What is resilience?

How to build it and

the effects on your physical and mental health

Many of you have heard me speak about some of the life-changing experiences and the honour of being mentored and trained by incredible teachers from around the world.

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Earlier this year, I made a quick trip to visit my traditional healer, who sadly passed away last week. Months before I knew he was in palliative care, I told Omer (my partner) that I felt a strong pull to spend time with him, to reconnect and reground after what had been some of the most challenging years of my life.

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Being able to say goodbye and thank him was a reminder of my who, what, and why. He guided me to overcome conditions that doctors said I should have died from. It wasn’t through any miraculous act; what he taught me was resilience. His mastery lay in deeply resetting the nervous system, balancing energy, and strengthening both the physical and mental.

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Through his final months of intense pain and complications from COVID, it was his consistency and mental discipline that extended his life and amazed his medical team, who had expected a much earlier and more difficult passing.

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My resilience has waned. Omer and I have dealt with ongoing family concerns and running small businesses during these difficult times. I’m not suggesting that we can outrun death or that stressful times don’t affect us. What I’ve witnessed is the way we face challenges, and the resilience it takes to overcome the mental hardship that comes with them.

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My teacher, Pak Nyoman (Pak Man)
Read more about Balians here

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Pak Man only ever initiated two people as Balians. His traditions will continue through his family, as they were passed to him, but outside of that, I am one of the two he began the initiation. He told me I was very young when we started, as most Balians step into their calling in their fifties.

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When I say began, it’s because the learning never ends, and there are more of his teachings to learn.

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In honour of Pak Man (Mr Man), we’ve scheduled a few Balian Immersions, small group experiences limited to around ten people, focused on building resilience. I’ll share some of his teachings and tailor the experience to those who attend. What you bring into the session, whether it’s doubt, anger, expectation, hope, or openness, becomes the lesson. Each emotion or state of mind reflects something to you to uncover, understand, and transcend, both mentally and physically. This is an opportunity for growth, change, or to be happy staying as you are.

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These sessions are by invitation or referral only. While other immersions may be open, Balian immersions and one-on-one sessions will remain limited.

Balians (also known as dukuns or shamans) are traditional healers who work with divine energy to treat physical and mental illness, remove energetic blockages, and channel ancestral energy.

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Pak Man channelled this through massage, yoga and meditation. My own path from my other teachers and training has been more focused on herbal medicine, Pilates/PT, and energy balancing through sound, breathwork, Qi Gong, kinesiology and Chinese medicine. More recently, I’ve returned to energy work through massage, as Pak Man encouraged me to.

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When Instagram first appeared, I could easily have taken the influencer route. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with many well-known and influential people, professional athletes, performers, Hollywood actors, singers, and politicians. I spoke at a lot of events, but like Pak Man, it never interested me to gain a personal following. With Pak Man’s passing (and my own father’s, who was deeply involved in charitable work and reshaping communities, see my IG post), I feel a stronger sense to honour them both.

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As we navigate the end of the year, Shu Shen, Caroline, Meg, and Lauren will be coordinating admin, emails, calls and bookings.

Lea manages our socials, communications, and community activations.

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We appreciate your support as they settle into these roles, and understand you may have questions; they are here to assist you as best they can.

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My own availability for treatments will be limited, but I’ll continue teaching classes, as I truly love weaving these new elements into them.

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Balian Immersions: 

Friday, Oct 31st, 5:15 PM - 6:30 PM 

Saturday, Nov 8th, 4:30 PM - 6 PM