From Jennifer

This is from my friend Jennifer who decided to pack up her life and leave it behind to discover herself and move it forward.

Fromheretoenlightenment.blogspot.com

Healing in Ubud

I have had a terrible case of writer's block over the past month in Bali or, as my mother cutely refers to it, “writer’s blog”. The experiences that I have had here are so surreal and beautiful that I feel like it would be almost impossible to adequately capture my experiences on a page. I could never do them justice but I will do my best.

The decision to come to Bali initially took place in December 2008 while I was in India for Ben and Ione’s wedding. It was my last night at Peedam and I had just experienced a private fire ceremony in the heart of Amma’s Golden Temple. My friends, Jo and Edo, were sitting in the dining room at the ashram and we were discussing dreams and my yearning to break free and travel for awhile. They mentioned that they might be going to Bali in June for a yoga retreat and would I be interested in joining them if they did. I was on such a high from the experience at the temple that I answered “yes!” without hesitation. There was simply no question that I needed to go. I am so happy that I listened to my intuition.

I booked the retreat while I was travelling in India in May. I did not know where I was going and never bothered to look up the Bagus Jati resort website. All I had was the date to arrive and an address. I was told that we would be located in Ubud, which I was really excited to experience since my last two weeks had been spent in Canggu which is more residential and not as hippie/ artsy as I understood Ubud to be. When I gave the address to Nyoman, the sweet taxi driver who had been taking such good care of me on my treks back and forth to the orphanage in Denpasar, he informed me that I would actually be staying a good ½ hour outside of Ubud. “You will be residing in the mountains, in the wilderness. It is a very beautiful, magical place.” He assured me.

Now I know I keep repeating throughout my journey that each place I have been to so far to be “breathtaking” and “mind blowing” but THIS place was unbelievable. I could have never have dreamed a dream as beautiful and serene as Bagus Jati. The property is located in the mountains, everywhere you look is green. My “room” was actually a self standing bungalow with a straw thatched roof. The interior was stunning with twin beds (my roommate was Dans, a yoga teacher from Australia, who I fell madly in love with) and the bathroom is equipped with massage tables. The landscape of the property is exquisite. We are living on multi tiered levels of what must have been rice fields at some point.

Each day of the retreat consisted of 2 daytime yoga classes, the evenings ended with Kirtan (devotional call and response chanting which is led by Edo and Jo and is quite possibly my favorite aspect of the retreat) and meditation. One day involved a gorgeous hike to the top of Mt Batur (1.717 Meters), a Balinese volcano, which began at 3 am. We arrived at the top for sunrise and proceeded to chant the Gayatri Mantra as the sun flooded the sky. Some of us proceeded to hike into a tiny cave inside the volcano and participated in an impromptu Puja ceremony which set my heart on fire once again.

The people that I met during the retreat are some of the kindest, most compassionate and inspiring friends I have ever made who came from all corners of the world: Australia, Germany, New Zealand, and the US. On our final day, one of our teachers led us in an exercise called “Angel Whispers” where one yogi at a time was blindfolded and was led around the circle and each of us whispered what we appreciated about them softly in their ear. I kept my hands on my heart the whole time for fear that it might leap out of my chest if I let go.

After the retreat, some of us decided to take an impromptu trip to the Gilli Islands which are located off the North East coast of Bali. We spent four blissful days of snorkeling, bike riding, surfing, boat riding and sun bathing.

I returned to Ubud with Jo, Edo, Kay and Chrissi and checked into the lovely Ubud Aura which has been my home now for over a month. The hotel is owned by the local Guru, Mr. Ketut Arsana. He is a healer who also runs the beautiful Bodyworks massage center and Ashram Munivara. My room looks over acres of rice patties and I am woken up each day by the sounds of roosters and local farmers scaring birds away from their crops.

We are located right next door to Yoga Barn, the main Ubud yoga studio which becomes my home away from home. I attend classes daily which range from various Yoga styles to Tai Chi to meditation to lectures about life and spirituality. I am amazed at how much there is to learn and I am fascinated by it all.

