By Michael Torres
A year ago, life was a mess of 2 AM meditation app downloads and AA meetings despite no drinking problem. The divorce after 15 years left me lost, with only a pharmaceutical sales career that felt ethically wrong. Insomnia and digestive issues worsened, and the men’s hiking group failed too vulnerable to open up.
Searching for things to do in Tabanan Bali led me to Bali Palms, a sanctuary offering structured retreat packages. Skeptical but desperate, I chose the Mind, Body and Soul Retreat.
Now, working in medical device sales, my life feels authentic not because Bali fixed me, but because it gave me permission to feel what I’d suppressed. Tabanan became the place where real transformation began.
What You’ll Discover:
- How Mount Batukaru’s hidden trails taught surrender and emotional release through nature
- Why the Melukat purification ceremony at a village temple provided the breakthrough therapy couldn’t
- The unexpected connection between Jatiluwih Rice Terraces and questioning career ethics
- How traditional Balinese healing practices offered a new perspective on interconnected wellness
Reconnecting with Nature in Bali’s Sacred Highlands
The expectations were typical: Instagram-worthy rice terraces and overpriced smoothie bowls. What the natural environment of Tabanan actually did was strip away defenses entirely. For nature lovers seeking more than scenic views, this region offers something profound a mirror for the soul.
Exploring Mount Batukaru’s Hidden Trails
The first real experience was a mindful trek on Mount Batukaru’s slopes, arranged through Bali Palms. Tabanan Regency, the greenest on the island with over 14,000 hectares of protected forest, is recognized as a wellness tourism destination. But statistics don’t capture the full feeling of being surrounded by its natural beauty.
With a local guide, the trail led off the beaten path to a hidden waterfall known only to locals. This wasn’t a typical tourist spot. The muddy, unpredictable trail challenged every control instinct something sales training had ingrained. But in the mountains, surrender was the only option.
At the waterfall, exhausted and filthy, control finally slipped away. Sitting on those rocks brought the first real tears in months. The trek taught what therapy couldn’t: healing required a different, gentler approach.
Visiting Jatiluwih Rice Terraces at Sunrise
Sunrise at the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, before tour buses arrived, revealed more than just a beautiful landscape. This UNESCO World Heritage Site, with rice paddies stretching across mountainsides maintained by the ancient subak irrigation system, embodies a philosophy of harmony.
Arriving before dawn through Bali Palms’ retreat package allowed watching farmers perform rituals to Dewi Sri, the rice goddess, highlighting a deep sense of community unlike the individualistic world of pharmaceutical sales.
This cultural heritage planted seeds for a career transition, showing that life could be rooted in balance rather than just personal gain.
Practicing Morning Yoga in the Jungle
Yoga had always seemed too “soft” for my self-image. But practicing in a yoga shala surrounded by ancient trees and a flowing river felt completely different. This open-air space at Bali Palms made nature part of the practice.
The Mind, Body and Soul Retreat included daily yoga sessions that were gentle and connection-focused rather than performance-driven. The fresh forest air calmed my nervous system in ways medications hadn’t.
The practice wasn’t graceful, and stillness was hard to find, but connecting breath to river sounds brought moments of real peace more than I’d had in months. It became an ideal place to discover that stillness doesn’t require perfection.
Immersing in Balinese Healing and Ceremony
This section was the hardest to write. It sounds “too out there” for someone with a pharmaceutical background. But it’s also the most important part of discovering what Tabanan offers beyond the typical tourist attractions.
Experiencing Traditional Melukat Purification at a Village Temple
Through Bali Palms’ strong local connections, I accessed a Melukat a traditional purification ceremony not found in typical Tabanan Bali guides. This authentic ritual, held at a village temple, required cultural sensitivity and trust built over years.
Initially skeptical, I participated despite doubts about what colleagues might think. The ceremony, led by a village elder, used sacred spring water and prayers to cleanse body and spirit.
Her words about grief as “love with sacred purpose” helped me confront overwhelming shame and anger from my divorce. The Melukat allowed me to finally feel and acknowledge my loss not healed, but honest and made the trip worthwhile.
