programme was very committed to ensuring we had the best experience and ample opportunities to learn and develop.

We met daily (and often twice daily) with Sheila, the wise, astute course leader, for meditation, guided journaling and sessions on yogic philosophy and self development. She encouraged us to think critically and consider how what we were learning applied to our daily lives, without ever being dogmatic or prescriptive. She was also very receptive to our feedback and used this to structure our timetable. Nicole, in addition to being a phenomenally talented and inspiring vinyasa teacher, was a constant source of support and was always on hand to encourage/comfort/console/trouble shoot. Sandi delivered teaching sessions on precise asana alignment, and classes that pushed us all to discover new limits of physical and mental strength, with long holds and a lot of deep breathing! Nina is a beautiful soul and her classes were tailored to whatever we needed at the time, be that encouragement to push through fatigue (maybe with the help of some pranayama!) or a more restorative session. Anatomy teaching by physiotherapist and yoga teacher Michael was fantastic, clear, relevant and really tailored to our needs and with ample time to ask questions and discuss. Nico, a warm, wise and perceptive teacher inspired us with his flexibility and creative flows and made the goal of attaining arm balances and headstands a possibility, (even if not right now, then in the future with his carefully articulated drills!) In addition we got to practice with and learn from other teachers from the school in their open classes - so thank you Ketut, Yudi and Arik.

All of this was delivered in the most beautiful location, amongst peaceful rice fields and outside the madness and chaos of central Ubud,(although this was only a short walk or bike ride away, should you want a bit more stimulation, or an excellent massage!).

The 200 hour YTT is a sizable commitment, both in terms of time and financial outlay but I felt the course at UYH was worth every penny. Other students clearly thought so too and it is a testament to the course that the school welcomes many past YTT students who return to take classes there year after year. I certainly plan to be one of them! Thank you to the wonderful course team for curating such an amazing experience. Even though I had no specific plans to teach yoga when I started the course, the experience I have had 'on the mat' has made me want to make this available to others so watch this space - you may have made a yoga teacher out of...

Updated review to reflect my recent experience here in Oct/Nov 2024:

There’s a reason I came to 15 classes here over the course of three weeks - her name is Nicole and she is an amazing instructor. She teaches a fantastic Dynamic Vinyasa class 5 times a week which will push you, challenge you, make you sweat, focus your mind and inspire you. Her voice combined with her vocal cadence and style of delivery is simultaneously motivating and calming, encouraging without any judgment. She speaks with conviction, from the heart and from hard earned life experience when she talks about what yoga can do for you. Her classes adapt to all levels and she gives you the confidence to listen to your body in order to decide what you are capable of that particular day. Some days I had more energy and went for all the vinyasas. Some days I had less and skipped a lot of them. The environment she cultivates in her class makes it feel 100% ok and judgement free to do so, which I truly appreciated. Her instructions and cues are clear, concise and easy to understand. When the class size was smaller, she would come around for much appreciated alignment adjustments.

If it weren’t for Nicole teaching here, I’d still come for Sandhi’s class and Nina’s class, instructors whose classes I have enjoyed in the past. But this particular class with Nicole motivated me to commit to coming 5-6 times a week.

I can’t forget to mention what a beautiful yoga studio this is, situated in the rice fields in an oasis somewhat hidden away right in central Ubud. The views are amazing and there’s nothing like being surrounded by such beautiful green nature to calm your mind. The studio has retained its welcoming vibe that initially kept me coming back 5 years ago. The ladies who work there are always sweet and friendly. I’ll definitely be back at some point!

*Original review from 2019:

I decided to create my own yoga retreat in Ubud based on the reviews of this yoga studio and I’m very pleased that my expectations were thoroughly met! Spectacular outdoor setting in the rice fields, small classes accompanied by the sounds of running water and chirping birds, kind and friendly instructors who came around to give adjustments, a welcoming atmosphere without pretense. In the past week I’ve taken six classes here, ranging in size from 3 to 12 students. There’s no sense of having to be a yoga person to come here, no sense of having to wear the “right” yoga clothes to practice here. I consider myself a beginner and wanted personal attention and adjustments, which the small class sizes allow plenty of. Furthermore, the classes are serious but still fun and very much enjoyable. If you want to work up a sweat, go for the Vinyasa class with Nyoman, more intense (in a good way) than other vinyasa classes I’ve attended elsewhere. The Yin class was a revelation - I’ve never taken one before but decided to stick around after the Yoga for Beginners class one day to try this class and it was the deep stretch my body didn’t even know it needed! I was worried I might be bored in this class, with poses being held for several minutes, but the instructor Sandhi was great at keeping us focused with his clear and easy to follow instructions and verbal guidance. I really enjoyed class with Nina - she’s sweet and approachable. I would love to take a class with the owner Sheila one day, she lives here and seems like a fountain of knowledge when it comes to yoga. The place is actually her house and it’s quite incredible and impressive how she’s managed to turn it into a successful yoga studio as well. Thanks and...