Six days in Ubud, and a group of women who arrived as strangers. What they came for and what they found turned out to be two different things.
When was the last time you woke up without an alarm? Walked somewhere without your phone? Sat still long enough to notice what your body was actually telling you?
For most women, the noise rarely stops long enough to hear the answer.
ELEVATE exists for that pause.
Six days at Soulshine, a five-star luxury resort tucked away in Ubud, Bali. A small group of women. Barefoot morning walks through the rice fields. Movement in the open-air shala, then workshops on female physiology, hormones, stress, strength and recovery — the kind of conversations that make you wonder why nobody taught you this sooner.
Afternoons left open. Farm-to-table meals, second helpings, and dinners that lasted well beyond the food.
But ELEVATE was never designed as an escape from everyday life. It is a return to it, hopefully a little better equipped. I know that sounds like a cliché, but clichés tend to stick around for a reason. We want women to leave with things that survive the flight home: practical tools, a better understanding of their bodies, and a clearer sense of what they actually want.
Return to Yourself means getting reacquainted with the self underneath the schedules, expectations and roles. The one who notices she is tired before she is burnt out. Who can tell the difference between discipline and overriding herself. Who knows what she wants before the rest of the world gets a vote.
Not to find a new version of yourself in Bali, but to make enough space to hear the one already there.
This is what that week looked like.
THE ARRIVAL: Everyone came for a different reason
Some could name it immediately. Others just knew they wanted a change of pace.
Arriving alone is a bigger part of it than it sounds. You’re flying to Bali to spend six days with women you’ve never met, without knowing who you’ll end up sharing breakfast with the next morning.
Some came burnt out. Some wanted perspective. Some thought they needed rest. Others followed an instinct and worked out the reason later.
We were different ages, with different jobs, pressures and lives at home. Nobody needed exactly the same thing from the week, and that turned out to be one of the best parts of it.
By the first dinner, conversation had already moved beyond the usual introductions.
“I needed a group of women who just got it. Sharing experiences, having a laugh, learning from one another.”
LIZ NOLAN, ELEVATE ATTENDEE
The next morning started at 7am, barefoot on the grass before a 20-minute silent walk through the rice fields. No phones, no headphones, and no need to make conversation.
Helena Bakkejord had imagined Bali might create calm for her. On those first walks, she struggled to take a full breath.
“You can travel anywhere in the world, but wherever you land, you still arrive as yourself.”
HELENA BAKKEJORD, ELEVATE ATTENDEE
By the end of the week the calm was coming from somewhere else — not from the scenery, which had been there all along.
And from there, we found our rhythm.
THE RHYTHM OF THE WEEK: Move. Learn. Leave room.
There was structure, but never so much that the week became another schedule to survive.
By 7am we were barefoot on the grass, heading into the rice fields for 20 minutes without phones or conversation. Then upstairs to Soulshine’s open-air shala for movement with Janis before breakfast.
Chloe Campbell arrived as a committed cardio person — same route, same pace, headphones in. She spent her first strength session glancing sideways to copy everyone else.
“Being bad at something in front of strangers turned out to be the reset I needed.”
CHLOE CAMPBELL, ELEVATE ATTENDEE
After breakfast, we were back on the floor with notebooks. Janis took us through hormones, strength, stress, recovery and why two women can follow the same training plan and experience it completely differently. Questions regularly took us somewhere else.
Afternoons were deliberately left open. Not just to rest, but to choose what you needed. Pool, spa, Ubud, a nap, or the optional strength session that somehow almost everyone still joined.
Dinner was at Stay Human. Nasi goreng, bao buns, the banana dessert on repeat, and conversations that outlasted the meal.
“The retreat begins when you get on the plane back.”
SUSANNA STANG-HOLM, FOUNDER
It’s easy to walk at sunrise when there’s nowhere else to be, eat well when someone else is cooking and feel clear when nothing is competing for your attention. Six days of that is lovely, but it isn’t the work.
