A Circle of Her Own: The Hustle That Led Alfana Khatri to Iraaya World
Sometimes, the most powerful journeys begin when life forces us to stop.
For Alfana Khatri, motherhood brought a five-year pause in her professional life—a chapter filled with love, responsibility and, somewhere along the way, the feeling that she had lost a part of herself. Her way back began with yoga, followed by nutrition, NLP and eventually the healing world of sound.
Today, Alfana is a Nutritionist by degree, an NLP Master Practitioner by heart and a Sound Bath Therapist by soul. But beyond the titles is a woman whose journey is rooted in something far more personal: learning to quiet the noise, reconnect with herself and then use that energy to help others do the same. And perhaps that is what makes Alfana's story so compelling—not that she never lost her way, but that she found the courage to begin again.
Alfana's professional journey began with an interest in nutrition and preventive healthcare. After completing her schooling, she pursued her graduation and post-graduation in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics from SVT College of Home Science, SNDT University, Juhu. Her internships in hospitals proved to be an important turning point. While gaining practical exposure, she began wondering why healthcare so often starts only after a person becomes seriously unwell. She found herself asking a simple but powerful question: why wait until people reach a hospital bed before helping them?
That thought shaped her vision. Alfana wanted to work towards preventing illness rather than simply responding to it after the damage had already occurred. She became increasingly interested in preventive healthcare and began working with MNCs on various nutrition research projects.
Then life took her down a completely different path.
Motherhood arrived, and Alfana chose to step away from her career. What was initially meant to be a two-year sabbatical extended much further when she discovered she was expecting her second child. The break eventually became more than five years.
Those years were devoted to her children, but somewhere within the demands of motherhood, Alfana felt she had lost touch with herself. Returning to professional life after such a long sabbatical wasn't easy. She found herself starting almost from scratch, while also navigating post-partum depression following the birth of her second child—a difficult phase that lasted for around a year and a half. Her first step towards finding herself again came through yoga. Three months of consistent practice began to make a difference. Slowly, she felt her mind becoming clearer. She started reconnecting with herself and realised she was ready to take another step forward. That step didn't come with a glamorous job title or a large salary. She started working from home at a very modest salary, simply because beginning somewhere mattered more than waiting for the perfect opportunity. That decision became another turning point.
She began coaching individuals across India through GoQii, a California-based health and wellness platform. She immersed herself in learning, research and practical experience, rebuilding her professional confidence one opportunity at a time.
But rebuilding a career while raising two children came with its own set of challenges.
For Alfana, one of the biggest lessons was learning how to manage a home, motherhood, work and delegation simultaneously. She believes that while almost every responsibility in life can be delegated in some form, motherhood is different.
"Everything can be delegated on this earth except the task of motherhood."
Her journey was made possible in no small measure by the support of her own mother, who stepped in to help care for her children while Alfana worked. That support gave her the space to pursue her ambitions once again and eventually take on the role of Head Nutritionist with Gold's Gym, working across India. Yet, even as her career progressed, Alfana's understanding of wellness continued to evolve. Nutrition had given her the foundation. Yoga had helped her reconnect with herself. NLP deepened her understanding of people, emotions and behaviour. And then came sound.
Today, sound bath therapy has become an integral part of Alfana's life and work.
For her, sound baths are about far more than simply listening to sounds. They create a space where the noise of the outside world begins to settle, allowing her to feel grounded, focused and connected to who she truly is. She describes it as a powerful energy exchange. Her work has always involved giving and serving others, but sound baths have also created a space where she feels she receives energy while giving it.
The impact has been deeply personal. She believes sound baths have helped her manage her anger, calm her naturally energetic personality and experience deeper sleep. That quality of rest, in turn, helps her recharge naturally and step into each new day with renewed energy. For Alfana, wellness isn't about one practice or one professional identity. It is the coming together of different experiences that have shaped her.
"By degree I am a Nutritionist, by heart an NLP Master Practitioner and by soul I am a Sound Bath Therapist." That combination has now extended into another important part of her life—building communities.
