THE JAKARTA POST - SEPTEMBER 2003
Dousing the inner fires on a retreat in Bali
 
The tiredness of arriving on the last flight from Jakarta at midnight had been quickly forgotten as I stepped for the first time into the garden of my villa at the renovated and refurbished Prana Spa and Villas.  I slowly took in the sight of the small lap pool with the ying-yang sign painted on its tiles as the lilting sound of Balinese gamelan came from the CD player. 

My retreat actually began weeks earlier, when I had filled in a 'preferences' sheet, telling of preferred exercise times, types of physical activities and foods.  This is part of Prana's approach of having guests 'write' their own program, one which meets their needs but will not be the equivalent of enduring a spartan boot camp.

It was sheer pleasure at every turn and touch, with the simplest considerations, from the ginger-lemon welcome tea, the soothing choice of music, even the selection of therapists, making it a painless and thoroughly stressless experience.