Sometimes, the best act of self-love we can do for ourselves is take an extended break from the pressures and expectations of life, and that’s precisely what celebrated actress, Taraji P. Henson decided to do when she ventured to the spiritual Ubud, Bali, to receive some much-needed restoration and healing, back in 2023. Years of nonstop work left her feeling overwhelmed, so she decided to escape as far away as she could. Henson came to Bali based on a friend’s recommendation and spent six weeks connecting with the island and herself.
For Henson, Bali served as much more than an escape from Hollywood; it ultimately became her second home. Within CNN’s star-studded travel series My Happy Place premiering Sunday, April 27, on the network, she returns to Bali to give viewers and inside look into her world there, while narrating each activity and spiritual practice she once participated in, like praying at several temples, exploring local markets with natives and Balinese tour guides, Neroli, her sister Helena, and their mother Tredesna who take Taraji through local markets, or doing a traditional Balinese dance class with famous instructor, Maestro Anak Agung Istri Wirati, the audience will have an opportunity to see Bali through Henson’s eyes.
My Happy Place is a six-part series, that is an immersive excursion across the world anchored by an all-star cast of hosts including Alan Cumming, Henson, Simu Liu, Billy Porter, Octavia Spencer; and Questlove. Across six visually stunning episodes, each host reflects on why these meaningful sites have become their escape, revealing a previously unseen side of both the person and the destination.
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Henson’s episode, however, doesn’t just touch on Bali’s beautiful culture and sites, but delves deeper into mental health, self-care, and escaping burnout. As she’s an advocate for mental health through her foundation, she understands the importance of maintaining both her mental and physical health. She shared with ESSENCE how easy it was to get back to herself, due to the peaceful nature of her environment. “Bali is literally Eat, Pray, Love. There’s no vanity there. I don’t have to be inundated with shopping, you know, like shopping for labels and stuff like that. That really doesn’t exist there. I love the people, the food. It just feeds my body and my soul. It’s a very spiritual place, especially Ubud, where I stayed at the center of the island, which is the most spiritual part of the island. And like I said, they pray over you. They pray over everything. I just love it. I feel so safe there and nurtured.”
In addition to spiritually healing through prayer, worship, time at the spas, and meditation, Henson also leaned into her adventurous side by trying fun activities, such as a ‘swing dress’ shoot set in a picturesque valley, which completely challenged her fear of heights. She also rode through caves on an ATV, getting her out of her comfort zone. “I had to learn to trust myself,” Henson shares. “Life is more exciting when you step outside of your comfort zone. Sometimes it can be so mundane. You’re used to doing what you do every day that can suck the life out of you. After a while, you look up and 10 years have passed. It’s like, ‘ What have I done with myself? ‘So I really like being challenged, which I already knew about myself, but I just didn’t know how far I would go. You learn a lot from yourself when you step outside of your comfort zone and challenge yourself in ways that you weren’t before.”
Henson was also able to tap back into her spiritual side during her trip and revealed the prayers she said to help rebalance herself. “I just pray for peace, for God to continue to guide me down the path where peace lives, to get rid of any energy in my life that wasn’t serving me, people, included, to keep my energy and space clean and clear, full of love. People who have any ill intent towards me or anybody that I love, I need them to be removed. Energy is transferable, so I asked God to keep my aura protected,” she shares.
Now, she’s encouraging Black women to visit “Mamma Bali” because of her humanistic experience and the valuable lessons she learned, “You don’t feel like a Black person there, you just feel like a human. No one cares if you’re Black; they just care if you have a good heart, and that’s what I love about the place. I didn’t feel like a Black woman. I didn’t feel like the stresses that we have to deal with,” she states.
Within the episode, she can be seen hanging out with her “expat crew,” a group of Black women from the United States: Erica and her daughter, Swadi, an entrepreneur, author, activist, and Gia, all friends of Henson.
Nowadays, you can find her living in a state of gratitude, thanks to her time in Bali. “Every day, I stay in the place of gratitude. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I say is thank you. Before I go to bed at night, I say, ‘Thank you.’ I’m thanking God throughout the day for simple things, being able to function. Thank you for the love and the people in my life. I just stay in gratitude. I’m always saying thank you all day long,” she says.
It’s the little things that bring Henson peace often, like spending time with her son and new puppy and going to the gym, of course. “Going to the gym is great for my mental health, it’s more about my mental health going to the gym now than opposed to aesthetics. You know, I really feel so much better, now that I’m pouring into and taking care of myself,” she states.
