Ananda is a native New Yorker, now living in Los Angeles. She is a woman who has crafted her body and life exactly how she wants it to be and has found happiness in it. She simply does what makes her happy. But the best part of her discovery on living the good life is that one of her greatest focuses is to share that power with others, so that they as well may find joy in their everyday lives and within themselves.

Over three years ago, Ananda was stuck in the routine of not liking herself, drinking her day away, drowning her sorrows only to wake up feeling hungover and mad at herself, unhappy when she looked in the mirror. Judging herself harshly, she often felt that she had to be someone different. She constantly surrounded herself with negative people.

There came a point after spending enough time being miserable that Ananda had enough. She ditched the drinking and the people that went along with it, getting rid of those that she didn't feel comfortable being herself around. As she learned more about her true self, she also learned to love herself. Ananda turned her life around, letting herself be who she felt she was inside-covered in beautiful tattoos and being comfortable in her own skin. In this process, she learned to embrace her sexuality and nudity. She did things that made her happy, treating herself, and learning to do what she loved.

After her own transformation, Ananda decided to spread that joy with others and became a life coach, first doing individual coaching work. She began helping people become comfortable with themselves and what they love. In this process, always wanting to live by the beach, she moved to Venice Beach. While it is a different vibe than New York, she doesn't regret the move and is happy trying a new experience. Through trying to find our place in life, there is no failure, only wisdom that she can pass onto her clients.

Besides seeing her individual clients, Ananda is also planning workshops and retreats-destination places where people can let their walls down, get out of their element, and have fun. While

they may be uncomfortable at first (there is no magic wand for this type of thing), there will be plenty of activities in addition to counseling. She is planning on including fitness exercises, open talking groups, fun excursions, and fantastic chefs. The goal is to help people become comfortable with themselves and find out what makes them happy, as well as discover that they are not so different from each other, helping to destroy feelings of alienation.

In addition to helping people rediscover their light in life, Ananda is also a sex counselor. After talking to several females, she found that women were uncomfortable asking for what they wanted in bed. Afraid that they could be looked at like there was something wrong with them if they didn't orgasm right away or at all, or how to tell their partner it wasn't working without feeling ashamed. Ananda feels one should be most comfortable in the bedroom, especially during intimate experiences. She coaches her clients to become more comfortable and confident in talking to their partner (male or female), about what they want to try, what works, and any new things they want to explore. She helps people to understand that there is no shame in what makes one happy sexually. Spicing up a relationship is positive progress, not a failure. There are many other aspects Ananda helps clients with, including couple's toy shopping, self-pleasure, and other creative ways of reaching climax in the bedroom, alone or with their partner.

In discovering joy in herself, Ananda has developed the tools to help others. She has a few things that she always tells her clients that we could all keep in the back of our minds when self-doubt creeps in:

Choose happiness.

Fill the pain with positive.

Gild your scars and enhance your joy.

Ananda is proof that happiness in our own skin and who we are is one of the greatest things in this life. For more information about Ananda and what she does, visit: www.AnandasJoy.com and follow her on Instagram: @AnandasJoy.

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INKSPIRED MAGAZINE · Issue #39 · 2016