“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” ~ Virginia Woolf. On this International Women’s Day, GlobalSpa recognizes and celebrates the women in the industry as we delve into their success mantra they follow, mistakes that have helped them grow, and of course, their WELLNESS philosophy.

Veena Ashiya is the Founder & CEO of Monrow Shoes, a homegrown women’s footwear brand that brings together the best of both worlds; style and comfort.

What is your wellness philosophy?

My wellness philosophy revolves around the holistic approach inspired by ancient beliefs. We attain wellness when the 3 realism of physical, emotional, & spiritual are in proper sync. Apart from this, the wellness practices range from distant reiki healing done by my spiritual coach to cleanse my aura to doing 108 Surya Namaskar once a week- This helps me to be mentally & physically fit and also helps me to look at my goals & how I plan to achieve them.

Your success mantra?

I believe playing to your strengths is what everyone should do. Very early in my career, I recognized my strengths in creativity & finance, which is a very uncommon combination. Recognizing these skills & strengths has been very helpful for me. Other than recognizing the skills, I always had my own definition of success, for me, success along with building an amazing brand comes with my overall spiritual growth. Attaining holistic success is my mantra.

A lesson you learned from making a mistake?

I believe mistakes are the best teachers one can have, but are a bit expensive. One mistake that we women make is to look out for success outwards, which gets limiting at times. The day I started to look for success within me and how I wanted my success to look, the whole outlook changed and gave me a new perception of everything.

Any piece of advice for all the women out there?

First, own your ambition, second ask for support, equal rights & responsibilities, never shy away from asking if you believe in yourself and last but not the least share your access & achievements, it will give the society a new lens to look you at and it might inspire many more women out there to do good and something for themselves.

What has been your biggest pride as a doyenne?

The fact that we are building a tribe of extremely ambitious women and I take ultimate pride saying that Monrow is like an incubator for the most ambitious women ever.