A day of cleansing

by Anna Rhein, Zuna Yoga 500 hour YTT graduate

Bali is an island full of beauty, mystery and spirituality. Recently I made a day trip with friends to the holy water temple, Tampak Siring. It was a short 40 minute motorbike ride from Ubud, and even though it started raining heavily we continued on our journey, and I'm thrilled we did. Riding through the rice paddies, entering into little villages along the way, we stopped to wait for our group and stumbled upon a shop that had beautiful pieces of carved wooden art and jewelry. We all found at least one handmade treasure to take home and agreed the trip was already a success, but we had no idea of the beauty that still lay ahead. 

After the brief stop, we were only 10 minutes away from our destination. As we walked through the entrance, we were all given sarongs to wear, and were shown where to enter into the springs. We were greeted by a spiritual guide who began to tell us how the temple was designed to be enjoyed. 

Tampak Siring temple in Bali

First, we were given an offering and told to sit overlooking the springs while he talked us through a meditation. The sound of the water flowing enveloped us all and we were quickly made aware of how special a place this was. One by one we entered the water, which was waist height. Walking up to each spring, we were told to splash the water three times on our face, sip it in three times, and then sit under it, allowing it to run over our heads while chanting OM for as long as we could before moving on to the next spring. 

Walking from spring to spring, I was unaware of anything else around me. The feeling of the water running over my body, blessing and cleansing, was so powerful. After the first set of springs, there were another two by themselves, which I was told release any negative promises or regrets from your life. The final set of springs were said to clean and clear your chakras, allowing for better health. Even though the water was cold, it was so refreshing and made me feel lighter immediately. After the springs, we were given a tour of the temple and allowed to make additional offerings if we wished before we made our exit. It is the most beautiful temple I have ever visited. I tell anyone I can about it, and hope everyone can some day visit this very special place. I can't wait for my next adventure in this Bali wonderland.