Write in Balance

Bali 2026

Updated 11/12/2025

Note: Currently the retreat is fully booked. Let us know if you'd like to join the waiting list or to be notified of possible future retreats.

Thank you so much for considering our Bali retreat to be held June 25-30, 2026. We, along with eighteen new and old friends, will converge at the Soulshine Bali retreat center in the lovely town of Ubud, on the island of Bali, in the country of Indonesia. This brochure answers some frequently asked questions.

We’ve planned a flexible and informal program that includes some yoga, mindfulness techniques, and writing sessions for all levels. Participate as much or as little as you wish. There’ll be ample free time to walk, hike, bike, e-bike, socialize, eat, or simply relax and enjoy Soulshine’s facilities.

Plans & Goals

As with our previous retreats, we strive to create a community of participants in an unfamiliar location, chosen for its remarkable beauty, distance from home, commitment to sustainable tourism, and opportunities for local philanthropy. It’s in this setting that we’ll offer guidance in Yoga, mindfulness, and writing. Everything is optional, and offerings will be tuned to our participants’ abilities and interests.

We’ve found that navigating travel and new cultural environments takes us out of our rote, habitual routines, and opens us up to learn and grow.

Yoga and Mindfulness. Jeri focuses on two styles of Hatha Yoga, both suitable for anyone from beginners to advanced practitioners. There will be a morning energizing flow, and an evening relaxing yin/meditative style emphasizing postures, breathing, and focused concentration/mindfulness meditation techniques.

Writing. Barry’s component reflects on the diverse purposes, genres, and styles of writing, from personal journaling to writing for the masses. He’ll offer a wealth of tips and tricks for every aspect of writing, drawing on his decades of experience in publishing. For those interested, group discussions and feedback sessions have proven to be a fun and effective way to bounce ideas around and unlock creativity. (His latest book, Everyday Extraordinary, comes out in March 2026, and is now available everywhere for pre-sale.)

Play & Connect. This combination of activities – learning, walking, hiking, biking, shared meals, a karma yoga project, R&R, and a final closing celebration – will reinforce our sense of connection with ourselves, with others, and with the community and environment.

As already mentioned, all sessions and practices are completely optional, with adjustments on the fly to suit the needs and interests of the group. Structure with flexibility… kinda like life! 😉

Details

The cost is $1,500 per person, with two people per room. A $500 deposit holds your spot, with an additional $500 due November 15th, 2025, and the remaining $500 due by February 15th, 2026. (All payments are non-refundable.) The price includes Soulshine’s amazing breakfasts and dinners. We recommend purchasing cancel-for-any-reason trip insurance in case the unexpected occurs.

Traveling solo? Let us know. We’ll try to connect you with another attendee in a similar circumstance.

A note about travel logistics: Please note that we’re not travel agents. We’ll try to be helpful by sharing our experiences booking big trips like this one, and facilitating Q&A sessions amongst attendees as we all prepare for our journeys. To this end, all who’ve reserved a space will be added to our WhatsApp discussion group. There, anyone can request or share information about flights, overland options, and other places to visit, among other things. We’ll also hold one or two fun, in-person potluck gatherings to address questions and share our insights with each other as preparations move forward.

Registering

To register, send your name, address, and phone number to barry@bmarkovsky.com. Deposits should be sent to Barry, preferably via Venmo (@Barry-Markovsky). Alternatives, including personal checks, are also accepted.

Questions? Call or email barry@bmarkovsky.com

More Deets

Here’s what’s included during the retreat:

Five nights in a gorgeous double-occupancy room at the Soulshine Bali retreat center, a barefoot luxury resort nestled in a jungle paradise, surrounded by rice terraces, ancient temples, and a river along the edge of the property. It’s also a short scooter or taxi ride from central Ubud, our favorite small city in Bali.
Dinners starting on arrival day, and breakfasts through departure day. Meals are organic, locally sourced and vegetarian. Alcohol is available for purchase.
Karma Yoga Project – performing service to others. Soulshine donates 3% of its revenues from our visit to support local causes. In addition, we’ll be donating any surplus we receive from attendees’ payments.
Lots and lots of relaxing in arguably the most incredible settings on the planet.

