Experiences
Acupuncture, Yoga Nidra and Sound Healing in Bali: Why We Combine Them in a Lunar Practice
15 August 2026 · The Samyama Team
If you've searched for acupuncture in Bali, yoga nidra in Bali, or sound healing in Ubud, you've probably noticed these are usually offered as separate things — an acupuncture clinic here, a yoga studio there, a sound bath somewhere else. At Samyama, we take a different approach with Lunar Yin & Pins, a lunar practice that brings Yin Yoga, acupuncture, live sound healing and yoga nidra together into a single session. Here's why that combination works, and what each piece is actually doing.
What Is Yoga Nidra?
Yoga nidra is often translated as "yogic sleep." Unlike meditation, which usually asks you to sit upright and stay alert, yoga nidra is practised lying down, guided by a facilitator's voice as the body moves toward sleep while a thread of awareness stays quietly present. It's one of the most direct ways to shift the nervous system out of a stressed, "switched on" state and into deep rest — which is part of why yoga nidra in Bali has become popular with travellers and residents alike who are looking for something more restorative than a typical class.
Why Combine Yin Yoga With Acupuncture?
Yin yoga is built around long-held, passive postures — often three to five minutes each — that work into the connective tissue rather than the muscles. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, many of these shapes correspond to specific meridian lines, the pathways along which acupuncture points are traditionally mapped. Holding a posture that follows a meridian, and then introducing acupuncture at the point where the body is already open and still, is a natural pairing rather than two unrelated modalities placed side by side.
At Lunar Yin & Pins, this is guided by a Doctor of Acupuncture, whose training in meridian theory shapes both the sequence of postures and the acupuncture points used during the practice. Acupuncture is entirely optional — if you'd rather stay in the posture without needles, that's a straightforward choice to make on the night.
The Role of Sound Healing in Nervous System Reset
Live sound — in this case from Tibetan and crystal bowls — works differently to music you'd listen to for enjoyment. The slow, resonant tones are used to support entrainment, where the nervous system gradually synchronises with a slower external rhythm. Combined with acupuncture and yin postures, sound healing helps carry the body further into the parasympathetic, rest-and-digest state rather than staying alert. This is also why sound healing in Ubud tends to be offered as a closing or accompanying element rather than a stand-alone class — it works best layered with something else that's already slowing the body down.
Why a Lunar Practice?
The name Lunar Yin & Pins reflects the practice's slower, cyclical quality rather than requiring it to fall on a particular moon phase. It offers a memorable space to step out of the usual pace and settle into a structured, guided wind-down through Yin Yoga, acupuncture, sound and Yoga Nidra.
Experience It at Samyama: Lunar Yin & Pins
Lunar Yin & Pins is hosted by The Way of Wellness at Samyama Self Healing Centre, Ubud. Over approximately 90 minutes, you'll move through a sequence of long-held Yin Yoga postures accompanied by live sound, a final restorative posture where acupuncture is optionally introduced, and a closing yoga nidra that leads into an extended sound bath.
No previous experience with yoga, meditation or acupuncture is required — just a willingness to lie down and let go.
Your Facilitators
Yanti Panjaitan is a yoga teacher and sound healer with more than 20 years of personal practice and over 12 years of teaching experience, working across Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra, alongside sound healing studied in the lineage of a Tibetan Lama.
Dr Grant Smith (Acu) holds a Master of Acupuncture and practises Traditional Chinese Medicine and homoeopathy, with more than 20 years of yoga practice and over 12 years of teaching experience. His understanding of meridian theory shapes the Yin Yoga sequence and the acupuncture points used during the practice.
Places are limited to ensure each participant has enough space and individual attention. For dates and bookings, see the Lunar Yin & Pins event page.