A Bali Yoga Retreat Center Above the Beach in Candidasa

At The Seed, we have built a specialised eco yoga shala that overlooks the beachfront of our private estate on Bali's east coast. The shala is made entirely of natural elements, with a roofed practice area constructed from timber and bamboo poles and an outdoor open-air deck, built by local craftspeople with the same low-impact approach that shaped the rest of the property. It catches the first light of the day across the water and comes fully equipped for yoga classes, meditation, breathwork and sound healing.

The shala sits within The Seed's 6,400 sqm beachfront estate in Candidasa, a short distance from the Bali Aga village of Tenganan and its sacred temple.

Explore The Yoga Shala

Why We Built an Open Air Yoga Shala

The Seed began as a family home. Founder Logan Bailey, who has lived on the island for more than two decades, designed the estate with his friend and mentor, the Australian architect Martin Friedrich, after the beachfront land came up for sale on a stretch of coast Bailey had known for over ten years. The original brief centred on a nature-led place for his family to live, play and recover.

Movement, breath and recovery run through daily life at The Seed, and the shala gave those routines a fixed home on the property, set apart from the villas, the pool and the beach. As the estate grew from a private home into a full resort, the shala grew with it, from a space for one household's practice into a venue for retreat groups, visiting teachers and other travellers booking sessions during their stay.

Today the yoga shala anchors the estate's wellness offering. It sits alongside the Recovery Spa, the infrared sauna and cold plunge, and the open-air Jungle Gym, so a guest can move from a morning flow to a contrast therapy session to a massage without leaving the grounds.

How The Yoga Shala Was Built

Bailey and Friedrich worked to one principle across the whole build: every structure needed to work with what the land already offered. They scaled back several planned buildings during construction to keep the footprint in proportion to the site, and the shala follows the same restraint.

The shala is made entirely of natural elements. Its structure has two parts: a roofed practice area and an outdoor open-air deck.

The roofed area is constructed from timber and bamboo poles, with a pitched bamboo roof that sits open on its sides to the jungle canopy and the treetops around it. Bamboo is one of Bali's traditional building materials, and the estate's bamboo work came from local specialist builders, the same craftspeople who built the vaulted bamboo roof over Bloom Kitchen. The open sides let the sea breeze move through the space and keep practice tied to the sound of the water, while the roof gives shade through the middle of the day and cover during rain.

The outdoor open-air deck extends the practice space into the open. It suits sunrise flows, Tai Chi and evening meditation, when groups want the full sky overhead and the first light of the day across the water.

The materials across the estate follow a reclaimed-first approach. Timber from trees that fell during storms was milled into furniture, recycled wood runs through the villas, and reclaimed stone and upcycled metal fixtures appear throughout the property. Hundreds of tropical trees and flowering plants went into the grounds during the build to draw birdlife and butterflies, which is why the shala reads as a clearing in the canopy rather than a building on a lawn.

A zen zone set up with floor cushions sits alongside for seated meditation and quieter sessions. Together, these spaces give a practice day three settings: the roofed timber and bamboo practice area, the open-air deck, and the gardens around them.

What Makes Our Yoga Shala Unique

• Its orientation: Candidasa faces east, and the shala was positioned to catch the first light of the day. Sunrise practice here runs with the light coming up over the water and the eastern mountains behind the estate.
• Its privacy: Under a full-property buyout, the shala belongs to one group for the length of the stay. A retreat cohort practises without outside guests, outside schedules or shared bookings.
• Its scale: The same floor holds a full retreat group for a multi-day program and narrows down for a one-on-one class. A teacher runs a 7am group flow and a private session at 5pm in the same space.
• Its setting inside a full estate: The shala sits within walking distance of the beach, the oceanfront swimming pool, the Recovery Spa and Bloom Kitchen. A retreat program runs entirely on one property, with free time between sessions in place of transfers.

