Power of Now Oasis in Sanur – Last Bali Post

Apart from my time photographing Sanur’s beach and relaxing at Kolonial House (see previous post), I spent a lot of time at The Power of Now Oasis. In fact, in 3 days, I partook in 5 of their offerings.

YOGA:

I definitely benefited from the 2 very different 8am yoga classes I chose. Since I was a guest at Kolonial House, the first one was free and the second at a reduced 80,000 Rupiah ($8 Cdn).  Luckily, the open upper floor of their building was naturally breezy, and the fans added to the coolness there. On the first morning, Dana taught a movement, breathing, and meditation class to live music. I’ve long enjoyed hang drums – in this context, their music was just perfect.

On Monday, I participated in a pranayama hatha yoga class with Ibu Dayu, my massage therapist from the day before. This was a beautiful class and I plan to keep using two mudras (hand positions) I learned to help balance the 5 elements in the body. I can do this waiting around or whenever I have time – as long as I remember them – thank goodness I took pictures.

I wasn’t able to do all the yoga postures in class – nothing new there – partly due to the weather and partly to my own physical limitations (strength or nerve damage in my arms), but that didn’t matter. As the sign says at the entrance of the room, yoga is not a gymnastics competition. It’s about doing what’s right for ourselves. There are so many kinds of yoga and I believe that it can be extremely beneficial, especially when we find the a kind that resonates with us. After over 30 years of practicing on and off and trying dozens of styles, I definitely have my preferences.

SELF-DEFENSE WITH A SMILE:

On Sunday, a father and daughter team and I attended a special self-defense class. The teacher, Robert Hagen – a psychologist and karate instructor, spent many years researching the topic of violence in Scandinavia. He wrote a book and collaborated on a movie on the topic. In Norway, hundreds attend his classes, but here, where he lives part of the year with his Indonesian wife, he has a hard time drawing a crowd. Although selfish on my part, I much preferred the smaller group.  The workshop covered how to manage and prevent all sorts of conflict as well as emergency techniques to stop possible violence if needed.

In Scandanavia and most likely in other parts of the world as well, most aggressors (not robbers) know their victims and are violent out of fear. We don’t think of big strong men as scared of tiny women, but in the case of violence, they almost always are. They perceive that the actual victim is too powerful and want to assert control over that perceived power (whether it be a spouse or someone they see walk by every day). Helping potential aggressors feel comfortable around us is the first way to prevent violence. Basically, love is the answer – talking and listening to people – being accepting of them so that they never feel powerless. Just think of school shootings – if those kids had never felt rejected, they probably would have never acted out in such a violent way.

If things start to escalate, however, it’s often possible to stop a violent act by getting the person to sit down and talk – with a big smile. It’s also important to be ready for an emergency.  After talking about various scenarios where violence exists in all age groups and situations, we then drilled some basic moves from a standing and sitting position that both surprises and disarms the person. Basically, lean in, go for the weak joints, twist them, and swing with the hips to bring them down. It took a while for me to get some of the moves which would require more practice, but when I did, I was able to bring down a very strong (and very attractive) guy.

• Crime in Bali:

As I had been reading the Sanur English newspaper downstairs before class, I asked about how safe it was to live or travel here in Bali. Hearing about the whole Kuta cowboy thing that went wrong (see a previous post) had also opened my eyes to a different side of Bali. In the paper, there was an article about a gang that basically moved into and took over a hotel. It had been going on for a while and the police and village chiefs were involved in trying to solve the problem, but the gang was still there. The management had to leave and staff/visitors lived in fear. Supposedly, this also happens in people’s homes. Can you imagine someone showing up on your door and saying – get out, this place is now mine? Yikes.

According to Robert though, there’s hardly any crime here. Violence is just not tolerated. He told me that in the 90s, thousands of Indonesians disappeared without a trace – and that this is still fresh in the psyche here. Authorities have a lot of power and aren’t afraid to use it. What surprised him, however, is how authentically loving and happy most people are despite this shared traumatic past. His experience with his in-laws has taught him that.

When I told him about the girl from the ashram who got pulled off her bike when two guys tried to steal her purse, Robert said that if they were caught, they’d likely be executed… perhaps even on the spot.  I was surprised as I also heard those drive-by thefts were quite common. Here in Sanur, a gang of men including a police officer (mostly from neighbouring islands) had been involved in a series of crimes. Once they were identified, all 6 were executed on the beach nearby (I’ll bet not on the tourist section). Although he certainly didn’t agree with the crime prevention methods, Robert said Bali was probably the safest country to live in – motorcycle accidents notwithstanding. When I left class, I noticed that most bikes outside had locks on them, but weren’t even locked.

• The Power of Fear:

I’ve definitely feared being attacked when out walking on my own in many places in the world (not surprising considering North American movies, TV shows, the news, society, etc.  Some cities I’ve lived in definitely have a safer vibe than others, so it hasn’t been a constant thing.  But the fear is often there – in the back of my mind even if I’m aware that focusing on something draws it in (what we resist persists).  That’s why I chose to explore how to reduce fear’s effects on me in this class.   As the Osho book I leafed through before class described, you can’t fight darkness with darkness. You can’t fight fear with fear. That only escalates it. You simply need to let in the light – to let in the love. So I’m glad I took this self-defense with a smile class. It definitely helped me understand how fear escalates a conflict – either in my mind or for real – in petty situations or major threats.

