by Jill Gocher

The Spa at the Ritz Carlton promises great things. The lavish garden surroundings and the soothing sounds of trickling water, by designer relaxing bales filled with relaxed looking guests, hint of good things to come.

As well as massage, The Spa at Bali’s Ritz Carlton has all kinds of interesting therapies including some water based treatments based in holistic, more new age kinds of healing methods. They are perfect for this spa which has the only heated pool in Bali.

As I walked (a little late) into the changing room, an attractive blond sat waiting – "I am your therapist" she said. Oh ok! Elisa sat and explained to me the nature of the Aqua Bodywork Therapy which is a way to encourage the body’s natural healing processes. The water based therapy uses the floatation element of water to assist the therapist by supporting the body as it is massaged and manipulated through a series of movements that release tension and relaxes both the mind and the physical body. It is a useful tool for clearing the mind and experiencing a weightless meditation through floating movement. It is designed to bring a lot more benefits than you can ever have on a normal bed massage.

Sounds fabulous. I floated back in the water, supported by a couple of long floating "noodles" as Elisa swirled me around here and there in the warm pool. Some of the treatment required being pulled underwater so with nose clips in place, we did a few practise runs. Hmm well it was alright, though personally when I relax, I prefer to stay still, but we perservered for some time. Trying hard to relax – and go with the flow I thought I was doing quite well, but as something akin to sea sickness kicked in Elisa said " I think you are not really enjoying this!" But I tried I really tried!

I think that for an active Scorpio who likes to be in charge and has intimacy issues I found it all a bit too much to deal with. Apparently most people love it and as these kinds of therapies are very personal and subjective, there is no telling what the next person may experience.

So with many apologies to Elisa, and feeling a bit of a new age drop out, I made my way to the Thalasso Water Therapy Pool which was much more my cup of tea. That surging water and those powerful jets massaging the body into total relaxation together with the brilliant red sunset views were just as close to heaven as I need to get. In fact I wanted to stay there for the rest of my life!

Elisa comes with high recommendations and she has been working with top line hotels in Bali for more than a decade. She is dedicated to providing people with the elements that can help them live "a considerate and healthy life through awareness of body and mind energies". She believes in encouraging understanding of holistic living, helping clients to discover and maintain a natural homeostatic balance of mind, body and spirit with the aim to encourage people to carefully discern in order to lead happier healthier lives.

A way to give the body natural healing, water based Aqua Body Work therapy uses the floatation element in water to assist the therapist in the total support of the body as it is massaged and manipulated through a series of movements that release tension and relaxes both the mind and the physical body. It is a useful tool for clearing the mind and experiencing a weightless meditation through floating movement.

The Spa has all kinds of fabulous treatments whether detox based reatments with seaweed wraps, anti ageing treatments luxury facials and of course a variety of massages and special luxury wedding pampering.