Discovering Local Healers and Traditional Wisdom
Time with a balian a traditional healer was facilitated through the retreat’s network with deep respect for cultural protocols. These healers understand the connection between physical, emotional, and spiritual health in ways that felt revolutionary to someone from a medical-adjacent background.
Pharmaceutical sales training sees the body as a collection of systems manageable through chemistry. The balian saw health as interconnection emotional wounds manifesting as physical symptoms, spiritual disconnection showing up as chronic stress.
It echoed reading about Jamu in the Warmadewa Medical Journal (2023), which confirmed the effectiveness of traditional tonics using plants and ingredients like turmeric that Western medicine is only now “discovering.”
This perspective shift became part of what eventually pushed the transition toward medical device sales, where the work feels like supporting actual healing rather than just managing symptoms with prescriptions.
Attending Community Ceremonies and Cultural Events
Being welcomed into village ceremonies was one of the trip’s most powerful experiences. These weren’t tourist performances but genuine expressions of faith and community. During full moon offerings, the intricate preparations and gamelan music created a deep sense of connection and belonging, unlike anything back home.
This cultural heritage, passed down through generations, offers a framework for emotional expression often missing in Western professional life. It was a must-visit experience to see how spirituality is woven into daily life rather than compartmentalized.
Nourishing Mind and Body Through Conscious Cuisine
One of the most grounding experiences was a cooking class not in some commercial kitchen, but in a local family’s home, arranged through Bali Palms’ community connections. This interesting place where generations gathered offered more than recipes.
Learning Traditional Cooking from Local Families
Grinding fresh turmeric, lemongrass, and galangal into spice paste while learning recipes passed down through generations became unexpectedly meditative. In the old life, food was fuel between sales calls. Here, food is medicine. The same ingredients used in cooking are foundational to traditional healing practices.
The slow-food movement isn’t a trend in Tabanan it’s how people have always lived, rooted in fertile volcanic soil and respect for ingredients. This lovely place in a family’s kitchen became a great place to discover how disconnected from basic nourishment life had become.
Savoring Healing Ingredients and Traditional Preparations
The connection between cooking and wellness became impossible to miss. Plants used in daily meals turmeric, coconut, fresh herbs are the same ones used in traditional medicine. Learning to prepare these ingredients with intention created a practice that continued back home.
Eating with Intention at Bali Palms
All meals in the Mind, Body and Soul Retreat were sourced from Bali Palms’ gardens or nearby farms, offering fresh, vibrant food that nourished beyond calories and supported the local community.
Eating with intention, as taught by the balian, became a lasting practice, connecting me to something deeper than work.
Integrating Experience Through Stillness and Reflection
The most important lesson: transformation doesn’t happen during peak experiences. It happens in quiet moments afterward, in the space created for reflection and meditation.
Sunset Meditation by the Rice Fields
Every evening, I spent time at the edge of the rice terraces during sunset, watching the golden light shift across the landscape.
Fifteen to twenty minutes of silent meditation among the rice paddies often right from Bali Palms’ grounds surrounded by working rice fields helped me find stillness and presence. These moments became as essential as any temple visit or ceremony.
Journaling and Mindful Rest After Ceremony
After the Melukat ceremony and healer sessions, journaling began a new process. Writing helped me process emotions and insights, connecting inner experiences to external events. I often spent an hour or more each evening reflecting.
The luxury accommodation at Bali Palms provided the perfect, peaceful environment for this work private and integrated with nature. A small desk overlooking the gardens became my writing spot.
Journaling has continued regularly over the past year, tracking personal growth and how my choices align with values rather than just career goals.
Staying at a Sanctuary That Honors Local Wisdom
Where you spend your time matters profoundly. Choosing Bali Palms made a difference—it’s not a typical hotel but offers retreat packages including luxury accommodation, transport, meals, and curated activities connecting you to authentic local experiences.
The Mind, Body and Soul Retreat provided a supportive yet flexible framework for personal processing. Other packages like Escape or Romance offer different approaches, with tailored options available.