AYURVEDIC MASSAGE ($45):

On Saturday at 3pm, I had a wonderful ayurvedic treatment. It was expensive for Bali, but I decided it would be an excellent follow up to my consultation in Ubud.  Ibu Dayu took my pulse and confirmed that my Pita was still out of balance. She adjusted her treatment and oils accordingly. For 1.5 hours, I basically slept while she rubbed oil into me – these treatments are much softer than usual massages. They work on the level of blood circulation, not musculature. I’m amazed I slept. Ask Cheryl Fenk, my friend and masseuse at Embrace Wellness in St. John’s… getting me to actually be quiet (in body or mind) during a massage is quite the task, especially when it’s being given by a friend I enjoy socializing with. This time, however, I woke up almost 20 minutes after she was done, just as she was about to go upstairs to teach yoga. She even massaged my face while I slept. The thick coat of oil all over was the evidence. I basically let it soak in, got dressed, and headed to my room for a couple of movies in bed before falling asleep yet again.

• Sunrise Photos:

As a related aside, I do feel much more mellow than even a week days ago. At the airport, instead of rushing to the check-in counter to be first in line and through security 3 hours ahead of time, I wasn’t phased by being about 50^th in line instead. Same at the gate. Trust me, that’s progress!  I’ve since had a few more telling experiences that prove that my internal systems are more in balance- yay!

ACCUPUNCTURE ($20):

On Monday, after yoga, I had an appointment with Sinshe Tony Liem for an acupuncture treatment. I’d had some in the 90s in South Korea and felt that it would help with my nerve issues in my arms and neck (carpal tunnel syndrome). It turns out it was for much more than that. It’s strange to say, but I really enjoyed our hour together even if I was getting needles stuck in me. Believe me, I’m really not into pain. Only one out of about 20-30 hurt though – the one right in the liver point. It burned and I got a bit over-dramatic until he put a calming hand on my lower back and explained what and why it was happening.

I learned so much. He’s about to open a school and I can tell he’ll be an excellent teacher – he had a very loving, clear way of communicating, tailor made to both my learning style and personality type. At one point, with a big smile, he said that because of how I learn, it would be better if he drew a diagram for me after our session was done. He did and I got it. He gladly talked to me the whole session, explaining things for me to understand what’s going on in my body, but also to distract me, I’m sure.

It turns out I have an internal imbalance involving too much fire (no surprise there). Indeed, I’ve got too much yang (fire) in my liver and not enough yin (cooling effect) in my kidneys. The result is (or is from – I can’t remember) weak lungs (a chronic condition). They’re all linked. This, he says is the cause of my skin issues – my lungs. I’d read long ago that those with asthma often had eczema or psoriasis or the other way around. I had felt grateful I didn’t have asthma, but had pondered about the link with my weak lung capacity. In other words, it’s the lung’s job to protect the kidneys and the kidneys’ job to protect the liver. Since my lungs were weak, the other two suffered and got worse with time resulting in skin issues and oversensitivity (or vice versa). This all made sense and definitely complimented what my other Bali healers had said.

According to his Chinese medicine system, it’s not all about bringing the fire down. It’s about bringing the yin up too and looking at the cause for these imbalances. He spent the hour helping me balance these with disposable needles quickly inserted in key points on my body (we have over 400 points that can be targeted). Those he placed in my back were directly for the organs. He heated a few of these up with moxa (burning mugwart) to stimulate the flow of energy in certain regions. Those on the front were in special points on the meridians for general health. He then recommended I follow up in a few weeks with another acupuncturist to raise my energy once things have balanced out. I wish I could see him again though – he’s not only an acupuncturist, but also uses energy work and more to help people.  Plus at $20/hour, you can’t beat it. Someone just told me she was quoted $150 here in Vienna…

Tony also explained that my specific combination of imbalances is a result of chronic emotional issues that probably started in childhood. He talked about how I was likely often disappointed, but kept all that in instead of expressing it– pent up emotions. He also talked about how I was likely way too oversensitive to all the stimulus coming my way and that I was likely easily overwhelmed in situations (you already knew that if you’ve been reading my blog). He compared me to a tomato tree that swings back and forth emotionally and needs something to grip onto to stabilize my body, mind, and spirit (meditation, chi gong, etc.)  If I didn’t have that, imbalances would cause me to panic easily.  It’s all linked – the elements, the organs, the emotions – basically, the body, mind and spirit. I certainly agreed with him and shared in this belief – thus why I’ve spent so many years exploring routes to both inner and outer balance.  I’m doing quite well, but now I have even more self-understanding and tools to live a happier and more balanced life.  All good!

MORE PHOTOS OF SANUR BEACH:

The Power of Now Oasis is located right on the beach, next to the Mercure Resort.  Even during class, I could gaze at the oceanic horizon.  Beautiful!  Here are my last photos from Sanur.  My next post will be about life back in Austria – there’s already so much to share after just a couple of days… Hee hee.