Equipment in the yoga shala

The shala arrives ready for a full program. Retreat leaders bring their teaching; the kit is already on site.

Practice kit

• Yoga mats for the full group
• Bolsters, blocks and cushions
• Blankets and props
• Extra mattresses on request
• Singing bowls for breathwork and sound healing sessions

AV and tech

• Projector and screen
• PA system and microphones
• High-speed wifi across the estate
• Power throughout

Workshop support

• Whiteboards and flip charts
• An indoor session room for workshops and theory blocks
• A soundproof basement and on-site recording studio for music-led or recorded sessions
• A poolside cinema screen for evening film sessions

When the weather turns, sessions move into the indoor session room, so a program day stays on schedule through the wet season.

Yoga Classes & Sessions in The Shala

Private and group yoga classes

• One-on-one classes focus entirely on one guest. The instructor adjusts postures, pace and sequencing in real time, which suits beginners learning alignment and experienced students working on a specific goal, such as hip mobility or a deeper backbend.
• Small group sessions suit couples, families or friends practising together. The instructor sets a shared sequence and offers variations so each person works at their own level.
• Larger group flows suit a full retreat cohort. The teacher leads the whole room through one sequence, with props and modifications on hand for mixed abilities.

Groups staying several nights often build daily yoga classes into the schedule, with a sunrise flow to open the day and a slower session in the late afternoon. Guests who practice yoga at home settle into the routine quickly, and first-timers get the same individual attention.

Yoga styles

The yoga world covers a wide range of yoga styles, and the shala supports all of them. These are the styles most often taught here:

• Hatha yoga is the foundation of most modern physical yoga. Classes move at a steady pace, holding each posture for several breaths so students can focus on alignment, strength and balance. It is the standard starting point for beginners.
• Vinyasa yoga links postures into a continuous flow, with each movement matched to an inhale or an exhale. Sequences change from class to class and build heat through steady movement, so vinyasa suits guests who want a more dynamic, physically demanding practice.
• Yin yoga works at the opposite end of the scale. Students hold passive floor postures for three to five minutes, letting the muscles relax so the stretch reaches the deeper connective tissue around the joints, particularly the hips, pelvis and lower spine. Bolsters, blocks and blankets support the body through each hold, and the long pauses make yin a natural partner for meditation.
• Kundalini yoga combines movement, breathwork, chanting and meditation in structured sets called kriyas. A typical class pairs repetitive movements with a specific breathing technique, then closes with mantra and a period of seated stillness. The practice focuses on energy and awareness as much as physical fitness.
• Restorative yoga uses props to fully support the body in a small number of gentle, reclined postures, each held for several minutes. The aim is deep rest, which makes it a fitting choice after travel, an intensive training day or a session in the Jungle Gym.

Visiting teachers regularly bring their own discipline to the shala, from Ashtanga and Iyengar-inspired alignment work to their own signature formats.

Meditation classes

Meditation trains attention. A teacher guides the group into a comfortable seated or reclined position, then directs focus to a single point, such as the breath, a sound, a body scan or a spoken visualisation. When the mind wanders, students learn to notice it and return to that point. Over repeated sessions this builds steadier concentration and a calmer response to stress.

Guided meditation runs as a standalone booking or as an extension of a yoga class to build a longer wellness block. Sessions range from short breath-focused practices for beginners to longer silent sits for experienced groups. Meditation works well as the closing session of a retreat day, after the group has been through a full program of physical activity.

Breathwork and sound healing sessions

Breathwork uses deliberate changes to the rhythm, depth and speed of the breath. A practitioner leads the group through a structured pattern. This might be slow, extended exhales to calm the body, or a faster, connected breath that builds intensity before a period of stillness. Because breathing links directly to the nervous system, changing the pattern can shift how alert or relaxed a person feels within minutes.

