It all started last year in September when Luka and I decided to join the ACROVINYASA acro yoga challenge on Instagram hosted by @yogabeyond. At that time we had no idea that we could actually win a paid tuition for Acrovinyasa teacher training (AVTT). We simply joined the challenge because we wanted to commit to practicing acro daily and to try some of the more advanced acro postures. We started practicing acro together about 2.5 years ago but our practice came to a point where we weren’t getting any more progress. I really felt the need to step out of my comfort zone in order to take our acro practice to a new level. The September challenge that we joined was the level 2 challenge which had some pretty advanced postures. We pretty much stepped directly into fire but that was exactly what we needed at that time. It was challenging but we were determined not to give up. We both worked super hard every day and we actually managed to complete all 30 asanas (15 earth + 15 air)! To make things even more awesome, Claudine and Honza (@yogabeyond) actually picked us as one of the winners of their September challenge! We couldn’t believe it!
At this point we learned about the grand prize and we were all in! We knew that we could do this. We could actually teach acro! If this wasn’t destiny then I don’t know what was.
However, the path to winning the grand prize wasn’t easy. To be eligible to win the grand prize (a.k.a the paid tuition for AVTT) you had to participate in Acrovinyasa challenges for 3 months and to complete all 90 (45 earth + 45 air) asanas from level 1 or 2. The problem was that we missed the August level 2 poses so we had to catch up on all of them and also do the current October poses in one month. To say the least, it was hectic and tiresome and it really tested our relationship! We did 60 postures in one month!
The month passed by but sadly we didn’t get selected to win the grand prize. We were sad of course because we worked really hard but at that point we were so determined to win that we decided to join another 3 months! These 3 months came like a sweet sweet relaxation after the crazy level 2 because they were all level 1 asanas. It was really refreshing to go back to basics and just enjoy the beauty of practice. I think that we actually learned so much more doing the level 1 asanas than the level 2. I know now that we needed to participate in these extra 3 months so badly.
January came and our hearts literally stopped for a moment when we saw that we were selected for the grand prize! It was all becoming a reality now. We were actually going to become acro yoga teachers. We were going to Bali…
I couldn’t sleep the night before our trip from all the excitement but also fear and worry of the unknown. Of course, I knew that I wanted this more than anything in the world but I was also worried that we wouldn’t come up to Claudine and Honza’s expectations. I felt huge pressure because we were going to this teacher training as winners of the challenge. I felt a constant need to prove myself worthy of the prize that we had won.
The flight day finally came and Luka and I got to the airport 3 hours before our trip (waaay earlier than we were supposed to). We checked in at the Emirates booth in a matter of 5 minutes and then we waited and waited… and waited some more. Finally our flight came and the moment we stepped on that plane all of our worries went away and were replaced with just pure excitement for the adventure to come. Suddenly it all became real. We were actually doing this. We were going to Bali to become acro yoga teachers.
We landed in Bali in the evening after more than 24 hours of traveling across the globe and we went through passport control in a matter of 15 minutes (which was a surprise because we were prepared to wait for hours according to reviews). THEN the real wait came at the baggage claim where we basically had to wait for one hour to get our bags. We were sweating like crazy at the Bali humidity. The airport had no air-con and we were beyond sleep-deprived. We just wanted to get to our hotel as fast as possible.
We booked an Uber to transfer us to our hotel but we couldn’t find it anywhere at the airport and then dozens of Bali taxi drivers started following us around everywhere we went searching for our Uber. It was crazy frustrating back then but it’s funny now when I think about it. They wouldn’t leave us even though we told them that we had an arranged transportation. Finally, we gave up after walking around the airport for about 15 minutes and we got the only taxi driver who remained by our side to take us to our hotel. Luka and I were so frustrated that night that we couldn’t look at each other. That’s what not sleeping for 24 hours + waiting an hour to get the bags + being overwhelmed by taxi drivers does to a person. While we were driving around Bali we couldn’t even enjoy the fact that we were there. We just wanted the day to be over already but the moment we arrived at Grand Mirah Boutique hotel it all changed…
To be continued.
