SimplyAbuDhabi XLV

What are the fundamentals for building a successful Yoga brand? Stay true to your values and highest intentions, and yet constantly innovate the product. When Ashiyana opened its doors in 2006, we were able to ride the wave of Yoga that was spreading through the western world. This naturally meant that practitioners were keen to discover its roots through trips to India, which was obviously a huge boon for us in Goa. I have always paid close attention to the trends in the market place. Yoga has been exploding as an industry, offering multiple opportunities through sensing want customers wanted. For example, one-to-one Yoga sessions, Yoga therapy Yoga as medicine, and Ayurvedic treatments. But what I have been most focussed on is creating the possibility for sustainable lifestyle change, since I have felt that this simply isn’t provided for anywhere in the world of wellbeing. My obstinate obsession with this has resulted in the launch of BEST ME Journey. What are the traits of a great Yoga teacher? The key is to be empathic. Along with empathy, I would also say listening skills, and being able to hold a loving space. Skills can be taught, but essential traits of personality and character cannot. We therefore always look for these qualities first, whomever we employ. And what are some essential qualities of a Yoga business owner? As with any business owner, you need to be hard working, resilient, and have a passion for what you’re doing. You also need to be a student of your product, otherwise the message from the top lacks integrity. What has been your biggest lesson learned frommaking your passion also your profession? Fortunately, I haven’t suffered from the biggest challenge that many Yoga teachers encounter, which is that earning a living as a Yoga teacher is hard work, often lonely, frequently underpaid, and therefore not all that it’s cracked up to be. I was lucky to be an entrepreneur and therefore had no illusions about setting up a business. I also had another stream of income when I first taught, and therefore had no financial pressure. When I set up Ashiyana Goa, I had my own funds, and therefore once again, finances were not an issue. Can you share a moment from your journey where you were completely out of your comfort zone, but it turned out to be a breakthrough for you or the brand? I vividly remember one of our first 200-hour teacher trainings, where I was teaching the philosophy. While I have a pretty philosophical approach to life, and I love Yoga philosophy section. I was not in my lane. I didn’t know the material well enough, and more importantly, I felt the need to appear to be someone with gravitas and great wisdom. The smart students on the training saw through my veil of inauthenticity, and to cut a long story short, they let me know about it in no uncertain terms. This taught me the importance of only ever being in my lane, and also only speaking from a place of my own direct experience. This has been invaluable for Ashiyana, and had I not had this ego-destroying experience, I don’t believe that BEST ME would be what it is today.. As an entrepreneur in the wellness space, what advice would you give to others looking to build a business that is not just successful but also meaningful and transformative for its clients? Become clear about who you are, and how you want to express your creativity, and stay true to this. Speak and act from a place of integrity, and employ incredible human beings who are far better than you at almost everything. What inspired you to start Ashiyana and how did you envision it evolving when you first began? When I was 19 years old, at university, a friend asked me what I was going to do with my life. I spontaneously replied, ‘Create a retreat centre in the tropics somewhere.’At that time, I had no real idea what ‘retreat centre’ actually meant, but this declaration hadn’t emanated from my conscious mind, but rather came from the depth of my being. It took over twenty years, but once I’d become a Yoga teacher, and was running retreats around the world, it was inevitable that I would find my own little piece of paradise and set up my own retreat centre. Ashiyana offers both retreats and teacher training courses. How do these two offerings complement each other, and what unique experiences do they provide to your students/clients? My vision for Ashiyana has evolved into both an ecosystem of support for our guests, and also for our teachers, therapists and coaches. As such, there is the possibility for considerable synergy between the different elements of what we offer—many students discover our teacher training through having previously been a guest with us, and many of the students we train go on to work with us on and offline, supporting our guests. From the very beginning, my intention was to offer our guests a deeper experience than is commonly available in the retreats and wellbeing industries. This deeper, spiritual intention is greatly facilitated by creating surroundings that guide our guests towards relaxation. This includes our staff, design of our centres, nurturing food and sleep, conscious movement, and all other areas of daily life while with us. What we constantly hear from our guests is that Ashiyana feels like their home away from ho me. We especially love this feedback, since our primary intention is to hold 264 | Simply Abu Dhabi