The work starts when you get home. That’s why we build the week around things that survive the flight: understanding your body, noticing what you need, and making choices you can actually keep.
THE HOSTS: Behind ELEVATE
Jãnis Blums
Strength and nervous system coach. Delta X Coach.
Janis has a way of explaining the body that makes you slightly annoyed nobody explained it to you sooner. His background spans psychology, physiology, neuroscience and strength & conditioning, but what makes him good in a room full of women asking questions is that he doesn’t perform expertise. He answers what was actually asked.
He ran every movement session and every workshop. Mornings met people where they were — no hierarchy between the woman who lifts four times a week and the one who hadn’t touched a barbell.
His app, Delta X Coach, is built on the same principle: understand why before you worry about how much. The Genesis program takes women from zero gym experience through eight weeks of structured strength. Strong with Sunni leads you through a transformational 16 week program for the intermediate and Delta C Workouts lead you through follow along workouts with minimal equipment. There’s also Running for Non-Runners, Lower Limb Foundations, a Roll, Relax & Recover module, and a neuroscience ebook, Understanding You.
Susanna Stang-Holm
Norwegian model and entrepreneur. Creator of ELEVATE. Director of Partnerships, Women’s Fitness Australia.
ELEVATE came from a pattern I kept seeing: women doing everything “right” while still feeling disconnected from their bodies, their time and the lives they were building.
I wanted something beyond a week of workouts. We teach women how their bodies actually work, give them practical tools around movement, recovery and stress, and make space for bigger questions about what they actually want.
I want women to go home understanding themselves better, owning their choices, and building a life that feels like theirs.
To me, wellness isn’t escaping your life. It’s becoming more deliberate about how you live it.
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP: Leading With All of Who You Are
The woman behind the resort we called home for six days. Sara Agah Franti — emergency nurse turned CEO — on self-compassion, courageous leadership, and building what comes next from everything life has taught her.
When I first met Sara Agah Franti, what struck me wasn’t her title. It was how comfortably she held qualities women are taught to see as contradictions: direct and warm, ambitious and self-aware, decisive and compassionate.
Before leading Soulshine Bali as CEO, Sara spent ten years as an emergency room nurse. She went on to earn a Master of Public Health, build an ecommerce business, co-found the non-profit Do It For The Love, become a mother and lead Soulshine through a pandemic. On paper they look like separate lives, yet every chapter is connected by the same intention: to create spaces where people feel seen and able to show up as they are.
The education of an ER nurse
The emergency room may seem a long way from a resort in Bali, but Sara still relies on what it taught her. “The greatest skill I walked away with was critical thinking,” she says. “I was constantly asking: Why am I doing this, and what am I going to do with the result?”
There was no room to cling to a plan because it was the original plan. If something failed, she reassessed and kept moving. The stakes are different now, but the questions remain. Her authority comes less from always knowing the answer than from being willing to revise it.
The business of belonging
Raised in Canada as the daughter of Iranian refugees, Sara grew up in a home where hospitality was a way of living. People were fed, noticed and made to feel they were never a burden. “It wasn’t something we talked about,” she says. “It was how we lived.”
The same idea sits beneath Soulshine. “When you work in hospitality, you can either provide a service or create an experience,” she says. “When people feel considered, they feel cared for.” Guests often tell her Soulshine feels like home.
“Being direct doesn’t mean I’m not compassionate, and being compassionate doesn’t mean I can’t be strong or decisive.”
SARA AGAH FRANTI
Strength can hold compassion
Sara has sometimes questioned whether she was too masculine or not feminine enough. She now recognises those questions as part of the narrow idea women are given about how female leadership should look. She has been told she is too direct — once questioned for not beginning an email with “Hi”.
For Sara, directness and compassion are not contradictions. “When you can meet yourself with compassion, you’re also able to extend that to your team. That doesn’t make you a weaker leader. It makes everyone stronger together.”
