Tropical Serenity in Bali

(rain pattering) A light evening rain has just started here in Uluwatu, Bali. (rain pattering) Small round drops cool a stone path still warm from the afternoon sun. (rain pattering) The wind carries the earthy scent of wet leaves and grass from nearby paddies while the infinity pool ripples and mirrors the orange and violet sky. (rain pattering) Before we arrive, let's pause for a short wind-down exercise. For tonight's wind-down, you're going to use your imagination. So get your imagination ready and let's begin. (rain pattering) So no matter what's been going on today, whether it's been a busy day or a calm one, this is an opportunity to put everything down, to let go of any inner chatter, and find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. So first, get yourself comfortable in bed, just taking a moment to pause and be still. (rain pattering) And when you're ready, taking a big deep breath, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. (rain pattering) And as you breathe out, allowing the body to sink down into your bed, (rain pattering) feeling the weight of the body, (rain pattering) allowing thoughts to come and go. (rain pattering) Now imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight (rain pattering) flowing down through the body, (rain pattering) dissolving any tension, any discomfort as it begins to fill the body, starting with the toes moving up through the feet and the legs, being filled with sunlight, (rain pattering) the qualities of warmth, space, and ease as it continues to travel up through the body, up past the waist to the back and the stomach. (rain pattering) It's as though it washes away any discomfort. (rain pattering) It continues up through the chest and the back into the shoulders and down the arms, all the way down to the hands and fingers. (rain pattering) A sense of relief in the body and stillness in the mind as it continues to travel up through the neck and the throat into the head and face all the way to the very top of the body (wind whooshing) until there's nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. (rain pattering) And now, just gently bringing the attention back to the body. (wind whooshing) (rain pattering) An hour inland from the cliffside beaches of Uluwatu, a narrow uneven road winds its way through the rice terraces of Umalas. These fields have been shaped by generations, their mirrored paddies holding sky and water side by side, growing life from the smallest green wisps. (rain pattering) In the morning, mist drapes low over the paddies, curling around the ankles of farmers as they step through the sodden earth. (rain pattering) Each footfall sinks with a muffled weight, sending small ripples across the flooded rows. Dragonflies hover above the water, their glassy wings flashing like tiny panes of stained glass in the light. (rain pattering) Frogs croak from the reeds in an uneven but melodic...