Bali Healers – A Personal Experience

Posted September 2013 – Updated September 2024

A heartfelt testimonial from a recent participant (and new friend)

Last week, Putu and I had the pleasure of experiencing a very special day that reminded us of why we are on this path and what we hope to accomplish with Floating Leaf Eco-Retreat. Our mission is to give back and also to help people find joy, health, vitality and love within themselves.

A large part of what we do revolves around giving back to the Balinese communities in which we live and work, but also providing a safe place where people from all over the world can come find the source within themselves that has been dormant for too long. This may come in the form of yoga, meditation, healthy eating, art, delving into the Balinese culture and much more. This day was deeply rooted in the traditional healing arts of Bali.

We were contacted by an Australian man, Cameron Trethowan, who found us on the Internet and thought we may be able to be of some help. What transpired was a loving and moving experience that touched Putu and I and reaffirmed why we are toiling and putting everything we have into the creation of Floating Leaf. Cam relates the day much better than I could so I will paste for you his recapitulation.

Cameron writes…

I would like to describe an experience I recently had through the Floating Leaf Eco-Retreat. For some time I have been interested in visiting some Balinese Balian or Shaman (traditional healers) and had researched online for some time and even visited one through an acquaintance that was adequate but not inspiring.

Perhaps some background information is necessary here, I have suffered with a form of degenerative arthritis known as Ankylosing Spondylitis, which is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton. I first started to exhibit symptoms from the age of 15-16 (now in my 40’s).

As a result I attempt to spend time in Bali every year to avoid the worst of the Melbourne (Australia) winter, as the cold exasperates the condition. Through the years, I have tried every conceivable alternative therapy or cure which had little effect and additionally I have been a vegetarian for 18 years and also meditate regularly, all of which helps manage the condition. I have been tired of taking pharmaceutical drugs, which do alleviate the pain but also offer side effects and toxicity.

In searching for more information on Balian healers I came across Mikaku and Putu’s website, it seemed exactly what I had been searching for, a knowledgeable couple that could take me to several Balians and also translate and explain the significance of the Balian within the Hindu Balinese cultural context. To confide, I have developed a thirst to experience and understand the esoteric and mystical traditions of healers and holy men. And this seemed the perfect method of engaging with this type of experience.

We corresponded through email and arranged a pick up time in the early morning I was staying in Canggu on the West coast. When I first met Putu and Mikaku I was instantly put at ease and felt a genuine camaraderie and interest in what we all were about to experience.Both of them shared information abundantly and expressed their passion for the Balian and their mystical ways, and furthermore, their importance within traditional Balinese culture.

They had previously arranged for me to meet three Balians in one day, they were all quite different, for example the first was a bone specialist. I would describe him as a mystic chiropractor. As I waited to be treated I watched him cure a Balinese man who could not walk due to feet problems, the man was truly ecstatic.

I won’t go in to too much detail as this letter will become too long, but my experiences with each Balian was quite precious and left me with much to contemplate, it was an intensely spiritual day, one that I will remember for a long time.

The second Balian is related to the King of Ubud and had an air of a great yogi master about him. His eyes were both penetrating and also beautiful deep dark jewels. He performed many Yogic mudras and whispered to himself, occasionally poking me with what seemed like (to my novice eyes) a chopstick, seemingly able to find every sore pressure point whilst declaring, “You are ok, it’s your mind! ….. you understand?”  To be honest, I actually did understand what he was saying, but it didn’t relate so much to the words than to a feeling that arose. He reminds me of a beautiful Balinese Yoda-like sage.

The last Balian we visited works tirelessly from morning to late evenings and reminds me of Yogananda Paramahamsa, who wrote Autobiography of a Yogi. Again the experience was profound on many levels and also wonderfully intense, he begun by reading my name using mudras, meditation and trance. He told me things that were extremely accurate, to the point of spookiness, and suggested that I participate in a ritual purification which he performed. It was powerful. I felt connected to the ancient spirit underlining Bali and feel quite blessed to have been able to experience all that transpired on that day.

Of course I am leaving out much of what happened as it was very intimate and I believe that these healers are great people dedicated to a life of service and as such don’t deserve to be overly analyzed and explained. It is now several weeks after my Balian visits with Mikaku and his lovely wife Putu, and I feel like an enormous weight has been lifted from inside myself, massive tectonic shifts appear to have occurred that I’m sure will manifest in more concrete ways in the days that follow.

I would like to sincerely thank Mikaku and Putu for an extraordinary day, thank you for your support and kindness. You guys are amazing. I highly recommend their services to anyone with an earnest desire to experience the power and humbleness of the Balian. I will definitely return.

Cameron Trethowan ~ Melbourne, Australia