My love letter to India
As a young girl, I didn’t reach for paracetamol when I had a cough or cold — instead, my mother would reach into her spice cupboard, which was a true place of magic and healing. Ancient Indian remedies were my norm. I didn’t know what modern medicine truly was until I left home, far from the warm familiarity of turmeric milk, ginger infusions, and her healing hands. It wasn’t just the remedies. It was the rhythm of life, the intuitive connection to nature, and the understanding that healing begins within.
Years later, when I travelled to India, something inside me stirred. The country didn’t just welcome me — it embraced me. I was captivated. The vibrancy, the culture, the chaos and calm, the divine contradictions of daily life — everything felt alive and meaningful.
The chaos of India is unlike anything I had ever experienced, and yet, somehow, it made perfect sense. What might seem overwhelming to some felt deeply familiar to me. Amid the noise, I found stillness. In the mess, I saw meaning. There’s a raw honesty in India’s energy — a rhythm that forces you to surrender, to flow rather than control.
One of the most transformative moments of my trip happened in Kerala, at a peaceful Ayurvedic centre called Prakruthi, right on Charai Beach. It was tucked between coconut palms and the sea. That’s where I met Jojo, the therapist and owner. From the moment we met, there was a calm steadiness to him — a gentle strength that made you feel instantly at ease. He spoke little, but everything he did carried intention and presence.
I’d booked an Abhyanga massage, not knowing just how much it would shift in me. Jojo didn’t rush. He explained the process with simplicity, then began the treatment in quiet, flowing movements. As the warm oils soaked into my skin and Jojo worked with practiced grace, I felt something start to unravel. Not in a chaotic way, but like tension gently releasing from somewhere deep within. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like I had to hold it all together.
After the treatment, we sat outside together. The ocean just beyond us, he handed me a steaming cup of tulsi tea and, with a quiet smile, said, “Your body is wise. Sometimes, it just needs permission to rest.”
That single sentence has stayed with me.
Jojo and I have remained friends since that day — proof that some connections are written into the journey before we even know it. That experience changed the way I understood healing. It reminded me that true wellbeing isn’t always about doing more — it’s about allowing more space for what already exists within.
I remember reading a passage from a book by my dear friend Sunita Passi. She wrote: “As I settled into the land of my roots, it was as if I had returned home. Although I never resided in India, everything felt strikingly familiar — the sounds, the scents, the flavours.” That quote stopped me in my tracks. It echoed everything I felt but hadn’t yet put into words. India doesn’t just show herself to you — she opens her arms out to you and welcomes you like no other.
This is my love letter to her.
At Hyp Therapie, my practice is a living extension of this love, where I blend holistic facials, Ayurvedic massage, and soon myofascial release therapy to create a space of deep healing and reconnection. It’s more than a treatment — it’s a return home, just like India was for me.
Find out more about my treatments here and book your own here