When the numbers say no
That philosophy was tested during COVID. As tourism stopped, many Bali hotels closed and let staff go. Soulshine kept the team employed.
The question was not whether they would support their people, but how long they could keep doing it. When hotels were allowed to reopen domestically, Soulshine did so at a loss. Food packages went home with staff and their families.
Years later, some still tell Sara what that meant. Several were the only person in their family with a job. “Sometimes leadership requires you to trust what you know is right, even before the outcome can justify it on paper.”
“Nothing is so important that I need to sacrifice myself to prove I can handle it all.”
SARA AGAH FRANTI
Everything, just not all at once
When Soulshine reopened internationally in 2022, Sara found herself overseeing a much larger operation. At first she assumed a good owner should know every department and every word in every procedure.
Eventually she realised leadership at scale required something else. “It wasn’t about having my hands in everything. It was about being clear on the vision and trusting my team.”
The same lesson followed her home. As a CEO, non-profit founder, wife and mother, she speaks candidly about the guilt of realising each identity could not receive all of her, all of the time. “There are seasons when one part of me needs to come forward and another has to sit more quietly.”
Integration, not reinvention
Sara once thought strength meant perfection: never making a mistake, never letting anything shake her. A self-compassion course changed that. Now strength is less about being untouched by difficulty than moving through it without losing yourself.
For the woman waiting to feel ready, Sara is clear: “You don’t build the strength and confidence before you begin. You build them by beginning.”
“It’s integration, not reinvention. Every chapter of your life becomes part of the foundation beneath you.”
SARA AGAH FRANTI
TRUTH ON THE TABLE
Join Sara from 8 November for Truth on the Table — an intimate dinner series at Soulshine, where exceptional food meets honest conversation.
Grab a seat at the table www.soulshinebali.com/events
THE GROUP: By day three, something had clicked
We didn’t arrive as a community. We built one in real time — between the workshops, the meals, the sore muscles and the increasingly ridiculous jokes.
The range of ages was part of it. The younger women brought a willingness to play that reminded the rest of us growing older doesn’t require growing out of joy. The older women brought the kind of questions that save you years of learning things the hard way. Women have always gathered across generations to share stories and advice, long before wellness became an industry. ELEVATE is a version of that.
“I’d rather be ‘too much’ of my authentic self than a smaller, quieter version that fits expectations.”
ELYSE GOODWIN, ELEVATE ATTENDEE
Wellness has a habit of getting solemn, and Soulshine refuses to. “A playground for your soul” isn’t a headline over there, it’s how they operate — and a week away from everything that reminds us who we’re supposed to be let the playful part take charge again. It showed up in small ways: activewear worn down the waterslide, a Norwegian viking row before a World Cup match that got far more serious than anyone intended, dancing after dinner when nobody had planned on dancing.
“Dancing through life. The best way to shake off anything and put a smile on my face.”
KYLA DIFFIN, ELEVATE ATTENDEE
By the last day there were tears, and a reluctance to let the week end on a checkout time. So we did one more thing together: a spontaneous hike up Mount Batur, tired legs and all, followed by hot pools in the mountain. On the drive back everyone chose a song, and all of us screamed our lungs out to Bohemian Rhapsody.
THE WOMEN OF ELEVATE: Eight women, eight starting points
Not testimonials — introductions. Each with her own life, humour, habits and definition of wellbeing.
HELENA BAKKEJORD
@helenebakkejord
Your body isn’t a spreadsheet.
WHAT I NEEDED
I thought I needed to meet like-minded people and escape the feeling of always being on the go. What I actually needed was to meet myself.
WHAT COMES HOME
I’ve already brought some of Janis’s exercises into my classes. More importantly, I came home wanting to look beyond the workout and help people build a stronger relationship with their body.
WELLNESS HILL
Data should support how you feel, not override it. The goal isn’t to become better at tracking yourself. It’s to become better at knowing yourself.
