Mumbai has spas, wellness studios, gyms and yoga institutes. However, for the first time, right in the heart of the city, you'll find an urban ashram where you can unwind, relax, breathe and probably also lose track of time. It's here that mindful living turns into a daily ritual.
AUM Life lets Mumbaikars seek, learn and heal while rediscovering their inner self. It's not a place where you can do some kind of activity that lets you lose a few inches or kilos. It is a holistic center that draws you in with its many facets and the hope that by the end of a year, people will undergo several changes — some physical, some internal — but most importantly it will set you off on a journey where you can make lifestyle a routine or a habit.
Yoga, weekly kirtans and the meditation at AUM Life hopes to help Mumbaikars reconnect with themselves, and even get into a healing mode through ancient practices.
AUM Life is CEO and founder Richa Agrawal's labour of love |
"It is a space where you'll find our core offerings like yoga, prana (energy healing), gyana (wisdom), divya (practices), chikitsa (ancient healing), dhyana (transformative meditation) and ahaara (nourishment)," informs CEO and founder Richa Agrawal. "You can immerse yourself into Ayurveda, alternate healing practices like Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Japanese Shiatsu, sound healing, crystal healing, reiki, pranic healing, shamanism, along with occult sciences like tarot, angel card, Akashic records reading and Vedic astrology," she adds.
'We are what we eat' is the main the idea behind their organic cafe led by Chef Hina Chokshi that serves regional and seasonal vegetarian food, with vegan and gluten-free options, which will balance your doshas. It is rooted in the concept of ahaara aushadhi that views food as medicine, the SLOW (seasonal, local, organic, whole) food movement, and sattvic living.
At the cafe, you'll find calming turmeric broth, healing hibiscus tea, among other vegetarian offerings |
Individuals who are on the go all the time need a pause; one that will help their stress dissipate, and let them prioritize and nurture self-care.
The pause is not just about a relaxing massage. Or the few moments spent in quiet meditation in the wee hours of the day, before again stepping into a chaotic schedule. Or stretches that will give you a temporary relief from your aching joints.
This urban ashram hopes to take you on a wellness journey which begins with yog or conscious, awareness filled simple movements that serve as an introduction a person's body. That's followed with an exploration of your energetic body through healing modalities and breathing techniques.
One-on-one sessions with gurus and experts will help you establish a connection with your thoughts, and the gyana or wisdom you receive is will reintroduce you to your roots. The entire journey is meant to answer the universal question, "where am I coming from and what should I look forward to."
The placement of each instrument in the sound healing room is guided by Vaastu |
"India is the spiritual capital of the world. In Mumbai, you'll have plenty of yoga studios and wellness spas, but nothing like this, where everything is put together under one umbrella," shares Richa. "AUM Life is also my attempt to bridge a gap between seekers and practitioners."
Since the age of 13, Richa has been into meditation. She grew up in an Arya Samaj family and was introduced to mantras and vedas pretty early in life. In 2012, she started Vipassana meditation, which changed her life and it felt like a new birth for her.
A curious spiritual seeker, she has explored several courses with Sadhguru's Isha Foundation, and at 15, she was initiated into Heartfulness which is run by spiritual leader, Daaji Kamlesh D Patel. She travelled extensively with Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari in her teenage years, and that became her personal spiritual foundation.
Spanning across 7,300 sq ft, AUM Life is designed by the award-winning studio Architecture BRIO |
"Post retreats, people are always anxious about going back home," says Suyash Singh, Head of Well Being Programs at AUM Life. "If they had a transformative experience at some place, they do dread returning to their routines and normal lives."
"We're trying to fill in the normal, day-to-day grind of a modern individual with the roots they need to stay connected with, and we hope to bridge that gap with an urban retreat like AUM Life," he explains. "A retreat doesn't need to be a seven or nine-day affair. Even an hour per day is enough. That's how the shift happens."
The names of each of the 16+ rooms at AUM Life carries a special meaning |
AUM Life is Richa's offering to fellow seekers. It is a space born from her own spiritual journey and a deep calling to reimagine urban well-being. But it is more than just a place. You can call it a 'sanctuary where each individual can reconnect, realign, and rediscover their inner world, guided by masters and supported by mindful design, ancient practice, and everyday joy'. It is indeed a space built out of great thought and reason.
"The vision for AUM Life first emerged during a meditation session in Berkeley years ago: a moment of clarity that planted a seed. In the years that followed, especially post-COVID, that seed grew into something urgent and necessary. The world, I felt, was finally ready to return inward," shares Richa.
For more details on AUM Life's membership plans, visit their website https://www.aumlife.in/.
