Speaking to Deeksha Shukla is a revelation in itself. Having been an Air Force Pilot, she is an unassumingly vivacious person. It is very difficult to fathom the challenges she has faced in life across contrasting landscapes — from the skies of high-speed fighter jets to the quiet practice of yoga and mental health healing and now as an entrepreneur. Few stories capture this transition as powerfully as that of Deeksha Shukla, Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at SOULSARA, a platform redefining corporate wellness and employee mental health.
Roots in Discipline and Service
Born into an Army family hailing from Uttar Pradesh, she grew up moving across Ajmer, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and eventually came to Belgaum for her undergraduate studies at RLS College, where she pursued a B.Sc. The city instantly won her heart, becoming the foundation for many of her future chapters.
Her early years were shaped by NCC Republic Day camps, extracurricular achievements, and a remarkable talent for swimming — she earned the prestigious title of University Blue and represented her university at national-level swimming competitions.
By ninth grade, Deeksha Shukla knew she wanted to wear the coveted uniform of a pilot, having been fascinated by the life of a soldier. Her determination took her through the gruelling CDS exam and the five-day selection process in Mysore, where she cleared the once-in-a-lifetime Pilot Aptitude Battery Test — a feat accomplished by just 15 out of 400 young women from that batch. She went on to join the academy and was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in December 2009.
The Sky Years
Her Air Force career saw her posted across Bangalore (Yelahanka), the Andamans, Delhi, Lucknow, and multiple border areas, including the western frontier. She also undertook operations at fighter bases and experienced the intensity of life at Suratgarh on the Rajasthan border. By the time she arrived in Belgaum on her last posting in 2019, she had flown missions across the nation, balanced family life, and given her best to service.
“Life in the Air Force is a constant state of readiness — you are always ‘on.’ It’s high-stress, often life-or-death. Mental and physical tolls accumulate,” she reflects.
Grounded in Entrepreneurship
When Deeksha Shukla stepped away from the Air Force, she ventured into hospitality with a franchise of a Bakery and Café followed by D Heaven Café, running them successfully for over two years. Even during the challenges of the first lockdown in 2020 — sourcing raw material from Hubli, keeping the business alive — she gathered lessons in resilience, community, and the importance of mental wellbeing.
This phase also opened her to new paths: she immersed herself in chakra healing, yoga psychology, and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). A collaboration with Abhay from Mumbai would mark the start of a new chapter — SOULSARA.
SOULSARA: Reimagining Corporate Wellness
The history of where SOULSARA is now is rooted in its initial proprietary dome-shaped physical installation called Soul-X, — a tranquil space for immersive wellness experiences. They successfully conducted 2 installations in Croatia and New York in 2019, with promises of 6 more across the globe, but COVID threw life out of gear. As physical congregations were halted, SOULSARA transformed into a digital platform, and today it stands as a robust SaaS platform delivering Employee Assistance 2.0.
Unlike traditional EAPs that respond only in crisis, SOULSARA provides a Predict, Prevent, Prove approach to mental health — proactive, predictive, and confidential support that is far missing in reactive EAPs. Employees can access counsellors and virtual therapies through ImmersiveCARE™, which rewires the brain with virtual therapies for various challenges like quitting smoking, overcoming social anxiety, crisis management, sleep assistance, and more. This module was recently launched successfully in NYC’s Central Park at an event called Peace in the Park in association with The Brahma Kumaris. Access requires something as simple as headphones — no complicated installations required.
· Individual reports remain confidential, while organizations receive actionable insights on productivity, engagement, and retention patterns.
· Their patent-pending psychometric profiles are unique each month, based on a non-threatening line of questioning around color, art, and sports, combining their patented 9 modalities. Deep tech and GenAI are used extensively across the platform to vectorize the data and give individuals and teams the most robust and authentic information, all while keeping individual and team data completely confidential and compliant.
· The system not only flags dips in engagement but is designed to offer end-to-end support — not just highlighting challenges but also offering hyper personalized recommendations to individuals and teams. SOULSARA provides interventions for teams like team facilitation and coaching, reducing the stress on leaders and managers and freeing up their time to do what they do best.
The goal is to normalize conversations around mental health, making it as routine as physical fitness. “Mental health shouldn’t be the last resort. It has to be part of how organizations function,” she emphasizes.
The Bigger Picture
Having lived the stresses of service — both her father’s 15 years in Kashmir Valley as an infantryman and her own decade in the Air Force — she knows first-hand how stress can manifest as illness if left unaddressed. Today, her mission is to help others unlock their potential by being mentally and physically well.
SOULSARA now works with both B2C and B2B clients, has signed multiple LoIs, and is building partnerships with academic institutions and corporate leaders. “We want to mobilize leaders and business owners,” she says, “because wellness has an impact not just on individuals but on entire organizations.”
Coming Full Circle in Belagavi
From knowing the Belagavi Fort and its stories better than many locals, having lived inside the TA premises, to returning as an entrepreneur and strategist, Belagavi remains a city close to Deeksha Shukla’s heart. For someone who once soared the skies in uniform, her journey today is about helping others rise — not in altitude, but in resilience, balance, and wellbeing.
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