Alesha Cumpton, IMD MBA, is the CEO and co-founder at BINDU Institute.
With 20 years’ experience spanning wellness, entrepreneurship, and corporate leadership, Alesha brings a rare blend of business acumen and soul-centered purpose to her work.
An engineer by training, with an MBA, her journey has been guided by a deep understanding of alignment — connecting personal “dharma” with meaningful contribution. A pivotal moment during Alesha’s yoga training in Ibiza deepened her dedication to service and community, recognizing the transformative potential in all of us. From leading EdTech and wellness ventures to mentoring individuals and organizations, Alesha empowers others to reconnect with purpose and serve authentically. Her calm, confident presence and business expertise anchor her mission to create spaces where individuals and communities flourish, fostering connection, impact, and growth.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I organize my life around energy more than time.
I usually wake before my alarm so I can have quiet, uninterrupted space for myself. That morning window is sacred. Sometimes it’s yoga on my mat, sometimes meditation in bed, sometimes breathwork, journaling, or simply resting if my body needs it. I also voice-record dreams if something feels meaningful. That spacious start gives me clarity and helps creativity move more freely.
Weekday mornings are then fully devoted to my kids. I’m often solo parenting, so from breakfast to school drop-off, I’m all in mom mode.
My work week has a natural rhythm. Mondays are for setting the tone, prioritizing, strategy, and personal development. Midweek is focused on deeper work, especially fundraising and relationship building for Bindu Institute. I also make space for movement and creativity. Flamenco classes pull me into the city, which I often pair with in-person meetings. I love working from our local beach house when it’s open. The environment, the sea, and spontaneous conversations there often spark collaboration in ways no desk ever could.
Teaching yoga, guiding hikes, hosting sauna sessions, ceremonies, and retreats are also part of my work. In-person gatherings are deeply nourishing for me and keep everything I do grounded and real.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I speak them.
Ideas often start as a felt sense in my body or a quiet knowing. When I speak them out loud, especially to another person, something shifts. The idea gains momentum and direction. It’s like turning the ignition key.
There’s a dance between inward listening and outward action. I let ideas incubate internally, then I give them life through conversation, structure, and movement. Knowing when to stay inward and when to act has become one of my most important skills.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I love seeing modern science finally validate ancient wisdom.
Fascia is a great example. For thousands of years, systems like Chinese medicine and Ayurveda worked with energy channels like meridians and nadis. Only recently has science begun to understand how information and energy move through the body via the fascial network.
What was once considered useless tissue is now understood as our largest connective organ, linking muscles, organs, and systems. This convergence feels exciting and overdue. It opens the door for a more integrated way of understanding health, where embodied wisdom and scientific research meet.
It creates space for institutions like Bindu Institute to connect embodied wisdom with modern pedagogy in a credible, grounded way.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
My morning practice.
Creating space for connection first thing in the morning changes everything. I have more clarity, focus, and motivation throughout the day. When I skip it, I notice how much easier it is to feel overwhelmed or pulled in too many directions. The way I begin my morning shapes how the whole day unfolds.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Listen to your gut.
The more you learn to trust that inner voice, the less you’ll look outside yourself for direction or validation. Intuition is something that needs to be practiced and strengthened. The sooner you begin, the faster life starts to feel aligned.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.
I work consciously with my menstrual blood.
During my cycle, I offer it to plants, paint with it, and sometimes use it as a face mask. I love how my skin feels afterward, soft and nourished, and there’s a deep sense of empowerment in reclaiming something that’s usually discarded without thought.
There are no clinical studies I know of to support this. It’s purely experiential. Most people I share this with don’t adopt the practice, and my family isn’t thrilled about jars in the fridge. But it feels aligned and deeply reclaiming for me.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Brush.
Not just your hair and teeth, but your body and your tongue.
Dry brushing is an easy way to support circulation, lymphatic drainage, and skin health. Tongue brushing or scraping gives instant feedback on digestion and internal balance. Both take very little time and offer a lot of insight into how your system is doing.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I take a deep breath and go outside.
If it’s warm, I ground through bare feet on sand, grass, or earth. If that’s not possible, I turn to restorative poses like child’s pose or legs up the wall. Once my nervous system starts to settle, whatever emotion is underneath can surface and begin to release.
Sometimes that release is a big exhale, sometimes tears, sometimes even a scream. I’ve learned that letting the body discharge emotion prevents it from building into pressure or burnout. Movement and expression clear the way back to focus.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Learning to honor timing.
Earlier in my career, I tried to push ideas into form before they were fully ready. Other times, I stayed too long in vision without grounding it into action. What’s helped most is learning to listen deeply first, then move decisively once something feels coherent in my body.
When action comes from that place, it’s cleaner, more efficient, and far more sustainable.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
An early venture called Gather Yoga.
We had a bold vision and were ahead of our time, but we were under-resourced, self-funded, and running on pure passion. When my business partner left, I had to decide whether to carry it alone or close the chapter. Walking away was painful because the project was deeply tied to my identity at the time.
What I gained was invaluable. I learned every layer of business firsthand and also learned the cost of trying to carry a big vision without proper support. That experience shaped how I now build Bindu Institute.
Today, I’m intentionally seeking stewards of wealth to support a long-term, regenerative vision for education and wellbeing. Big ideas need strong foundations to truly serve.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
A truly functional discovery platform for yoga classes.
I recently found myself in Barcelona on a Saturday with a small window of free time. It took me nearly an hour of searching to realize there were no classes near me that fit my schedule. A global, searchable platform with accurate listings, times, locations, and reviews would be incredibly useful, especially for travelers and busy locals.
The need is still very real.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Honestly, ChatGPT.
I don’t use it to replace my thinking, but more like someone I can talk things through with. I’ll dump half-formed ideas, ask it to help me untangle my thoughts, or pressure-test something I’m considering. I also use it for very practical things, like planning family travel. It’s helped us map routes, compare options, and find places we never would have thought of on our own, which saves time and opens up new possibilities.
What is the best $100 you recently spent?
My share of a sailing trip during a recent family holiday in Brazil.
The captain was one of those people who genuinely loves what he does. He shared stories about the coastline, local culture, and life on the water, and it completely changed the experience. I always value encounters like that when I travel. Meeting people who are deeply connected to their craft feels far more memorable than spending money on food, etc.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?
I’m currently reading ’10X Is Better Than 2X’, and it’s deeply resonating.
The idea that exponential growth comes from spending more time in your unique gift has prompted a lot of reflection for me. I’m noticing how many of my biggest breakthroughs came from leaning into what feels most natural and alive rather than trying to do everything.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I started watching ‘Foundation’ on a long-haul flight recently and got hooked.
I love sci-fi, and this series really delivers. Strong female protagonists, big ideas, and beautiful storytelling make it feel expansive rather than numbing. It sparked curiosity and wonder, which is exactly what I want from something I watch.
Key learnings:
- Productivity improves when energy and nervous system regulation come first
- Speaking ideas out loud helps move them from intuition into action
- Ancient wisdom and modern science are increasingly converging
- Sustainable ventures require aligned funding and long-term support
- Embodied practices support clarity, creativity, and leadership