Surrounded by rice fields and forest, away from tourist crowds, the location created space for real reflection. Research shows community-integrated models like Bali Palms offer enriching experiences for visitors and locals alike. This wasn’t just a place to relax it became central to the integration process.
Beyond the Typical Tourist Attractions
For context, many visitors to Bali focus on famous locations like Tanah Lot Temple on the southwest coast, where the temple appears to float on a rocky outcrop at high tide. Tanah Lot is undeniably beautiful and worth visiting especially at low tide when you can explore the base.
Similarly, places like Ulun Danu Bratan Temple on Lake Beratan, the Bali Butterfly Park with its giant moths and other insects in an audio visual room setting, Monkey Forest sanctuaries, Alas Kedaton temple complex, and beaches like Soka Beach and Kedungu Beach all offer their own appeal.
Even in Tabanan itself, tourists often visit Blahmantung Waterfall, Vihara Dharma Giri, or take a peaceful ride through the countryside as a day trip. These are all interesting places that showcase the island’s scenic views and stunning views of the natural beauty Bali is famous for.
But the experiences facilitated through Bali Palms’ retreat packages away from the sea and coast, deep in the mountains and rice terraces offer something different. They require active participation rather than passive observation. They demand vulnerability rather than just showing up with a camera. And they provide transformation rather than just a great experience to post about.
This isn’t to diminish other locations. A trip to Tanah Lot at sunset is a fine experience. The UNESCO World Heritage sites scattered across the island each tell important stories.
But if you’re seeking more than scenic beauty if you’re looking to explore internal landscape as much as external then the retreat-based experiences in Tabanan offer something those crowded locations cannot.
Who This Experience Is Actually For
A year later, clarity exists about who would benefit from this and who probably isn’t ready.
This isn’t for vacationers or those seeking Instagram content. Quick fixes or surface-level experiences won’t satisfy here. It’s not about ticking off things to do in Tabanan Bali.
It’s for people facing identity crises those who’ve lost a major part of life through divorce, career change, or loss and feel lost. Especially men struggling with vulnerability. The Melukat ceremony offers a physical, embodied release that therapy may not.
If you’re curious about healing traditions but emotionally guarded, this might open you up. If questioning career ethics, Tabanan’s natural philosophy and community focus may offer alternatives.
But it requires willingness to be vulnerable, to cry in front of strangers, and to sit with discomfort.
Bali Palms’ retreat packages ease logistics, letting you focus on inner work. The Mind, Body and Soul Retreat provides support, while tailored packages offer flexibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I respectfully visit a village temple or participate in ceremonies?
Always wear a sarong and sash at any temple and cover your shoulders. Never point your feet at altars or walk in front of someone praying.
Most importantly, go with a local guide who understands the customs to ensure respectful participation. Bali Palms’ community connections make these experiences accessible while maintaining cultural sensitivity.
What’s the main difference between famous spots like Tanah Lot and the experiences in Tabanan’s highlands?
Tanah Lot Temple on the southwest coast is undeniably beautiful, especially when it appears to float on its rocky outcrop at high tide or when you can explore its base at low tide. It’s worth visiting for sunset but is a passive experience observe, photograph, and leave.
In contrast, Tabanan’s highland experiences like village temples, Mount Batukaru treks, Melukat ceremonies, and cooking with locals require active participation and offer deeper, transformative immersion.
Research shows community-integrated models like Bali Palms provide richer experiences than crowded coastal spots.
How long should I plan to spend in Tabanan for a meaningful experience?
You could easily spend a week or more and still discover new layers. A day trip from other parts of Bali won’t provide the depth needed for transformation.
Bali Palms offers their Mind, Body and Soul Retreat in varying lengths to accommodate different schedules plan for at least their shorter packages to allow time for ceremonies, nature exploration, and the crucial integration periods between experiences. The goal isn’t to rush through a checklist but to spend quality time in each experience.
Michael Torresis a real guest who experienced this transformative journey with us. We’ve changed his name and some identifying details to protect his privacy, but this story authentically represents his experience at our retreat.