The retreat price doesn’t include airfare or other excursions. Soulshine organizes a variety of experiences, and we’ll forward information on these after you’re registered. We’ll organize one or more group activities if there’s interest.

We suggest arriving at least a few days ahead of the retreat. Explore a bit on your own while acclimating to the time change and culture.

Are You Ready?

…to travel sustainably, learn about a new culture, hone your skills in yoga, writing, and mindfulness, and have a transformative experience in a beautiful place? We are psyched about this trip, and hope you are, too.

Note: by sending your deposit you acknowledge that neither Barry, Jeri, nor the venue, staff, other participants, or the practice itself, are in any way responsible for any injury or other happenstance that may occur before, during or after the retreat.

Extra Stuff

This is a non-profit endeavor. Revenues will exceed costs if we have a full group, in which case we’ll donate the surplus to Yayasan Bumi Sehat, translation: “Healthy Mother Earth Foundation.” We toured their birthing center in 2023 and were blown away by the invaluable services they provide for local women.
Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your planned Bali trip. Most passports can be renewed online at the State Department’s website. Please take care of this as soon as possible.
The local currency in Bali is the rupiah, abbreviated IDR. Prices for everything in Bali were incredibly low when we visited in 2023. Now they should be even lower as the U.S. dollar’s value has risen around 8% when purchasing Rupiah. Currently, the exchange rate is 16,192 IDR per USD.
Bali’s time zone is twelve hours ahead of ours, reflecting the fact that the island is on the opposite side of the planet from us. Traveling there may be easier than you’d expect, especially when we fire up the group chat and share information with each other.
Flight costs are comparable to those for European destinations. Our first trip was flawless and comfortable. This was partly due to good luck, but mostly because we left ample time between connections, and paid a little more for seats with extra legroom.
FYI, here’s how we did it last time: flew AVL to Newark (EWR); stayed overnight near the airport; flew direct to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Air; stayed overnight in Singapore (taking care of most of our jet lag!), and then took a 2.5-hour flight to Denpasar, Bali, the next morning. Finally, we took a taxi from the airport (~$25) to the retreat center in Ubud, less than an hour away.
Since Bali is located near the equator, the time between sunrise and sunset varies little throughout the year. While we’re visiting, sunrise will be around 6:30 AM, and sunset at 6:15 PM. Expect low temperatures of around 72 degrees overnight and highs of 80 degrees each afternoon.
As the retreat date nears, we’ll supply up-to-date information about any visas or inoculations you may need or want. (No inoculations were required two years ago.) Requirements can fluctuate over time, but it’s a fairly simple matter to take care of such things in advance. We’ll also have recommendations about useful apps for transportation and money transactions.

Write in Balance

Registering

To register, send your name, address, and phone number to barry@bmarkovsky.com. Deposits should be sent to Barry, preferably via Venmo (@Barry-Markovsky). Alternatives, including personal checks, are also accepted.

Questions? Call or email barry@bmarkovsky.com

More Deets

Here’s what’s included during the retreat:

Dinners starting on arrival day, and breakfasts through departure day. Meals are organic, locally sourced and vegetarian. Alcohol is available for purchase.

Karma Yoga Project – performing service to others. Soulshine donates 3% of its revenues from our visit to support local causes. In addition, we’ll be donating any surplus we receive from attendees’ payments.

Lots and lots of relaxing in arguably the most incredible settings on the planet.

The retreat price doesn’t include airfare or other excursions. Soulshine organizes a variety of experiences, and we’ll forward information on these after you’re registered. We’ll organize one or more group activities if there’s interest.

We suggest arriving at least a few days ahead of the retreat. Explore a bit on your own while acclimating to the time change and culture.

Are You Ready?

…to travel sustainably, learn about a new culture, hone your skills in yoga, writing, and mindfulness, and have a transformative experience in a beautiful place? We are psyched about this trip, and hope you are, too.

