Kate W. Mak

A love letter to Ashley 💌

There’s something so deeply human about being remembered in the small details.

Not the grand gestures.
Not the performative declarations.
But the quiet noticing.

Years ago, a student brought me back a koala clip from Australia because during class I would often say, “squeeze like a koala bear clip from Australia.” One of those silly little teaching phrases that somehow becomes part of the fabric of a room over time.

I clipped it onto the side of my harmonium and it stayed there for years. Through trainings, classes, chanting, tears, laughter, events, unpacking and repacking. A tiny companion to so many moments of my life.

Over time, the clip wore out.

It stopped gripping properly.

It would randomly fall from the harmonium or the little koala would get lost in the cabinet having fallen off. And I remember casually mentioning one day, almost in passing, that it had finally broken after all these years.

And then a few days ago, a student returned from Australia and handed me a brand new koala clip.

I had only mentioned the broken one once.

That’s it.

And honestly, it made my heart swell and it touched me immensely. Even thinking about it, brings tears to my eyes.

Because the gift itself is sweet, yes.

But what moved me was something much deeper:

she remembered.

In a world where so many people are waiting to speak, waiting to be chosen, waiting to be acknowledged… being truly seen can feel almost shocking.

To be seen is to feel like you exist in someone else’s inner world.

To know your words didn’t just disappear into noise.

To realize someone paid attention to the tiny things that make you… you.

I think this is one of the deepest forms of love we can offer each other.

Not fixing.
Not saving.
Not impressing.
Just noticing.

The way someone takes their coffee.

The story they tell more than once.

The object they absentmindedly cherish.

The phrase they repeat when they teach.

The thing they laughed about that everyone else overlooked.

Love often lives there.

(Full post on my blog 🔗 in bio)

✨Devotion doesn’t feel loud here.

It’s not performative.
It’s not posted.
It’s not optimized.

It’s woven into each day, throughout the day.

A small square of palm leaf.
Petals placed with care and precision.
Incense lit.
A whisper of gratitude offered before the day begins.

In Bali, devotion lives on sidewalks and doorsteps. It sits outside cafés and family compounds. It’s stepped over, tended to, replaced again tomorrow. Ordinary. Consistent. Sacred because it is daily.

I think that’s what moves me most.

Devotion isn’t grand gestures.
It’s repetition.
It’s intention.
It’s choosing, again and again, what you bow to.

I don’t live here. I won’t carry canang sari back to Canada.
But I can carry the practice.

Devotion in making my morning coffee.
How I teach.
How I speak someone’s name.
How I care for my body.
How I choose integrity when it would be easier not to.

Maybe devotion isn’t about geography.
Maybe it’s about attention.

And maybe the real practice is this:
to make the everyday holy.

✨🌴☀️

And that’s a wrap!

I first came to Bali in 2013 after meeting in Calgary because voluntold her come to a hot yoga class. 🙃
The moment I woke up at , I was in love and have been coming back here to lead my own retreats and very luckily be a part of retreats as well.

The world pandy really took the wind out of my sails and if I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure I would be able to get enough people to the retreat. 🧟‍♀️There goes imposter syndrome again.

But here we are now, happily finished a retreat with these sparkly human beings. Sharing a piece of the world and experiences unique to Bali that I’ve come to love so very much.

My gratitude is endless for all these friends who said yes to this adventure on the other side of the world. Some of them, joining this retreat without ever meeting me beforehand.

I feel soooooooooo lucky. So full in my heart.

And the best part? The wind is back in my sails 🌬️⛵️ and I’m ready to relaunch retreats again. In fact, I’m already booked Oct 4 - 11, 2025 and will be launching soon with early bird rooms (once they’re gone, they’re gone).

♥️ Thank you for always lifting me and guiding me to be better. Thank you for working tirelessly behind the scenes to make things happen for me and the group. Thank you team for making everybody’s experience a 5-star luxury stay. Thank you for taking time out of your morning to surprise everybody with a private concert where we got a sneak peak of one of your new tracks.

I've been adding videos to the library and will soon be creating content (10-20 mins) to help target specific needs.

Kate W. Mak Welcome to my channel and thanks for stopping by! I am a Calgary based yoga teacher and created this channel to answer, address and discuss yoga. Enjoy your ...

5 years ago today, I played the harmonium for the first time in class and a student happened to capture this.

Grateful for my teachers sharing their chords and mantras with me and for students being so open to hearing my song.

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