A Gentle Return to What Nourishes Us
On a quiet Saturday morning in Bingin, eight women arrived at Manuka House for a day centred on a simple question:
What does it mean to feel nourished?
For some, nourishment might begin with food. For others, it may look like moving the body, finding a moment of stillness, understanding an internal change, or having a conversation where there is enough space to be honest.
At Ritual of Now 2026: Nourishment Chapter, we gathered to experience each of these forms of care together.
Held at the newly opened Manuka House in Uluwatu, with the space supported by venue partner Stays with Lola, this was the second chapter of The Self Hug’s signature gathering. Following last year’s Mindfulness Chapter in Pererenan, this year’s experience explored nourishment not as a single act, but as an ongoing relationship with the body, mind, and people around us.
Opening the day, Chrysti, Co-Founder of The Self Hug, invited us to consider nourishment beyond what we put on our plates.
It can be found in how we move and rest, how we speak to ourselves, and how we show up for the people and the lives we are building.
As she shared, “Nourishment is everything that fills us up.”
Beginning with Connection
Before we moved our bodies or opened our journals, we began by arriving in the moment.
Participants gathered in small groups with prompts from The Antidote, The Self Hug’s card deck created to encourage deeper and more honest conversations. Each question offered a gentle place to begin: an opportunity to listen, share, and discover something beyond the usual introductions.
There is a certain kind of nourishment that comes from being heard without being rushed. From having someone ask a thoughtful question and stay present for the answer.
As stories moved around the group, the space began to feel softer and more familiar. What started as a gathering of eight individuals slowly became a shared experience.
Moving Into the Day
From conversation, we moved into energy.
Arabella Cignetti, Co-Founder of Movement Above Kaos, guided the group through a morning HIIT session by the pool. There were challenging repetitions, deep breaths, moments of determination, and laughter between movements.
Mak leading a workout that invited everyone to build strength, raise their heart rates, and experience the energy that comes from moving alongside others.
The session reminded us that movement does not have to be about earning rest or changing how the body looks. It can be a way of returning to the body, releasing what has been held, and noticing what we are capable of today.
As Arabella reflected, movement can carry us through difficult days. When practiced together, it can also create a kind of connection that is difficult to replicate anywhere else. By the end of the session, our bodies felt awake and our attention had returned to the present.
Before moving into the nutrition and journaling sessions, participants paused to recharge over a brunch spread by Stays with Lola and Uluwatu Flower Shop.
It was a chance to refuel, connect, and settle into the slower rhythm of the rest of the day.
Learning the Language of the Body
After moving, we shifted towards understanding.
Dominique Gaucher, certified Integrative Nutrition Coach and Founder of SOMA and Bar à Jus, led Nourishing Our Hormones, a women’s health and nutrition workshop exploring the hormones connected to mood, energy, and cycle health.
The session offered a reminder that caring for the body can begin with learning how it communicates.
Changes in mood, energy, hunger, or motivation do not always need to be judged or pushed aside. Sometimes, they are signals asking us to pay closer attention.
Dominique shared how simple shifts in food and movement, when aligned with the body’s hormonal phases, can influence how women feel throughout their cycles. Rather than prescribing one ideal routine, the conversation encouraged curiosity about our individual needs.
Understanding the body is not about controlling every change. It is about developing a more informed and compassionate relationship with ourselves.
Making Space to Listen Inward
As the energy of the day softened, we moved into guided journaling with Nina, Co-Founder of The Self Hug.
Each participant received a copy of The Self-Discovery Journal, a guided tool for exploring the eight pillars of wellness and creating a more complete picture of how we are doing
Participants used The Self-Discovery Journal to check in across the eight pillars of wellness.
We began with the wellness wheel, pausing to look at the different areas of our lives without expecting every part to feel balanced at once.
Some areas felt steady. Others asked for more attention.
From there, participants set intentions for the month ahead. Not rigid goals or dramatic promises, but thoughtful directions grounded in what each person needed at that moment.
The room grew quiet as everyone wrote. Pages turned slowly. Pens paused between sentences. Each person followed her own reflection while being held by the presence of the group.
The journaling session then opened into a sharing circle.
The sharing circle created room for personal stories to be witnessed without judgment.
As Nina reminded us, reflection can become even more meaningful when it is shared. Listening to another person’s story can help us recognize parts of our own. It can remind us that even deeply personal experiences do not always have to be carried alone.
There was no pressure to have the right insight or share more than felt comfortable. The invitation was simply to be present: with our own thoughts and with one another.
Letting Rest Be Part of the Practice
The final part of the day was left open for recovery.
Participants could swim in Manuka House’s 16-metre lap pool, sit in the sauna, try the ice bath, or slow down with red light therapy masks provided by LUME.
The day closed with time for rest and recovery at Manuka House, supported by LUME.
After a morning of movement, learning, and reflection, this unstructured time carried its own purpose.
Rest did not arrive as a reward for completing the day. It was part of the day itself.
Some participants moved towards the pool. Others continued their conversations or found a quiet place to sit. There was room to choose what felt supportive without needing to make the moment productive.
That freedom was another form of nourishment.
What We Carried Home
Ritual of Now was created as a space to experience well-being, not as an abstract idea, but as something we can practise through ordinary choices.
A thoughtful conversation can be nourishment.
Movement can be nourishment.
Understanding the body can be nourishment.
Writing honestly can be nourishment.
Rest can be nourishment.
And sometimes, nourishment is allowing ourselves to receive care in the presence of others.
We are grateful to the eight women who arrived with openness and helped shape this chapter through their presence.
We are also grateful to Manuka House and Stays with Lola for holding the experience, Movement Above Kaos for moving with us, Dominique Gaucher, SOMA, and Bar à Jus for helping us understand and care for our bodies, and LUME for supporting our moments of recovery.
We are equally grateful to the brands who generously filled our goodie bags with thoughtful ways to continue the ritual at home: Melati Swim, Uluwatu Flower Shop, Ruba Skincare, Alam Farma Botanicals, Bar à Jus, Dream Surf Living, Alchemy Bali, HUMBL Pilates, and SANA Uluwatu.
Although the gathering has ended, its invitation continues:
What has been nourishing you lately, and how can you make a little more space for it?
