Anna Bjurstam – who left her role as Wellness Pioneer at Six Senses Hotels and Resorts at the end of June – has launched a new wellness, longevity and 'consciousness consultancy' called Wahayla.

Bjurstam is well known for co-founding spa consultancy Raison d’Être, launching Scandinavian fitness chains and her 13 years at Six Senses, leading wellness for the brand.

She recently oversaw Six Senses’ launch of the brand’s first members’ club, Six Senses Place at Six Senses London, which opened earlier this year. Read what Bjurstam had to say in Spa Business here. 

Both Raison d’Être and Six Senses are owned by IHG. Bjurstam sold Raison d’Etre to Six Senses in 2013, then both were purchased by IHG in 2019.

Bjurstam has thanked her former colleagues for their dedication throughout her journey so far: “What I will remember most is not the concepts, programmes or projects. It is the people," she wrote on LinkedIn.

"The vision, passion, courage and dedication of so many talented colleagues around the world turned ideas into reality. Thank you for believing in bold thinking, for embracing change and for continuously raising the bar for what our industry can achieve.”

Wahayla

Wahayla is an ancient Aramaic word which means feeling power and life energy in the heart. Bjurstam has developed a somatic meditative practice of the same name, based on her decades of personal meditation practices.

The company will work with leading hotel groups, wellness companies, medical clinics, conferences and corporations to build rare wellbeing experiences. It will provide services including consulting, concept development, strategic advisory, keynote speeches and an expanding platform of partnerships and practices.

Bjurstam said: “What we do is work at the intersection of science, human experience and the energy that moves through both. There are organisations that are ready for that conversation. We are here for them.”

Bjurstam has created the company to bring together three areas of wellness that she believes the industry has largely kept separate: 

• The biological health and longevity sciences

• The psychological architecture required for lasting lifestyle changes 

• Spirituality, in terms of human experience, which she believes is central to longevity and immunity

She added: “The spiritual dimension of wellness is not an add-on. The research is clear. Connection, meaning, the felt experience of being part of something larger than yourself – these are not philosophical luxuries. They are health interventions. It is time the industry treated them as such.”

The company will have a circle of equity partners as well as a team of directors that will lead in specific practice areas. Wahayla is actively developing a retreat-focused division and a curated partnership network.

Bjurstam will bring more of her curiosity and extensive skillset to her work in this new company. She is a trained shamanic practitioner, a board member of the Global Wellness Summit and holds a master's degree in finance.

Bjurstam is also an investor in wellness companies AgebackCo, Sanctum, Myndstream and Pulse.

Watch Anna Bjurstam speaking at the HCM Summit in 2025.