This month’s Featured Article:

Balinese Bliss

An educational journey in a faraway land

By Linda Beach

Experiencing a treatment half a world away in Bali, the “land of a thousand temples,” provides invaluable insight into the source of Balinese holistic culture and its ancient healing practices. On a recent trip to Spa Village-Tembok, the Balinese five-star resort, I took the opportunity to attend its Spa Village Academy, a 20-hour program for guests that centers on Balinese massage techniques. The first thing noticeably different is that in Bali spas, each treatment is preceded by a foot-cleansing ritual. The Balinese are very spiritual and believe that washing the feet is necessary in order to rid oneself of the negative energy absorbed from the earth.
At Spa Village-Tembok, the exotic scent of frangipani petals crowd the verdant canopy overhead. The spa’s attention to detail is remarkable, from a small bowl overflowing with fragrant flowers placed under the face cradle to tiny candles lining mirror-backed shelves that shoot rays of flickering light in every direction. Music was irrelevant, as nature provided the sound of crashing waves on the pebbled shore just steps away.
After the client is immersed in the sights and sounds, fragrant oil is applied to the body as therapist and instructor, Muliartini, deftly coaxes any remaining jet lag from obliging muscles, sending the client into an unrepentant state of Balinese bliss.

Healing drink

The treatment is concluded when Muliartini guides the client into a cushioned lounge. A small table holds a tall glass container filled with a cloudy concoction and topped with a little banana leaf cork. “Jamu,” she says, motioning to the drink. “Very good for the body and the soul.”
A healing drink made from a blend of plants, spices, fruit and other natural ingredients, jamu is used to treat many common ailments and boost the immune system. There are more than 300 blends of jamu, some bitter, some sweet, but all recipes are said to enhance the body-mind connection and balance inner and outer beauty.
According to Muliartini, this particular blend is made from tamarind, turmeric, palm sugar, cinnamon, cloves, salt and water. Tamarind, a tart fruit, aids in digestion and contains cancer-fighting antioxidants and a wealth of vitamins. Turmeric has been shown to prevent the spread of cancer, slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and detoxify the liver.

The Balinese embrace a slower pace of life compared to Westerners, and this allows for reflection and the reparation of frazzled nerves.

Traditional massage

The Balinese are not just known for their therapeutic concoctions and sweet-smelling flowers. Bali is regarded as a place of hedonistic indulgence and unparalleled spa treatments.
The penganten melukat is an elaborate 100-minute signature treatment that is centuries old. It is actually a prenuptial tradition that was lavished on the bride and groom for three days prior to their wedding, and was typically performed by the mother or grandmother.
The penganten melukat body treatment is divine and exotic. Following a traditional Balinese massage, handful after handful of a boreh scrub is rubbed over the body before it is gently wrapped in layers of soft towels. Warming herbs detoxify as a gentle scalp massage relaxes clients. Once unwrapped the herbs are dusted from the client’s body and hot, thick milk is ladled by hand over the back, arms, stomach and legs. The client is then guided on a short walk to a soak in a flower-filled tub.

Dedication to details

The boreh scrub is another example of meticulous Balinese tradition. Balinese therapists usually make this scrub by hand with only five ingredients: ginger, clove, galangal (a root commonly used in Balinese cooking), rice and water. Fifteen minutes of slicing, pounding, blending and grinding by a mortar and pestle yield a small bowl of the soupy blend--not even close to the amount used for one treatment, instructs Muliartini. Much more is needed and the painstaking process is repeated.
The Balinese embrace a slower pace of life compared to Westerners, and this allows for reflection and the reparation of frazzled nerves. Impart that Balinese essence to your clients and take them across the globe to experience Balinese bliss with the penganten melukat.

To finish the treatment, assist client to a flower-filled tub for a 10-minute soak. If a tub is not available, remove dried milk with hot, moist towels, starting with the back and ending with the feet.