Sound healing follows the breath. Guests lie on mats in the shala while the practitioner plays singing bowls, moving them around and above the body. Each bowl produces a sustained tone with layered overtones, and the vibration can be felt as well as heard. Most guests describe the experience as complete relaxation, similar to the state just before sleep.

The combined session runs longer than a standard class and closes with a cup of tea. Many guests describe a strong emotional release during the breathwork portion, and the sound healing gives the nervous system time to settle afterward. A minimum of two guests applies, with booking required three days in advance.

Tai Chi and movement practice

Tai Chi is a Chinese movement discipline that began as a martial art and developed into a practice for health, balance and focus. Students perform a series of slow, continuous movements called a form, shifting weight smoothly from one leg to the other while coordinating each movement with the breath. Every movement flows into the next, without pauses or sudden changes of speed.

The slow pace places steady demand on the leg muscles, balance and coordination, while the focus on breath and posture gives it a meditative quality. Tai Chi suits guests at any fitness level and pairs well with higher-output sessions later in the day. At The Seed, a dedicated instructor leads sessions at sunrise on the open-air deck.

EFT tapping

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) combines elements of talk therapy with acupressure. Guests use their fingertips to tap on a set sequence of points on the face, head and upper body. These are the same meridian points used in acupuncture, at the eyebrow, beside the eye, under the eye, under the nose, on the chin, on the collarbone and under the arm.

A session follows a clear structure. The practitioner asks the guest to name a specific emotion, memory or area of tension and rate its intensity on a scale of zero to ten. The guest then taps through the sequence while repeating a short statement that acknowledges the issue. After each round, the guest re-rates the intensity, and the practitioner continues until the rating drops. The technique is designed to calm the body’s stress response while the guest keeps the issue in focus, and many guests learn the sequence well enough to use it on their own after the session.

The shala sessions above form one part of a wider wellness roster, which also includes personal training, Muay Thai, boxing, kickboxing, massage and swimming classes for children.

Read more about what can be arranged during your stay on our Fitness & Wellness page.

Hosting a yoga retreat in Bali at The Seed

The shala is the reason many retreat leaders choose The Seed as their Bali yoga retreat center. The estate supports a wide range of retreat formats from one site:

• Yoga retreats and yoga teacher training courses
• Health and wellness retreats
• Meditation and mindfulness retreats
• Spiritual and holistic healing retreats
• Fitness and bootcamp retreats
• Corporate retreats and company offsites

Enquire about your retreat →

Nourishing Meals from Bloom Kitchen

Every meal for a retreat group comes from Bloom Kitchen, the estate's private restaurant, on a meal plan arranged with the booking. Menus are seasonal and health-focused, built from produce grown in the estate's organic permaculture gardens and ingredients sourced from farmers across Karangasem and the wider island.

The chefs plan around every dietary requirement, from vegan and gluten-free menus to allergies and fasting protocols. A full cohort eats together at one long table seating up to 30. Healthy food sits at the centre of the menu, and the kitchen also serves delicious food for evenings that call for a celebration, including a traditional Megibung, the Balinese practice of shared feasting.

Guests consistently single out the kitchen in their reviews. The estate holds a 5.0 rating across 134 Google reviews, with good food and wonderful staff among the most repeated themes, and many guests describe the estate as a magical place.

Balinese Culture & The Surrounding Area

The Seed sits in East Bali's Karangasem Regency, a region with deep roots in authentic Balinese culture. Tenganan, one of Bali's original Bali Aga villages, lies a short distance from the estate, and the wider local area holds ancient temples, village craft traditions and morning hiking trails through the hills.

Guests can add temple visits, village tours, sunrise hikes, beach horseback riding, snorkelling and Balinese dance to a retreat program as optional extras. These excursions give a retreat group time with the local culture between practice blocks.

The estate itself reflects the region. Villa exteriors follow traditional Balinese architectural forms built by local artisans, and The Seed runs environmental education workshops with the surrounding community.

Learn more on our Local Discoveries page.