UNSEXY HABIT
A morning brain dump before I let anything into my headspace, then self-massage or intentional movement at night.
helenebakkejord.com
JADE KNIGHT
@jade.knightx
Progress comes from consistency, not pushing harder.
WHAT I NEEDED
I thought I needed to completely reset. I actually needed to slow down, get out of my own head, and give myself permission to rest without feeling guilty about it.
WHAT COMES HOME
Wellness isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing what actually makes you feel good. It’s also pushed me to launch my fitness coaching at the end of the year, helping women build routines that support their lives rather than take them over.
WELLNESS HILL
Sleep. You can have the best supplements, skincare and workout routine in the world, but on four hours of sleep, none of it hits the same.
UNSEXY HABIT
Bed at 9:30 with my phone on Do Not Disturb. Nothing glamorous about it — but waking up rested? Very sexy.
ELOUISE TUCKER
@eloisetucker
Life is ultimately whatever I choose to make it.
WHAT I NEEDED
I thought I needed to slow down. What I actually needed was the clarity that came with it — space to unravel my thoughts and see a perspective I didn’t realise I was missing.
WHAT COMES HOME
I’ve always wanted to be an early riser. At the retreat we were asleep by 10 and up at 6.30. I’ve kept it going and now wake before 8 every day. For me, that’s a big change.
WELLNESS HILL
An hour-long walk in nature every day. My mum has walked at sunrise since I was little, and now I join her. Less about exercise, more about creating a moment where I can be present.
UNSEXY HABIT
Curls in a silk bonnet, a little fake-tan contouring in winter. I’ve caught my reflection and had a jump scare, but the morning result is worth it.
ELYSE GOODWIN
@elysegoodwinn
Living a life that is true to myself.
WHAT I NEEDED
I thought I needed a week to reset and step away from everyday life. What I actually needed was to slow down, shut off the outside world and be fully present.
WHAT COMES HOME
The reminder to be more present and intentional, stop waiting for the perfect time, trust myself more and make time for the people and experiences that matter.
WELLNESS HILL
Fitness should be non-negotiable, not dependent on motivation. Discipline is showing up when your mind says no. Those daily 1% improvements build resilience, self-respect and confidence — when you keep the promises you make to yourself, you become the person you want to be.
UNSEXY HABIT
Living a life that is true to myself. I’d rather be ‘too much’ of my authentic self than a smaller, quieter version that fits expectations.
KYLA DIFFIN
@kyladiffin
Dancing through life.
WHAT I NEEDED
A reset after a month of travelling overseas. Time to reflect on my health and how I was treating my body.
WHAT COMES HOME
Putting effort into what actually matters to me rather than trying to please others. Sometimes that means being a little more selfish.
WELLNESS HILL
Dancing through life. The best way to shake off anything and put a smile on my face.
UNSEXY HABIT
Drinking water. It always makes the biggest difference in how I feel.
LIZ NOLAN
@liznolann__
Suddenly, I feel like a mermaid.
WHAT I NEEDED
I didn’t know what to expect, but I needed to meet a group of women who just got it. Sharing experiences, having a laugh, learning from one another.
WHAT COMES HOME
Back to basics — nourishing your body, moving in ways that feel good, prioritising sleep. You don’t always need to overhaul your life. Sometimes you just need the fundamentals right.
WELLNESS HILL
Running. My moving meditation and therapy in one. Headphones on, outside, everything else disappears.
UNSEXY HABIT
A proper hair-wash day. Nothing sexy about being upside down with a hairdryer, but fresh, bouncy hair changes my whole mood.
CHLOE CAMPBELL
@chloecxmpbell
Being a beginner was the reset I needed.
WHAT I NEEDED
I’m a cardio person: same route, same pace, headphones in. I assumed six days in Ubud meant lying down somewhere green until I felt human. What I actually needed was to be a beginner.
