Until now, Bali’s tourism industry has been built largely around bars, beaches, scenery and culture. But there is another facet to the jewel that is Bali, one that has enormous potential to bring many more visitors to her shores and mountains.
The world is seeing a huge surge of interest in all things holistic, from organic foods and traditional therapies to yoga and meditation. The market for holistic tourism in Bali has barely been tapped. There’s an indefinable energy here that has drawn healers and life skills teachers from around the world for several years. The same energy created the Ubud Readers and Writers Festival and more recently the ‘Quest for Global Peace…. A Conference for the 21th Century”,both attended by hundreds of participants from overseas. There is a magic to Bali that invites stillness within, and the beginning of an understanding of deep inner peace. The world craves it. Bali has it.
How could a place where millions of hands are raised each day in prayer not be a crucible of grace? With so many holy places, how could there not be a healing connection? For those who take the time to be still, there is a deeply engaging ambience here that can be very therapeutic. And the increasing numbers of people embracing yoga, meditation and inner work are looking for just that.
It would not take a great deal to put Bali on the international map as the ultimate holistic destination. It has a long tradition of healing arts including medicinal plants, balians, the culture of prayer and its own distinctive energy. There are few places in the world so beautiful, with such hospitable people, charming and efficient infrastructure, and with that extra element of magic that is uniquely Bali. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, keynote speaker at the Conference on Global Peace noted, “Even the traffic is gracious and patient here.”
Meghan Pappenheim, married into Bali for over 10 years, has become a one-woman committee for putting holistic Bali on the map. Two years ago she established a unique website that is fast becoming a centralized registry of Holistic Bali. The goal of BaliSpirit is to bring together practitioners, places and products to help Bali recover after the bomb and raise the island’s profile from this angle. “In this context, holistic means earth-friendly, socially responsible and conscious of mind, body and spirit,” Meghan clarifies.
BaliSpirit’s target audience is health-conscious and spiritual, and the site connects these people with the appropriate practitioners, places and events on Bali. It is the only website of its kind, with a client-member base of approximately 50 conscientious business owners who love Indonesia and want to see her industries revive and thrive. The companies represented on BaliSpirit work to preserve the essence of Bali – her environment, culture and spirituality.
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Many people don’t understand that BaliSpirit is much more than a commercial site. The goal is to connect all those who are here because they honour Bali’s sacred, spiritual core and help raise the profile of this aspect of Bali,” says Meghan. “Listing a business on the site is inexpensive, especially considering the huge offshore exposure the site delivers. This work isn’t generating profit for me; perhaps it will bring me a salary eventually. I personally invest about $5,000 a year in overseas advertising to ensure that the information is reaching the right audiences.”
The numbers indicate that there is indeed a strong interest in holistic Bali. www.balispirit.com attracts over 60,000 unique hits a year. Although it’s hard to track results, hotels and other businesses report that they are seeing results from being on the site. BaliSpirit promotes accommodation, alternative dining, spas, art and creative courses, holistic healing, yoga and mediation, eco-tours, recycled teak furniture, retreats, products and visiting teachers conducting retreats in Bali.
Meghan, a longtime handicraft exporter, is a strong proponent of ethical business — paying fair wages and respecting the environment and culture — would like to see the site to reflect this. “Ethical business and fair trade contribute to global peace. Imagine if Bali could become a model for these concepts.”
Yoga is now hugely popular in the West and yoga is highly profiled on the site. Meghan, a trained yoga instructor, has opened a studio in Ubud and energetically promotes Bali as an ideal centre for yoga retreats, especially given its existing hotels, retreat centres and private villas. “I am getting a lot of enquiries now through the site from leading yoga teachers in Australia, the States and elsewhere who want to hold workshops here.”
BaliSpirit is not alone in recognizing the trend toward healing. The Bale in Nusa Dua has begun to bring in holistic practitioners for their ‘Master in Residence’ program, and some holistic therapies are available through the Four Seasons Hotel. It’s interesting to note that the trend is becoming defined at the top end of the market.
Creating awareness of holistic practitioners and events also serves to raise standards. Most practitioners already working on Bali have a high level of professionalism. The Bali government could help generate higher levels of holistic tourism by encouraging visiting practitioners to work here.
For the first year of its existence, Meghan sought members for her website. Now businesses are approaching her and asking to be part of what is clearly the most comprehensive and unique holistic web-portal on Bali. Those who take space on the BaliSpirit website automatically sponsor a spot on the site for local Non- Government Organizations or community services. This gives those who are helping to make Bali a better place an opportunity to tell their stories.
For more information, visit www.balispirit.com or contact Meghan at askmeg@balispirit.com
