On an open-air yoga pavilion cradled in a verdant Malaysian rainforest canopy, I’m attempting to push the boundaries of my flexibility with a Pigeon Pose, when a gentle rustling in the trees shifts my focus away from my recalcitrant hip flexors. “Who would have thought we’d be doing yoga with a monkey swinging past us?” Heidi Horne, the Australian stress management expert leading the yoga retreat at Ambong-Ambong Langkawi, remarks with amusement as a dusky leaf monkey leaps across the branches.
It’s one of many delightful moments within a five-day, four-night retreat held recently at the luxurious hilltop rainforest resort, which restores guests’ bodies and spirits as Horne shepherds us along a holistic exploration of mindfulness, movement, and self-discovery. (Prices start from RM12,070 per person for a Solo Journey or RM7,220 per person for a Couple’s Experience, including accommodation in a private villa at Ambong Pool Villas.) Never has this been more necessary: a 2024 Wellness at Work report by Employee Hero found that burnout among Malaysian employees stood at an alarming 67 per cent.
“We live in a distractive, constantly connected world,” says Horne—a highly experienced speaker, coach, facilitator, and founder of the One Minute Reset App (a stress-crushing daily routine app)—which means that chronic stress often feels like an inescapable facet of modern life. Her retreat serves as the pitch-perfect antidote to the crush and grind of daily life, employing powerful yoga, meditation, and motivational techniques to coax guests back into their own flow state for better creativity—or to “create that space, that open canvas”, as she puts it.
Yoga lessons at sunrise and the late afternoon range from gentle Hatha yoga to fast-paced Fire Flow sequences, during which Horne’s accreditation as a Yoga Australia Level 3 Senior Teacher ensures her classes are both appropriately challenging and supportive. Her compelling meditation and breathwork sessions introduce concepts such as alternative nostril breathing (which helps lower the body’s stress response system), Yoga Nidra (guided meditations that induce a state of conscious relaxation), and somatic breathwork (powerful deep-breathing exercises to reset the nervous system).
Mindfulness exercises are conducted with the intention of aligning guests with their purpose, encouraging us to think properly—rather than just fleetingly—about what we envision for our future selves. Positive affirmations and gratitude meditations heighten our appreciation of the small details in our lives that are often taken for granted, with Horne helpfully suggesting, “think of it as a treasure hunt at the end of the day”. Ambong-Ambong Langkawi’s ability to combine luxury hospitality with wellness means there are treasures abound, starting with their nine Ambong Pool Villas, each providing a spacious, secluded jungle-framed haven to relax in between yoga sessions.
Despite being an unrepentant carnivore, I take pleasure in plant-based dishes served at the resort’s dining spaces—which include Rimba, Rimba Sky, and Pegaga vegan café—such as crunchy mushroom tacos and spice-infused jungle laksa. Any post-yoga muscle aches are kneaded away under the skilled ministrations of my massage therapist at the on-site spa, Amaala Spa & Wellness. An excursion to Buluh & Tebing—a charming 4.5ha organic farm on the other side of Langkawi island, complete with a mushroom house, rice barn, and orchid nursery—concludes with an engaging vegan cooking class that incorporates freshly picked vegetables and herbs.
“We created Ambong-Ambong to be a sanctuary where people can find stillness, reconnect with nature, and rediscover themselves,” says Amran Ahmed, the managing director and co-founder of Ambong-Ambong Resorts. “It is a joy to collaborate with practitioners like Heidi, whose work so deeply aligns with our values of holistic wellness and mindful living.” By the end of the retreat, I marvel at how much more limber my habitually sedentary body has become, and how effectively Horne has corralled the fluttering strands of my thoughts throughout her guided meditation sessions.
“There’s so much I want to share with people that goes beyond the actual physical poses in a normal yoga class,” she says. “At the end of the day, I feel people have had some form of transformation in terms of opening their eyes to connecting with their inner self, changing a belief pattern, or adopting a new mindfulness practice that they can take home.” Horne’s future retreats are scheduled to take place in New Zealand and Italy, but a potential return to Ambong-Ambong Langkawi next year will provide a much-needed respite for those of us at the very end of our tethers in Malaysia.