Note: by sending your deposit you acknowledge that neither Barry, Jeri, nor the venue, staff, other participants, or the practice itself, are in any way responsible for any injury or other happenstance that may occur before, during or after the retreat.

Extra Stuff

Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your planned Bali trip. Most passports can be renewed online at the State Department’s website. Please take care of this as soon as possible.

The local currency in Bali is the rupiah, abbreviated IDR. Prices for everything in Bali were incredibly low when we visited in 2023. Now they should be even lower as the U.S. dollar’s value has risen around 8% when purchasing Rupiah. Currently, the exchange rate is 16,192 IDR per USD.

Bali’s time zone is twelve hours ahead of ours, reflecting the fact that the island is on the opposite side of the planet from us. Traveling there may be easier than you’d expect, especially when we fire up the group chat and share information with each other.

Flight costs are comparable to those for European destinations. Our first trip was flawless and comfortable. This was partly due to good luck, but mostly because we left ample time between connections, and paid a little more for seats with extra legroom.

Since Bali is located near the equator, the time between sunrise and sunset varies little throughout the year. While we’re visiting, sunrise will be around 6:30 AM, and sunset at 6:15 PM. Expect low temperatures of around 72 degrees overnight and highs of 80 degrees each afternoon.

Thank you for considering this adventure and trusting us to guide your experience!

Warmly,

Jeri and Barry🙏

“Everyone should sit under a tree and listen"

Write in Balance

Registering

To register, send your name, address, and phone number to barry@bmarkovsky.com. Deposits should be sent to Barry, preferably via Venmo (@Barry-Markovsky). Alternatives, including personal checks, are also accepted.

Questions? Call or email barry@bmarkovsky.com

More Deets

Here’s what’s included during the retreat:

Dinners starting on arrival day, and breakfasts through departure day. Meals are organic, locally sourced and vegetarian. Alcohol is available for purchase.

Karma Yoga Project – performing service to others. Soulshine donates 3% of its revenues from our visit to support local causes. In addition, we’ll be donating any surplus we receive from attendees’ payments.

Lots and lots of relaxing in arguably the most incredible settings on the planet.

The retreat price doesn’t include airfare or other excursions. Soulshine organizes a variety of experiences, and we’ll forward information on these after you’re registered. We’ll organize one or more group activities if there’s interest.

We suggest arriving at least a few days ahead of the retreat. Explore a bit on your own while acclimating to the time change and culture.

Are You Ready?

…to travel sustainably, learn about a new culture, hone your skills in yoga, writing, and mindfulness, and have a transformative experience in a beautiful place? We are psyched about this trip, and hope you are, too.

Note: by sending your deposit you acknowledge that neither Barry, Jeri, nor the venue, staff, other participants, or the practice itself, are in any way responsible for any injury or other happenstance that may occur before, during or after the retreat.

Extra Stuff

Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your planned Bali trip. Most passports can be renewed online at the State Department’s website. Please take care of this as soon as possible.

The local currency in Bali is the rupiah, abbreviated IDR. Prices for everything in Bali were incredibly low when we visited in 2023. Now they should be even lower as the U.S. dollar’s value has risen around 8% when purchasing Rupiah. Currently, the exchange rate is 16,192 IDR per USD.

Bali’s time zone is twelve hours ahead of ours, reflecting the fact that the island is on the opposite side of the planet from us. Traveling there may be easier than you’d expect, especially when we fire up the group chat and share information with each other.

Flight costs are comparable to those for European destinations. Our first trip was flawless and comfortable. This was partly due to good luck, but mostly because we left ample time between connections, and paid a little more for seats with extra legroom.

Since Bali is located near the equator, the time between sunrise and sunset varies little throughout the year. While we’re visiting, sunrise will be around 6:30 AM, and sunset at 6:15 PM. Expect low temperatures of around 72 degrees overnight and highs of 80 degrees each afternoon.

Thank you for considering this adventure and trusting us to guide your experience!

​

Warmly,

Jeri and Barry🙏

“Everyone should sit under a tree and listen"