To speak of "Anara", one must speak of brains and heart behind it all, Neha Molugu.  What made Anara appeal to me were catchphrases like "high impact professionals", not that I am one now but I have run a kitchen, once upon a time, I wanted see what people were doing right and what I got wrong and "holistic growth experience" because we should hope to have growth in all aspects of our life, not just our careers. Neha finds heaven on Earth for the setting of 'Anara' and hand-picks the coaches.

Why is it, that as women we compete against each other for positions? Rather than cheering each other on? There are so many Ted talks and statistics that tell us why, as women, the places we can stand are limited and also, we are not raised to be brave, outspoken, overconfident, qualities that make us seen, make us get the position. 

Now for the words, I wasn't so keen on, "goddess photoshoot", "yoga" and "surfing lesson". What helped me morph those words into positives was the saying "Become comfortable in uncomfortable situations. I am so grateful for this experience and the lifelong sisters I now have. 

Most mornings started with yoga and meditation at the quintessential sanctum, a hut-like,  structure, with only one wall, a backdrop depicting a divine goddess silhouette surrounded by the seven chakras, the ceiling was an intricacy of wood and straw. I have tried "yoga", my personally designed five moves morning start-up yoga, so not the yoga they were doing at Anara. I found peace in the meditation sessions and even now years later, find myself holding my thumb and forefinger together not just when I meditate but also when I need calm and to reconnect with myself. 

Ayurveda and Nutrition 

Dr Priya Anish has that "made women" essence to her, Beyonce vibes, fierce, feminine and felicitous. If you google, Ayurveda, it is defined as a medicine or treatment, however the Dr Priya Anish tells it as "a way of living". And it was a common word in my travels, so many people fuel their bodies based on this way of living, soaked nuts and fruits, the use of certain ingredients and why. As I sat there listening to the "incompatible " foods, I questioned all the dishes I knew that contained that combination, like fruit and dairy. At one point of my trip, I even questioned whether food becoming pleasant on the palate was all to do with commercialisation, 

After Dr Priya filled our minds, we made plans to try her treatments at her centre. I can't remember the name of the type of massage I got, it involved a Kizhi and some hot oil, definitely heated things up for me. 

Vyas Ayurveda Varkala   http://vyasayuryog.com/

Abundance, Financial wellness & money management 

Ekaterina Folkman , Abundance coach INSTAGRAM : @oneupjourney

Pallavi Gandhi, Financial wellbeing coach INSTAGRAM@thepallavigandhi

I appreciated the contrast between these two coaches.

Kat is this unstoppable force of affluence, her Russian accent just accentuates her message, a woman delivering her knowledge of abundance and her, very many talents and services. 

Pallavi on the other hand is a woman that knows her shiz, when it comes to finance. Her pure heart is fuelled by the collective goal of empowering a woman she sees within herself, a married woman who is still her own entity.

Key takeaways from our time together - 

Kat brought to light the "Good Girl Syndrome", which happens when girls and women internalise cultural messages about how they “should” behave that are stereotypic in nature.

Pallavi gave insights into stocks and trading which was something I was starting to get into. 

Both made me ponder my relationship with money and abundance. I was pleasantly surprised to find, I was already practicing some of the teachings. It's a wholesome moment when you realise you are on the right path. 

Surfing lesson and Photoshoot aka my Birthday

The funny thing is, I live in a country where surfing lessons are happening all around me. Never did I think to give it a go, I held on to a belief that I didn't have balance (since I was 11 years old) and we all know surfing requires balance. 

As soon as we got out of the autos, I had a feeling the ladies could not help but drool over the mouth-watering, tall, dark, luscious locks that was our surf coach for the day, he definitely ended up in their spank banks (the mental bank where your naughty fantasies go). The lessons started on the sand, learning the technique required to get on and up on the surfboard which we copied to a "T" in the water. We cheered each other on and applauded each success, some picked it up, just like that and Neha was showing off but all in good measure. 

I loved every moment of it, I have always loved being in the ocean, the mineral-filled waters do wonders for my skin, the sound of the temperate waves, the taste of salt water on the tip of my tongue and the distinctive ocean scent that ignites your awareness that you are in the greatness of the largest body on Earth.

Today, was the last full day of Anara Kerala, there was some free time which allowed us time to be snazzed up for the goddess shoot, in saying that we "goddesses" were the sentimental, comfy casual types. Neha said we could wear whatever made us feel like goddesses, before my trip to India, I picked up some long sleeve shirts so I wasn't always baring my tattoos, I was the smallest I had ever been in over 20 years, and there was this outfit that made me feel good, a blue dress shirt and canvas pants, that is what I wore, kinda, I was starting to feel comfortable in my skin so that's what I did for the shoot, showed a bit of skin, that made me feel like a goddess.

The photoshoot location was Cafe Trip is Life, located on a cliff edge, overlooking the Arabian sea. INSTAGRAM; @cafetripislife . Such a choice is a testament to Neha's rigour. This cafe is very instragammable, the different levels offering backdrop after backdrop, covered spaces and open spaces, garden scenes, nautral light, candlelit. It always amazes me how people create worlds in books and in a similar sense, people bringing fairy tales to life, this is what Cafe Trip is Life pulls off. What a wondrous place to spend my birthday dinner and our last night together. 

We laughed, we discussed plans for the future, we wrote letters to our future selves, we dined and we wined and it was the stars that watched us, the waves in a distance, serenaded us. The place, the people made this one of the best birthdays I have ever had, the goal is now to match it every year.