Balinese Bliss Body Wrap: Penganten Melukat

Ingredients:
Massage oil
Boreh scrub
Warm milk mix
(see Recipes section on page 68)
Fitted sheet
3 body-sized towels
Blanket
Hot, moist hand towels or tub filled
with warm water and flower petals
Fill a medium-sized rubber bowl with boreh scrub and place in towel cabbie or nestle among rolled towels placed in a roaster. Do the same for the milk mix. Set up the table as you would for a massage, adding three body-sized towels over the fitted sheet. The client will lie on top of two of these towels and be covered by another towel and a blanket.
1. Administer a 50-minute massage, ending with the client in a supine position.
2. Remove warm boreh scrub from towel cabbie and test temperature.
3. Ask your client to sit up. Using your hand, apply boreh scrub to the back in a brisk circular motion. When finished, gently assist your client back down onto the towel.
4. Place a hand towel over female client’s breasts and fold draping to below the navel. Apply boreh scrub to the abdomen in a circular motion. Starting at the hand and ending at the shoulder, apply boreh to each arm. Cover client, removing breast drape.
5. Moving to the leg, fold blanket out of the way. Securely tuck top towel under client’s leg. Apply boreh from foot to hip. Bend knee and apply scrub to the back side of the leg. Replace draping. Repeat on other leg.
6. Gently tuck the blanket around client and ask her if she is comfortable. By now the boreh will feel quite warm, which is normal. Tell your client to alert you if it becomes unbearable and let them know you will gladly remove the scrub if necessary. Steps 2 through 6 should take approximately 15 minutes.
7. Massage the client’s neck, face and scalp for 10 minutes.
8. Assist the client in sitting up. Starting at the shoulders, brush boreh from the arms and back onto the top towel. Fold the towel in half towards the client’s hips, catching the dried boreh inside.
9. Retrieve the warm milk mixture with your hand or a brush and generously apply to the client’s back. Assist the client back down onto the folded towel and the bottom towel.
10. Undrape client’s abdomen, covering breasts. Brush boreh from abdomen onto the towel. Fold towel inward to catch the herbs.
11. Apply warm milk mixture to abdomen and arms. Re-cover client.
12. Uncover one leg and brush boreh onto towel. Fold towel towards the center so that the client’s leg is on the clean towel below.
13. Apply warm milk to the leg, bending knee to reach the back side. Re-cover leg. Repeat on other leg. Steps 8 to 13 should take approximately 15 minutes.
14. To finish the treatment, assist client to a flower-filled tub for a 10-minute soak. If a tub is not available, remove dried milk with hot, moist towels, starting with the back and ending with the feet. This final step takes approximately 10 minutes.
15. Invite your client to rest for a few minutes before rising from the table. After the treatment, serve your client a small, warm glass of jamu. Remind them to drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Check your local Asian or Mexican market for dried tamarind pods. Break open the brittle pods and cover the moist flesh with half a cup of boiling water. Soak for 15 minutes or more and then use your fingers to remove the seeds and strings from the tamarind. A bit messy, this will yield the most tamarind for your puree. Add more water or tamarind as needed until your puree is the consistency of baby food or applesauce. If you can find “wet” tamarind, simply mix this seedless compressed tamarind with enough warm water to make a puree.
To make jamu, bring the eight cups of water to a boil and add all ingredients. Boil for five minutes. Cool, then strain through a sieve and serve warm or chilled. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Boreh

1 cup long-grain white rice
1/4 cup fresh ginger root
1/4 cup fresh or dried galangal root*
1/2 cup whole or ground cloves**

Place rice in a bowl and add enough hot water to cover. Soak for 15 minutes to soften. Cut the ginger root and galangal into small pieces. Using a mortar and pestle**, pound the ginger, galangal and cloves until fine. Place mixture in rubber mask bowl. Drain rice and pound until fine. Add to rubber bowl. Add enough hot water to make a paste.
*Galangal can be purchased at your local Asian market or from the Internet. Do not buy frozen galangal, as it becomes fibrous and difficult to grind. If galangal is not obtainable, use half a cup of ginger root.
**If using a food processor, substitute ground cloves for whole.

Milk mix

1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup cornstarch
warm water
Mix powdered milk and cornstarch together. Using a whisk or fork, gradually add warm water until milk mix is smooth and has the consistency of a milkshake.

Muliartini’s jamu

8 cups water
1/2 cup tamarind purée
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1/4 cup palm sugar (can substitute
cane or turbinado sugar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon whole cloves
pinch of salt

Linda Beach is the founder of the South Carolina Massage & Esthetics Institute. As a curriculum developer, spa consultant, continuing education provider and instructor of massage and spa techniques, she has been sharing her knowledge and passion with the spa industry since 1993. Beach is a seasoned traveler and freelances as a spa consultant and a travel writer. She can be reached at lindabeach@sc.rr.com.