Modern Yoga in Bali
For two decades, Modern Postural Yoga became prevalent in Bali, both for foreigners at the tourism centers, and for Balinese.
At the tourism centers, For foreigners, yoga is organized in various villas or premium yoga-shala offering varied types of certification.
Ubud is usually the center of spirituality in its various forms, including yoga. This yoga training is done in a fancy villa, lux resort, or premium yoga shala, and is sometimes complemented with various other activities, from sound healing to ritual performances and surfing to anything fun.
Bali as a place to do yoga and yoga training is one tourism trend that plays a significant part in promoting Balinese tourism and contributes considerably to the Balinese economy that relies on tourism.
This form of Modern Yoga is also popular within the Balinese community itself. Since Balinese deeply identified itself with Hinduism, yoga is promoted as a part of Hindu Religiosity. These activities are usually initiated by Hindu Universities and schools — included as a mandatory subject or as part of their extracurricular. And a few years ago, some universities also offered a major in yoga and yogic-related study.
Outside the academic wall, yoga is also part of the public: from yoga communities in urban centers conducting scheduled free training on beaches and sports centers to yoga as an activity in “Hindu Sunday schools.” The rousing yoga activity in Bali is also shown by various yoga festivals that attract people from metropolitan cities outside Bali.
Yet, that is just a modern yoga activity done in Bali, not represent traditional Balinese yoga. Regardless of the claim comes from a Balinese “guru.”
Traditional Balinese Yoga
Yoga has been a prominent part of Bali for more than a millennium. The epigraphical, archaeological, and textual sources confirmed that yoga has been prevalent in Bali since the 9th century CE.
The discourse on yoga continued to dominate Balinese literary tradition to the colonial era. But, it needs to emphasize that none of the traditional yoga refers to postural training or involves any posture other than seated meditative positions. Balinese yoga [and maybe any traditional yoga] is a meditative practice, and there are dozens of them.
For the sake of simplicity, let’s just say that there are two types of traditional Balinese yoga. First, the seated yoga practices, and second, non-seated yoga practices. The seated-yoga practice can be seen as “sit and meditate,” while non-seated yoga is a way of being. These two types of yoga are interrelated and support each other.
There is countless meditation method revealed in traditional Balinese scriptures. From imposing sacred syllabary into the body (akṣara-nyāsa), taking a journey to layers of the subtle body, internalizing the deity in the body, making a bridge between micro and macro cosmos, cultivating inner fire, conducting the internalized ritual, and many more. There are also several texts that teach yoga that involves breath control and chakra meditation.
The non-seated yoga is about two practices; activating a certain state of consciousness while conducting one’s duty and living life AND integrating the divine power into it.
The aims of traditional Balinese yoga range from achieving worldly aims to soteriological purposes. Other practical implementations include healing, supporting ritual ceremonies, purification, self-empowerment, success and victory, and many more.
Fortunately, the Balinese yoga tradition is still preserved in traditional manuscripts called lontar (palm-leaf manuscripts). Unfortunately, most Balinese Yoga traditions only exist in the literature. Just tiny portions of Balinese contemplative practices are spread among the people, even less that practiced it. Other forms of yoga that have been expressed as cultural elements, by all means, are not called yoga.
Balinese culture is a yogic tradition built on the Tantric philosophy. The Tantric exegesis of Bali ranges from Ātimarga to Māntramargic Śaivism, from Pañcārthika Pāśupata to Kāpalika, from Śiddhāntika to left-handed teachings, all are widespread in Bali. A lot of studies have been done to explore Balinese spiritual tradition ever since the colonial era.
Not just śaivism, Tantric Buddhism also plays a major part in constructing Balinese spiritual tradition and all its cultures. That is why one name to refer to Balinese Religion is Śiwa-Buddha Religion, because both Śivaśāsana and Buddhadharma co-exist and mix to form a single tradition. This was before “Hindu” was recognized as an official religion by the Government of Indonesia, with all its regulations that distance Bali from its root teachings.
So, considering its long history and massive textual resources, discussing Balinese yoga is not limited to just certain methods of meditation but Balinese culture in general. Because, again, Balinese culture is tantric and yogic culture.