I often say that a group does not come together by chance; it comes together by design. Perhaps the same is true of life itself. We meet people, experiences, and opportunities when there is something waiting to be discovered, learned, or transformed.

The School of Counselling and Promotion of Wellbeing (SCPW), a wing of NCEB, and WHY (Wellbeing and Happiness for You) organise Thursday Classes to spread awareness about mental health. Practitioners from diverse fields are invited to offer different perspectives on wellbeing to students and faculty members.

On one such Thursday in November, I was invited to facilitate a two-hour session. What was meant to be a standalone programme eventually evolved into what is now known as Embodied Wellbeing.

Sujata Roy Choudhury, Director of WHY, approached me and said: “Do something with us.”

My immediate response was: “I don’t run courses. I don’t offer certifications.”

Her reply changed everything. “We don’t need certificates. We want to learn how to connect with our bodies.”

And something clicked.

For years, I had been exploring different pathways into the body – Dance Movement Therapy, Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, somatic practices, expressive arts, breathwork, sound work, and body-mind integration. Until then, these were parallel streams of learning and practice. That conversation became the catalyst that brought them together.

Embodied Wellbeing emerged as a workshop journey designed to help people build a deeper relationship with their bodies and, through that relationship, a deeper understanding of themselves.

At its heart, it is an invitation to come home to the body – not merely as a physical structure, but as a source of wisdom, awareness, intelligence, and information.

The work is about cultivating relationships:

With the body
With emotions
With habits and patterns
With presence

Over time, the workshop evolved into three levels – Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced – allowing participants to progressively deepen their embodied awareness.

Today, with two batches completed, what moves me most is the trust that wellbeing practitioners, counsellors, educators, and helping professionals have placed in this work.

Embodied Wellbeing is especially relevant for those who support, guide, teach, heal, or serve others. Because the depth to which we can accompany another human being is often limited by the depth to which we can accompany ourselves.

In a culture that constantly encourages us to think faster, do more, and stay productive, this work offers a different invitation: to pause. To listen. To notice. To sense. To reconnect.

To move from merely living in the mind to inhabiting the fullness of the body.

As Batch 2 comes to a close, I find myself filled with gratitude.

Perhaps what we are all seeking is not something new to acquire, but something ancient to remember: the wisdom of the body.

The story of Embodied Wellbeing began in a rather unexpected way.

Angira Chakravorty Dasgupta

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You can feel the difference between a room full of employees and a room that feels genuinely connected.

Over the years, I have loved getting 10,000+ people to move.