“Every bone in my body hurts! I am hardly sleeping at night. Please take me to the doctor!” This used to be my thought every night in 2006 until I actually took action to do something about it. Wellness Haven Yoga in San Ramon has been created with love and compassion in the heart for women who have been in similar shoes as mine, and especially women around 35 and above who need to be nurtured. It was created as a result of my own experience with chaos in my life.
These were the very words I had said to my mom, when I visited her in India in June of 2006. I had gone through very stressful life events, and I was in chaos both mentally and physically. My mother had been waiting for me to say these words to her so that she could take me to the family physician. One look at me and he diagnosed the mental stress I was under and prescribed medication for full 1 year at least! I vowed to get better as quickly as I possibly could. I was completely aware that unless I changed my mental state, the physical state would not change.
I was surrounded by chaos in my life that had started manifesting itself in many physical ailments: …and all because I was under so much stress that the internal system had become overloaded and had no other choice but to start showing up as physical conditions!
Physical symptoms I faced
- blood pressure had been on the rise
- sugar level had become border line
- arthritic conditions had limited my right side
- my lower right back was permanently painful
- my shoulders and neck were knotted in stress
- cholesterol and triglycerides were on the rise
- I was facing allergies
Intense desire to change
Circumstances enveloping me at the time were chaotic, but determination to extricate myself from this chaos was stronger. I had been religiously taking medication for about 6 months, by the end of which time the root of the chaos in my life had come to an end due to major action steps. On January 1st 2007, I had an epiphany and I decided with a laser focused intention to start taking many important action steps to become mentally stronger.
The road to recovery was intense
The moment this decision to get better was made, the Universe started embracing me with its magical hands and door after door started opening. It was neither easy nor quick. Tremendous patience was required, and I had made a conscious decision to be patient. It took me from summer of 2006 to start of 2007 to come to decisions and become self empowered. In October 2008, I published my book – A Journey of Self Revelation under my pen name, Joy. It took me another year, to the end of 2009 to get to the state I had been craving for – to be mentally and physically fit. It took me yet another year, to the end of 2010, to become free of allergies.
In 2011, I reformed my eating habits! I was a woman on a mission for mental and physical health.
How following the 8 limbs of yoga changed my life
- As a first step, I got rid of the medicine I had been on. (I never looked back; never needed it again.)
- I started listening to and reading books on self empowerment and self growth. (This became a habit never to be broken.)
- I discovered my personal development coach and started eradicating my mental barriers. (He is still my coach and in time with experience, I became a coach myself.)
- I enrolled in breathing and meditation program – a very important limb of yoga (I still follow these exercises religiously and became a teacher in time.)
- I started yoga asanas to build my muscles, flexibility and balance. (I became an instructor of yoga, opened up my own yoga studio and continue to impact lives.)
- I started eating right – yet another aspect of yoga. (I learned life impacting concepts, experienced the difference in myself and my family and started Wellness Haven Nutrition Program.)
The more I took care of myself, the more joyful I became, and slowly but surely the ailments that had surrounded me started leaving me for good. Those who meet me cannot tell that I have suffered from so many physical conditions once. I manage my arthritic side very well with daily yoga and stay physically fit. Mentally I stay calm and in the moment feeling joy within and spilling it in the world around me with a daily meditation practice. I stay nutritionally fit through aware eating.
I have come a long way. My experiences have taught me so much that I could not possibly have gained through books. My coach encouraged me to teach it to others – how to thrive physically and mentally. I overcame my own mental barriers and in time created my own Wellness Haven in San Ramon as “Wellness Haven Yoga” and am forever grateful for this opportunity.
Yoga changes lives of women for the better
If you are a woman who can relate to what I have experienced in any small way and would like to change your own health, please reach out to us at Wellness Haven. Know that everything starts with a powerful desire, an intention to make things happen. We all need help and support in making changes in our lives. I could not have done it without the guidance of my coach. We are here for you.
