Arriving out of alignment
I arrived in Bali for two weeks with a back that needed help. Back in Japan, my training is all jumping and landing in the airbag. Even with that cushion, every landing sends impact straight through my spine. It's the part of training nobody films: the recovery. (More on that trip in Airbag Training in Japan at Saitama Quest.)
All that impact means I have to be as deliberate about healing my body between sessions as I am about the sessions themselves. So in Bali I booked a few sessions to put my back into shape, and that led me to Align Pilates Bali, and to Lala Tamara.
Finding Align, and finding Lala
Align Pilates Bali is a small, holistic studio on Jalan Bumbak Dauh in Umalas, tucked away from the noise of Canggu and Seminyak. The space is calm and light, fitted with reformers and towers, and it feels more like a sanctuary than a gym.
From the first session, Lala Tamara made it clear this wasn't about pushing through. She watched how I moved before asking me to move more. She noticed the hip that dropped, the shoulder that crept up to my ear, the breath I kept holding. Then she built every session around what my body actually needed that day.
Inside the sessions
We only had a few sessions, so every one counted. Lala paired Pilates with deep stretching, and the combination was exactly what my back needed after months of hard landings. A few things became the backbone of my reset:
- Breath first. Every session started by getting my ribs and breath working together, before any load went on.
- Reformer foundations. Footwork, bridging and leg work on the reformer rebuilt strength without strain on my joints.
- Tower work for length. The springs gave me support to open my spine, hips and shoulders in ways I couldn't on my own.
- Deep core, not crunches. Lala kept pulling my attention back to the small stabilising muscles I'd been bypassing for years.
- Constant fine-tuning. A hand on my pelvis, a cue to soften my neck, a reminder to lengthen rather than grip.
I filmed a few moments along the way, partly to remember the exercises and partly because I didn't quite believe my own progress until I saw it.
What the reset gave me
By the end of two weeks, my back felt like mine again. I stood taller without thinking about it, my spine moved more freely, and my core was switched back on, ready to absorb the next landing instead of passing it on to my lower back.
The bigger shift was mental. Lala reminded me that healing is part of training, not a break from it. Pilates with stretching is what puts me back together between the impact, and now it's a non-negotiable part of my routine.
I left Bali in better shape than I arrived, and took that practice with me as I chased the snow down under at Cardrona, New Zealand.
If you're heading to Bali
If your body needs a reset rather than a beating, I can't recommend Align enough. A few tips from my time there:
- Book private sessions if you can. One-to-one time with Lala is where the real change happened for me.
- Tell her honestly what hurts and what you want. She tailors everything, including programs for posture and scoliosis.
- Even a short stay is enough. A few sessions close together over two weeks made a real difference for me.
- Let it be slow. The precision is the point.
Book a session at Align Pilates Bali, and follow along on Instagram at @alignpilatesbali.
Closing
The big jumps get the attention, but it's the quiet work in between that keeps me in the air. Two weeks in Umalas reminded me that strength isn't just about how hard you can land. It's about how well you recover, realign and come back ready for more.
Thank you, Lala, for putting me back together. See you on the reformer next time I'm in Bali.
And thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this, you'll find more stories from training, travel and chasing snow on my blog, and day-to-day moments on Instagram at @zazi.betari.
With love,
Zazi
PS. Follow the adventures of Zazi, Snowboard Girl & Indonesian Model, on Instagram: Click Here!
