I traded Sydney's chaos for a Bali healing sanctuary - and found my way back to joy

The splashing is contagious. After a Yoga Beats session, where we do crazy yoga which is more like drunken dancing, we strip down to swimmers and leap in the pool. There are screeches and yahoos as we celebrate what was a mind-blowing week. I glance around and can't help thinking how far we have come from the burdened, tentative women who stepped into Escape Haven a week or so ago.

I fly into Bali with the chaotic goings-on back in Sydney ringing in my ears. But from the moment I slouch in through the carved wooden gates of Escape Haven, tucked down a narrow Canggu lane, I feel myself exhale. "Welcome home Miss Helen," the staff say, many of whom I remember from my stay three years ago. And it really does feel like I have come home to a warm hug. "Welcome home Helen" is even written on a banana leaf on my bed in the Goddess Uma suite that will be my sanctuary for the week.

Going to a women-only retreat and talking about my feelings with a group of strangers was not on my to-do list, but in 2022, after a dalliance with breast cancer and a desire to be healthier, the universe decided it for me. It was transformative. So much so that I welcomed the opportunity to return three years later, as if it were prescribed. Escape Haven offers a number of packages including surfing, meditation, yoga, menopause and grief retreats. On my first visit I chose healing; this time I am doing Ayurveda.

I meet my retreat mates during a somewhat confronting but cathartic group session. We are from Canada, the US, and all over Australia, and one by one, we rip the bandaid off and say what brought us here. Tears do fall as we hear each other's stories, and we immediately begin to bond, a quiet web of sisterhood knitting together with the incredible team of people who make Escape Haven so special. It is a powerful, grounding force. Dr Raj is part of everyone's journey, a compassionate and wise man who becomes a steady anchor to each of us. While the ancient healing science of Ayurveda is quite alien to me, I open up to it, along with the morning mantras and candlelit meditations.

With an alarm of local roosters, mornings start for me with a silent pre-dawn swim in the saltwater lagoon pool, followed by the enlivening trilogy of sauna, cold plunge and jacuzzi. While yoga and I are not friends, I do enjoy the sessions with Alisha or Frankie, as both ladies are gently encouraging. Breakfast is next, with everything from chia puddings and papaya boats to eggs and smoothies.

One morning, breakfast is served in spectacular style on a huge floating basket in the pool. It is a sight to behold. If, like me, you had a fixed idea that a wellness retreat meant you wouldn't enjoy the food, that is absolutely not the case here. The magicians in the kitchen create exquisite dishes that taste as good as they look. We do gain some insight into the menus doing a cooking class with the chef, learning to make a spicy sambal that is a staple for Balinese people.

Everyone receives a personalised schedule, with a mix of our treatments and group gatherings. The spa treatments - there are 30 to choose from - are out of this world and I am totally Zen as I melt under the magical hands of the exceptional therapists during a welcome massage, reflexology and deep tissue massages. As I am doing the Ayurveda package, I also experience Narangakizhi, Abhyangam and Januvasti treatments - the latter doing a remarkable job of taking inflammation out of my troubled knees.

Bali herself threads through the retreat in authentic ways. One morning the staff help us dress in kebaya (Indonesian traditional dress), and teach us how to make canang sari (banana leaf offerings). We learn about the meaning behind each flower, and where they should go on the plate. Afterwards, a local priest blesses us and our offerings, which we respectfully place in the temple.

One morning some of us are up before the sun for a bike ride through the rice paddies, rewarded with the sunrise and a celebrity sighting (Captain Jason from Below Deck). Some guests go for a morning surf lesson, and others sleep in. There's an optional dinner out at Echo Beach, a tour to the Tirta Empul Temple in Ubud, and some book the driver for a shopping trip.

It really is up to you. The sole purpose of the retreat is to pamper, support and nourish you. For me, that means finding a shady cabana by the second pool, and doing some lazy laps in between chapters. Or I sit in the Coconut Lounge, where Carlos rules the roost. His smile is worth bottling, and nothing is too much trouble. There are healthy snacks to choose from, and I can't resist his banana smoothies.

On the last day, before we scatter back to our lives, we find ourselves doing Frankie's joyous Yoga Beats. I look around at the faces of my new friends and cannot believe how much they have changed.

Haunted eyes have brightened, faces are more open, backs are straighter. When we leap into the pool, it is joyful, unrestrained and symbolic. A final letting go. Until next time ...

The writer was a guest of Escape Haven