WHAT COMES HOME
Barefoot walks within the first 40 minutes of waking — silent, phone-free, actually noticing things.
WELLNESS HILL
Rest isn’t the reward for training. It’s part of it. Six days of doing meaningfully less taught me more about my body than the last six months of doing more.
UNSEXY HABIT
Going to bed absurdly early. Asleep by 9.30. Good sleep does more for how I feel in my own skin than anything I’ve ever bought.
CORI WOOD
@coriwood
What I actually needed was permission to slow down.
WHAT I NEEDED
I came in burnt out thinking I needed a complete reset. Then I became unwell and had to sit out some sessions. What I actually needed was permission to rest.
WHAT COMES HOME
A reminder to protect my energy and enjoy where I am while I’m there. More gratitude, less pressure.
WELLNESS HILL
Sleep. You can have all the supplements and routines in the world, but nothing replaces a good night’s sleep.
UNSEXY HABIT
Sunlight, an ocean swim, movement and a really good coffee or matcha. Matcha’s close to my heart — my mum, sister and I are launching our own brand.
PARTNER IN PRACTICE: Recovery That Is Simple Enough To Repeat
The best recovery practice isn’t the most elaborate one. It’s the one you can understand, use and take home.
BLACKROLL supplied recovery balls, foam rollers, workout bands and recovery pillows. The products appeared throughout the week, but the recovery balls under our hips during Janis’s workshops made the idea easiest to understand: recovery doesn’t have to wait for a perfect evening routine. It can begin on the floor, while you’re listening and taking notes.
The rollers and bands gave the group practical tools for movement and self-massage. The pillows carried the same thinking into sleep — the least visible part of a fitness story and often the part that changes everything.
BLACKROLL is now the Official Recovery Partner of HYROX, bringing structured mobility, prehab and recovery support to events across more than 30 countries in the 2026/27 season. The useful idea travels: recovery works better when it’s planned before the body is depleted, not improvised after.
Recovery is not what happens after the work. It’s part of how the work continues.
BLACKROLL
THE PARTNER EDIT: The things we actually used
In Ubud heat, hydration wasn’t a talking point. It was part of getting through the day well.
LSKD
The group wore LSKD’s black Fusion Bonded High-Rise Full Length Leggings with pockets. They moved through strength sessions, Pilates, photographs and, eventually, the waterslide. The tights were being lived in, not styled for five minutes.
BettaYou
BettaYou’s Banana and mixed berry protein blends covered the gap between meals, movement and afternoon plans. Each serve combines 23g of whey protein with eight nuts and seeds, added fibre and real freeze-dried fruit.
Zeally Herbs
Zeally Herbs supplied its Fulvic Humic Acid Drops — a concentrated mineral supplement used in water. Zeally publishes its ingredients, directions, testing information and contraindications, so the drops can be understood rather than treated as wellness magic.
PARTNER IN PRACTICE: Hydration without the theatre
In Ubud heat, hydration wasn’t a talking point. It was part of getting through the day well.
H2COCO kept us hydrated all week. Cold coconut water waiting after morning movement, in the fridge through the afternoon, and on hand whenever someone came back from the pool or a walk into Ubud. In that heat, it was the thing everybody reached for without thinking about it.
WHAT COMES HOME: The week ends. The practice starts.
Most women can tell you their macros, their step count and what their watch thinks of their sleep. Fewer can tell you why they’re exhausted, why they keep overriding stress, or whether the life they’re building still reflects what they actually want.
That is the gap ELEVATE is interested in.
Elouise changed her mornings. Chloe stopped treating rest as the opposite of training. Cori became more protective of her energy. Jade left ready to move forward with her coaching business.
Understanding your body is only part of it. The bigger shift is knowing what to do with that information: how you train, recover, spend your time and make decisions about what comes next.
That is the work that starts after Bali.
susanna@womensfitnessmag.com.au