Alfana is currently the Circle Director for the Juhu-Andheri-Bandra area at Iraaya World, a business community for women entrepreneurs that meets every fortnight with the aim of creating meaningful connections, generating business and helping members close opportunities. With 13 circles already launched in Mumbai, the vision is much larger: 200 circles across India, followed by a global expansion. For Alfana, leadership is not about being the loudest person in the room. Some of the qualities she values most are people management, setting healthy boundaries, being non-judgemental and creating a culture built around kindness and high standards.
She credits God's grace and her passion for everything she has committed herself to as the forces that have carried her forward. Her personal lifestyle reflects the same discipline. She believes in early nights and early mornings, avoids smoking and drinking, and is mindful of overeating because she believes it can significantly drain one's energy. And when she needs to rejuvenate, sound baths remain an important part of her routine.
Her advice to young people is refreshingly simple: work on yourself.
Rather than obsessing over finding the perfect career path, she encourages young people to understand themselves, learn about people and emotions, become active listeners and take something from every life experience. Every day, she believes, offers another opportunity to learn. She also emphasises the importance of understanding that we cannot control other people. The only person we can continuously improve is ourselves.
When it comes to choosing a career, Alfana doesn't believe in prescribing a particular path. Instead, she encourages people to identify the passion that genuinely drives them—something that can keep them moving forward without pushing them towards constant stress or burnout.
Because even when we love what we do, we can become tired, stuck or overwhelmed.
That is where, for Alfana, practices such as sound baths can help create the space to pause, distress, recharge and return to the journey with greater clarity.
But passion, she believes, needs to be accompanied by practicality.
"Passion alone isn't enough for sure. Monetizing passion is of utmost importance."
She believes that combining different areas of passion and expertise can open up new avenues and create a sustainable professional identity. Understanding financial freedom, learning how to monetize one's skills and eventually learning how to manage wealth are all important parts of turning passion into a viable career.
Her definition of success, however, extends beyond professional and financial achievement.
Alfana is a strong advocate of sustainable and minimalist living and believes that small everyday choices can have a meaningful impact on both the environment and the next generation. One of the community initiatives she drives focuses on sustainable clothing for children. Children grow rapidly, often leaving perfectly usable clothes behind within a short period. Her initiative encourages families to pass children's clothes on to one another, reducing waste while also minimizing unnecessary expenditure.
She is also associated with Project Mumbai's Recyclothon, where more than 2,000 kilograms of plastic has been donated for recycling rather than being discarded into the environment.
Her involvement doesn't stop there. She has also been associated with initiatives focused on worn-out shoes, clothing recycling and repurposing.
For Alfana, these may seem like small actions, but collectively they can create a meaningful difference. More importantly, they teach children and families to consume thoughtfully and develop sustainable habits that can carry forward into the next generation. Perhaps that philosophy mirrors Alfana's own life.
She has never believed in wasting an experience. Every chapter—from studying nutrition and working in healthcare research, to stepping away for motherhood, struggling to find herself again, discovering yoga, returning to work, learning NLP, embracing sound therapy and building entrepreneurial communities—has added another layer to who she is today.
Her journey is a reminder that a career doesn't always have to follow a straight line.
Sometimes, we have to step away before we understand what we truly want. Sometimes, starting again means accepting an opportunity that feels much smaller than where we once were. Sometimes, the person we become after a difficult chapter is stronger, calmer and more purposeful than the person we were before it.
For those inspired to follow a similar path, Alfana recommends starting with a strong foundation. Aspiring nutritionists can explore SVT College of Home Science, SNDT University, Juhu, where her own academic journey began. Those interested in NLP can explore internationally certified ABNLP programmes offered by reputed trainers. For sound bath therapy, Alfana has pursued multiple certifications, including learning experiences in the mountains.
But perhaps her most important lesson isn't found in any certification.
It is found in her journey.
Keep learning. Keep listening. Keep improving yourself. Find your passion, but learn how to make it sustainable. Take care of your mind, your body, your relationships and the environment around you.
And when life becomes noisy, sometimes the best thing you can do is simply pause.
Listen. And find your sound again.
Want to experience Alfana’s Sound Bath Sessions for yourself? DM her to book your slot and discover a moment of calm, connection and rejuvenation: https://www.instagram.com/alfana_soundbath?stkn=MWk0Z3A0OWJoeTNibw==
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