BLISS OUT BALI YOGA RETREAT
West Coast, Bali
Yoga Retreat in Bali
17 - 22 OCTOBER 2026 — taught by Mick Barnes
Our pilgrimage to Bali is back.
We’ve been running Bali retreats for years and every time it’s been its own strange little chapter. So we’re doing it again.
We do not expect enlightenment, levitation, or permanent serenity.
But five days away from your usual life does tend to feel like something.
There’s a rhythm to these trips that’s hard to explain until you’re in it.
You work in the morning. Properly. You sweat a bit. You realize you’ve been holding your shoulders up around your ears for most of the year. You put them back down.
Breakfast tastes better.
Then the day stretches. You drift to the ocean. You lie by the pool pretending you’ll read something serious. Someone suggests a sauna. Someone suggests a nap. Both are accepted as valid life choices.
Afternoon practice arrives just when you’ve settled into doing absolutely nothing. It’s shorter and a little quieter.
For all the effort, there’s equal time for loitering. For conversations that go nowhere. For new friendships formed over second helpings of dinner. For the odd moment of mild chaos and the quiet satisfaction of retreating back to our corner of the island.
It’s that balance we keep coming back for.
Work and laze.
Discipline and indulgence.
Company and solitude.
This time we are not heading into the centre of the storm. The west coast is slower. The ocean is always there, doing its own thing. The practice room faces it. The sound follows you whether you’re ready or not.
Something happens over five days. Muscles wake up. The mind softens at the edges. You remember that life isn’t only a list of things to get through.
This isn’t about escaping your life. It’s about stepping slightly to the side of it. Long enough to see it differently.
Your only real job is to get on a plane and arrive.
We’ll handle the rest.
Bliss Out.
LOCATION
Our base will be the west coast of Bali, directly on the beach. You walk through the gate and the sand is there. It’s a small surf stretch where the days revolve around the tide and not much else.
The shala faces the ocean. The breeze moves through it.
The rooms are scattered across the grounds — some facing the ocean, some turned inward toward the garden. It’s small enough that you recognise everyone by the second day.
There’s a pool, a wood-fired sauna, and a cold plunge.
Balian itself is low-key. A few cafes. A few warungs. Surfers at dawn. After dark, it’s still mostly dark.
ACCOMODATION
There are ten standalone bungalows set around a garden overlooking the river.
The rooms fall into two types:
Suite Bungalows — Larger rooms. A bit more space.
Deluxe Bungalows — Slightly smaller. Still generous.
A small number may be allocated as private rooms if needed, but the default is shared.
If you’re coming solo, we’ll pair you thoughtfully. If you’re coming with a friend, we’ll keep you together.
All rooms have air conditioning and fans.
All have private bathrooms.
All open out onto the garden.
PRACTICE
The days will be structured around practice.
There will be one longer (2 hours) session in the morning and a shorter (1,5 hours) session later in the day.
We’ll work with familiar forms, return to them again, and pay attention to what’s actually happening — in the body, in the breath. You will be encouraged to work hard and go deeper in your practice but if you prefer to take it a little easier, that is okay. Classes will vary each day depending on the students and the energy amongst us.
Afternoons are deliberately lighter. There will be some pranayama, there will be meditation to enhance our ability to quieten the mind and stay present for whatever is. We will make sure to make the most out of the beautiful surroundings and take our practice sessions outside, onto the beach and into the wilderness of the bush. Questions will be answered and all things yoga explored.
Mick will make sure the needs of all are taken into account so the experience is very inclusive for all.
You don’t need to be advanced in your practice. Mick’s teaching responds to the room.
FOOD
There will be three meals a day.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are prepared on site and served at long tables. Focus is on fresh, locally sourced ingredients and seasonal produce.
Fruit, tea and coffee are around during the day. Dessert appears most evenings.
If you have dietary requirements, let us know.
INCLUDED
– 5 nights accommodation
– Three meals per day
– Morning and afternoon practice with Mick
– Access to the pool, wood-fired sauna and cold plunge
Flights, airport transfers and travel insurance are not included.
Airport transfers can be arranged once flight details are confirmed.
ON REQUEST
– Traditional Balinese massage overlooking the river
– Surf lessons (Balian is a known surf break)
– River paddle boarding
– Day trips and local excursions
– Transport from/to Denpasar airport
– Motorbike hire
PRICE
Shared Twin Room $3000 pp (early commitment / ends April 1), $3300 (standard)
Private Room (Very Limited) $3950
Flights, airport transfers and travel insurance not included.
A $1,000 deposit secures your place.
Contact Liza with any inquiries.
REFUNDS AND CANCELLATIONS
Deposits are non-refundable.
The balance is due 90 days prior to arrival (19 July 2026). After that point, payments are non-refundable unless we are able to fill your spot from a waitlist.
In the case of retreat cancellation from our side, all payments will be refunded in full.
We strongly recommend travel insurance that covers cancellation and medical expenses. This is international travel — it’s better to be covered.
If something unexpected happens on your end, talk to us. We’ll always try to handle things reasonably.
Mick Barnes is an internationally known yoga teacher with 20 years of experience, the founder and director of The Yoga Factory in Sydney.
He teaches from his experience of which he's had wild and many and from the knowledge of suffering and the way out.
Mick has an amusing but powerful character and certainly doesn’t pretend to be a “saint” modern-day yogi. Mick is honest, bold, old school but also fun and this mixture somehow empowers so many people. The way he approaches teaching is so different to what is known these days as “teaching of yoga”. Mick communicates traditional teachings of yoga, the way they should be taught: properly, gradually, step by step, with the address of individual body differences.
He emphasises the importance of regularity and discipline as without it yoga can’t be learned and the goal of yoga can’t be achieved. Mick does not sell promises or tell people to wear this, eat that, worship gurus, nor entice people to think that change and the whole yogic transformation will come about by just fitting in and adopting the behaviours. He asks the students to work hard, front up, to not be lazy, be accountable, but at the same time enjoy their lives.
For the last 20 years Mick has practiced continually. He has owned several successful yoga schools in Sydney, facilitates TYF’s teacher training that produces the best, most competent teachers in Sydney. He is also an in-demand facilitator at Ulpotha, Sri Lanka—one of the world’s best retreat facilities, and has been repeatedly invited to teach all around the world, from New York, to Europe, to all around Asia.
Mick is a rarity in contemporary yoga context and his experience and ability to communicate the teachings is worth travelling across the oceans for.
ABOUT THE TEACHER
