A genuine balian works from their family compound, serves their own community first, and does not set a tourist price. A fake one is often found through a stranger or driver, asks for large sums, and guesses at your life. In 2013 a guest named Hannah met both kinds in the same week, and her story shows the difference clearly.
What went wrong with the first healer?
Hannah arrived in Bali exhausted from work and asked her driver to find her a healer. He took her to a friend in Sanur the next day. The healer got basic facts about her life wrong, including her age, her family, and an uncle he claimed to channel who was very much alive.
The day ended with a lot of money spent and an ocean “cleansing” fully clothed. She came out of it with a rash and a sinus infection that kept her in bed. As she put it: “if this is being cleansed, I thought, I am good a[t] staying dirty!”
What was different about the second balian?
A week later Hannah found an earlier guest’s story on our site and wrote to us. That afternoon I took her to a balian in his family compound. He barely looked at her at first and spoke quietly with me in Balinese. “He is reading you,” I told her. His words, which I translated: “It’s all in her head. She is powerful and can heal herself.”
Hannah described the session:
“I could feel my soul soaring, my inner sprite kicking her heels as finally she was going to live again.”
And on what it cost:
“No money changed hands, because there is no price to pay for passing on knowledge.”
Afterwards we talked through what the balian had said, including kundalini, the energy described in yoga texts as resting at the base of the spine, and simple breathing and mudra practices she could continue at home.
How did Hannah feel afterwards?
Walking back through the rice fields, she wrote, “it was as though I was walking 10cm above the path.” She bought that day’s newspaper, September 20, 2013, so she would remember the date. A month later she had changed jobs and stopped working seven days a week. Leaving Bali, she said, “I felt guided but mostly, I felt understood.”
Warning signs of a fake balian
- You were introduced by a stranger, or by a driver who may take a commission
- The healer names a fixed price, or the cost keeps rising during the session
- They state facts about your life that are wrong, then move on as if nothing happened
- A ritual puts your health at risk, such as drinking seawater
- They advertise to tourists rather than serving their own village
Is a balian a substitute for medical treatment?
No. Hannah had lived with back pain for years and later felt it ease, but that was her personal experience, not a medical result. A balian session is a spiritual and cultural practice. Keep working with your doctor for any health condition.
Can Floating Leaf arrange a balian session?
Yes, on request, with honest limits: sessions are one-on-one, availability is never guaranteed, and a balian’s community always comes first. Read another guest’s day with three balians in Bali Healers: A Guest’s Day With Three Balians, or contact us to ask about a session.
