Holidays with Intention – Frontward Bali, a family retreat review by Om & Away

I was almost falling asleep, and I got a text from Mummyfiue’s Gidania. If you haven’t checked them out, they are a terrific mother and child portal. She asked if I would like would like to go on a parent and child trip by Holidays with Intention as a Mummyfique correspondent.

I checked out their program and it looked amazing! The kids and adults have their own separate program in the mornings, and they all get together for lunch and to explore in the afternoons. It was perfect.

Mom Guilt

As I travel pretty often to review retreats, the inevitable mom-guilt creeps up when i have to travel and leave the kids at home. This retreat however, gave me the perfect opportunity to do a trip with them. With that, we were all geared up for this holiday with an “intention”. I pulled both my daughters out from school for a week and we were all set to go. Needless to say, the girls were very excited about their first mommy and daughters trip.

The First Day

The first morning, we started off the retreat with a circle. Honestly, I was a little nervous as I haven’t met anyone before in this group. I really did not know what to expect, living with this group in this huge villa estate for the next six days.

Melissa Indot, the co-founder of Holidays with Intention, started the circle by jumping straight into song. She sang “Ho’oponopono” a traditional Hawaiian song. This mantra has four lines. 

“ I”m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.” The kids were silenced, all 22 pairs of eyes were on Melissa. A mom started sniffing. Such a simple song, but when it was sang by Melissa, I was totally engulfed with goosebumps.  That set the tone for this retreat, all my nerves was all washed away and I knew that we were going to be in for a treat! We introduced ourselves and we set out to take the kids to the Front Yard Play school.

The Frontyard Playschool

The FrontYard Playschool was set up by Ping and Tracey from scratch. Ping is the founder of Frontyard School and Tracey is a former Montessori teacher. Both of them had planned an activity-rich program for the kids. The children in this group ranged from 9 months old to 7 years old. The teachers were assisted by caring Balinese nannies. I must say, it was a great set up for kids of these different ages to play, and learn from each other. 

When my girls came back from school on Day 2, I asked,”What did you girls learn in school today?” 

“Respect,” Ava and Mya replied.

I knew then, that it was the right decision to come here, the teachers were doing a great job. Values were being instilled in them without teaching them.

The Daily Grind

The daily schedule is breakfast in the morning, the kids jump on the school bus to the FrontYard Playschool. They do craft, physical activity like walks on the beach, gymnastics or dance, and music. The parents then start a 90min yoga session at 9am. After which, we relax and enjoy “me” time, or work. The kids come back to the villa for lunch and we move on to our own activity in the afternoons.

All our meals were prepared and served in the villa. We were fed wholesome food with options for my gluten-free, egg and dairy-free diet. Bali is also famous for its delectable cafes and restaurants, so some of the moms also made arrangements to try out certain cafes in Bali. We had a good time eating at Genius Cafe, which was a stone’s throw away from the villa; It served great coconut shakes, and creative salads. The plating and setting on the beach was insta-worthy for sure!

During our free time in the afternoons, the different families went off to galavant on their own. My daughters and I hung out at the pool and swam everyday. Bali really has a lot to offer – our friends went off to visit temples at Uluwatu, waterfalls in Ubud, shopping in Seminyak, Museums in Kuta.

The Parents Workshops

There were two workshops for the adults on this retreat. They were held in the evenings. The first being the Serenity Vibration Healing Workshop and the second, Intuitive Music Programming Workshop. These workshops are good for first-timers and seasoned retreat go-ers. It is always good to keep track of yourself, ask yourself questions and discover change. I thoroughly enjoyed both the workshops, especially the latter. Melissa would play and sing songs in the program, and we would reflect on certain topics with those chosen songs. It was a reflective workshop that brought us through dreams and hopes.

The location – Bali

I must say though, that their choice of city – Bali could not have been a better choice. It is a beautiful island with kind and welcoming people. The nature and cultural attractions are uniquely Bali and its sunsets are gorgeous.  There is always magic that happens when I visit Bali, and this time it was the amazing trip by Holidays with Intention.

My Closing

And like what we started off with this holiday with intention in a circle, we closed the trip with a closing circle. I got a little emotional saying goodbye, but I had an amazing time. I would recommend this trip for any mom, whether or not you do yoga! A couple of moms who have never done yoga were in this trip and they loved it. One mom, May even signed up with studios in Singapore to continue her yoga journey! She said, “I”m committing myself to wellness because 5 days of yoga mornings in Bali has given me the motivation to self-care” 

Holidays with Intention is a perfect getaway for moms and dads with children. A special bond was created between my daughters and I.

The Friendships

There is one thing that made this trip very memorable – and that was the newfound friendships that we have made, for myself and my daughters. My daughters now want to invite *Mabel and *Sandy to her birthday party in June. The moms that are from Singapore are now organizing a reunion yoga session.

If reading this has whet your appetite to go on a retreat, check Holiday with Intention for details on when the next trip and Om & Away for more of such holidays ideas for yourself and your family!

*names have been changed to protect the privacy of the children.