Overlooking the banks of the Ayung River in Ubud, Fivelements Bali is an award-winning eco-conscious wellness retreat with teachings deeply rooted within ancient Balinese traditions; a peaceful sanctuary to embrace an authentic healing journey.
At this beautifully restorative retreat, their holistic approach, where guests can enjoy delicious, vegan, plant-based cuisine, morning yoga and meditation and wellness treatments, is designed to tune in to the physical, emotional and spiritual levels needed for every individual. Fivelements is an integrated wellness retreat, bridging the wisdom of traditional Balinese healing with innovative wellness concepts. Finding inspiration from the Balinese concept of Tri Hita Karana, Fivelements feature a “3 pillars of Wellness” approach; The Balinese Philosophy of Tri Kaya Parisudha suggests that a clean mind, clean speech, and clean action are keys to approaching life in a balanced manner. Maintaining our personal health, including mental, spiritual and physical aspects, is the first step towards supporting positive action in the world around us.
Our retreat itinerary began with an 8 am yoga session, which is actually wonderful for those who suffer from jet-lag. This was then followed by a delicious vegan breakfast at the Sakti Dining Room where we consumed our energised smoothies and dragon fruit bowls next to a built-in pond filled with koi fish to gaze upon. With their in-house Chef, we were informed that 80 per cent of their menu selection is raw food, which contains more nutrition, vitamins, and enzymes for energy.
The picturesque bamboo suites are all named after the five elements in Balinese – Pertiwi (Earth), Apah (water), Teja (fire), Bayu (air) and Akasa (ether); our suite (Pertiwi) was situated upon the riverfront where we had a Sakti Ritual in the outdoor healing bath, followed by a quick nap in the king-size bed. As our suite is named after Earth, we awoke feeling incredibly grounded and lucky to be in such a beautiful sanctuary. One thing I would say, is, be sure to close the canopy curtains at night as there are a lot of mosquitoes around the river bank – though luckily, Fivelements are fully prepared with an all-natural lemongrass mosquito repellent spray guests can find in the outdoor bathroom. It’s touches like this, outside of the day-to-day spiritual itinerary which made us feel particularly cared for.
Other amenities include a Wellness Lounge for reflexology, nail care and relaxation, an outdoor Leisure Pool & Riverfront Lounge with Bali’s 1st watsu pool for water therapy, three Sacred Arts Mandala Spaces for yoga, meditation, martial arts, sound healing, movement and other transformative practices. The Spa suites give a luxurious feel to an already beautiful atmosphere with semi-outdoor treatment rooms; we had our own Sakti Ritual body massage, which left us feeling both revitalised and at peace. There’s something about being in a tropical climate that makes you want to work on yourself and overall, be healthier inside and out – Fivelements certainly provides all these things.