Some people come to Bali, specifically Ubud, from all corners of the world to heal; the healing can be physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. Whatever ailment or suffering you are going through, there is most likely someone here with a remedy for it. Although I was not ailing from anything specific, I was still curious and open to meet with healers per friends’ suggestions.

The first healer I visited with in Ubud was an elderly man named Jokrta Ray (sp?). He is supposedly in his mid to late 80s but looks about 60. He spoke very little English but lead me to sit down on the floor between his legs. He proceeded to dig his fingers into different parts of my head, some areas hurt more than others. He told me that all of my organs are functioning properly except my mind. “You think too much. Your mind is overactive.” He then layed me down on the floor and began to press into my toes with a wooden stick. As tears streamed down my face, he started to make some drawings on my stomach while chanting in Balinese. I was then sat up and told to look at myself “in the mirror every day and smile big, then swallow your smile and feel it in your heart, solar plexus and sex organs. Then bring the smile up to your face again. No more living in the past. No more living in the mind. Now is what you have. The present time is all that matters. Enjoy your life completely and laugh out loud every day.” He then patted me on the back and sent me on my way. When I met up with my friend Ged (my gorgeous English neighbor/ soul sister who has been living in Australia for the past year) afterwards, she said I was glowing. I had no idea what had just happened but something in me felt lighter.

The following day, Ged and I went to our appointment with Wayan, the female healer who became famous after Elizabeth Gilbert’s account of her in “Eat. Pray. Love.” My session at the Balinese Healing Center has been a definite highlight of my trip, an experience I will remember forever. Wayan is a nice looking Balinese woman with a spitfire personality. Her “office” opens onto the street and my initial “consultation” took place in front of complete strangers (this tends to be the norm with healers in Bali, there is no room for shyness or secrecy here). She began by examining my legs and back, looked into my eyes and at my tongue. Her assessment of everything was exactly right on point from the ligament issues that I have in my left knee to the lower back pain that I occasionally suffer from. She then read my palm which was also accurate. From there, I was escorted upstairs to a room where I was instructed to change into a sarong. I was then sat down on a chair and for the next hour and a half my body was scrubbed down with herbs, mud and potions by 2 to 3 people at a time. Wayan stood over me occasionally, chanting over my body and blowing on my stomach at random intervals. This was followed by an hour long massage, shower with herbs and the most delicious meal that I have had to date. At the end of the session, Wayan stood me in front of a mirror and asked me what I saw. I saw happiness. My skin and spirit were glowing. I feel grateful and fortunate. As I hugged Wayan goodbye, she whispered softly in my ear “you have a beautiful heart. Don’t get stuck in your mind. Live for today; not for yesterday. Now is all you have.” If I was a skeptic, I would have thought that the healer from the day before had called her up and warned her that I was coming but being a believer, I decide to take their guidance to heart. I too had something to heal, as do we all.

I have visited with psychics and Qi Gong teachers, spent days bathing in holy water with Balinese devotees, taken a trip to Nusa Lembongan (a little healing island just South of Bali) and even went in for a “chakra tune up” and so far the most healing experience I have had has been the time that I spend with the children at the orphanage teaching yoga. That is when I am most “present”, feel most grateful and most at peace. This is how I know that I have found my calling. When I look at photos that friends have taken of me teaching, I see the same “glow” in my face as the day I spent with Wayan. The children are my healers and my teachers and they are the reason I set out on this journey. If someone had told me 10 years ago while I was working as a publicist in New York, promoting Hip Hop stars and fashion designers, that I would end up teaching children yoga and meditation, I would have probably thought that they were crazy. And not crazy in a bad way, crazy in a “that’s too good to be true way". India and Bali have shown me that when you follow your heart and have faith in yourself, anything is possible.

Sending healing love and light from Ubud.
xoxo