It’s winter solstice day today, that time of year when, as we bring down the curtain on the past 12 months, many of us are urged towards reflection; when we’re naturally inclined to look back at all that has been and all that we’ve done; everything that has brought us to this point.
This inner prompting has been stirring within me too. I’ve found myself looking back not only over the past year but at everything that’s happened in my life to bring me to where I am now – doing work I’m passionate about, that I was born to do, and living life on my own terms.
Today, I feel so privileged to be able to help others transform their mind, body and lives through my work as a homeopath and more. My work fills me with joy and a deep sense of fulfilment. I feel healthier than ever – energised, empowered and on purpose. It’s so wonderful to be able to share my gifts!
But it wasn’t always this way. The journey to here has been both challenging and exciting, a windy path full of twists and turns. I’d like to share a little of that story with you here.
My first experience of relieving pain was when I was around 8 years old. My mother suffered frequently from an upset stomach. I would give her a tummy massage and find that I could alleviate her discomfort. From that time onwards, the realisation that I could make a difference to another person’s health and life grew stronger – the fire in my belly had ignited! I’m so thankful to my mother for lighting that initial spark within me.
As many of us find, my adolescent years weren’t always smooth sailing. Conflict between my inner and outer worlds created an internal struggle; and added to the mix was the need to find common ground between the two different cultures in which I was raised: between my Indian heritage and western upbringing. At times, I struggled to reconcile what was expected of me in both spheres and what I really felt and wanted; to express myself. Little did I know then that this inability to speak my truth could be storing up problems for me later on.
Deep down, I was searching for my own identity. I just wanted to be me, a free spirit. I had a vision and aspirations for the future, but I didn’t know how or when I would get there. My spark had been dimmed.
Balancing the demands of work and family life dominated life in my twenties and thirties. A career in HR, although a great starting point, was not a place I wanted to stay in for too long, and so the desire to keep moving and searching became stronger. My amazing father worked as a homeopath, which stemmed from his interest in supporting my mother’s health, and so a keen interest in holistic approaches ran through the family. In the 1990s I took my first tentative steps into the world of complementary therapies by training as a reflexologist.
I became caught up in the ‘busy-ness’ of my daily life, which I loved, and thought I was coping really well with juggling work, adjusting to the demands and ebb and flow of life: raising a young family; and supporting my wider family. I was used to always being the strong one; the giver; the one who held everything together. But underneath it all I didn’t appreciate the impact it was having on my wellbeing.
It was around the year 2000, sometime after our second child was born that my health took a nosedive, soon after I had embarked on a 5 year study programme to become a homeopath, the training I had been waiting to commence for years.
At first, my GP thought I was going crazy and simply working too hard. He told me to slow down, but I knew there was a lot more to my health than simply working too hard. My symptoms were debilitating, this wasn’t the real me. I felt misunderstood in every direction and desperately needed help. I felt as if my body should be able to cope with my heart and mind’s desires.
I was diagnosed with myxoedema hypothyroidism. Within 24 hours of taking a blood test, I was prescribed medication for life. I took this for some time out of sheer desperation. I felt remarkably better for a while but as time went on and the pressures in my life grew, I began to feel more exhausted and even more debilitating symptoms began to surface. I continued to struggle on, but knew that the time had arrived for me to take my health and well-being into my own hands. There is definitely more I could do to help myself…
Needless to say, for a person who had not been acquainted with any form of off the counter medication in the past, let alone prescription medication, this diagnosis came as a big blow to me: Depending on medication without gaining the results I expected and needed meant that I was becoming more frustrated with my situation. It also suggested to me that I didn’t have faith in my body to heal itself and function without depending on external support. That’s the way I perceived my situation to be …
The turning point came in latter part of my 30s when I began to reassess my health once again. This time I began to dig deeper in to my life, my once again deteriorating health forced me to looked inwards. Despite eating healthily and exercising, my energy levels had reached an all-time low and I felt awful. I felt as if I were letting myself down, my children, my work and family, I couldn’t keep up as the daily grind was slowly eating away at me.
So I started to search for solutions. My desire to help others with their health was still there, that was my dream, but I needed to fill my cup before I could fill anyone else’s …
The more I learnt about autoimmune disorders through my work the more reality started to hit home. “If this is how I’m feeling in my 30s, how am I going to get to, let alone live through, my menopausal years,” I asked myself. The fear of losing total control over my future years became my driving force to regaining my health. I needed to act, straightaway, not only for myself, but for the sake of my loved ones too.
As time went by, I began to look inwards. For the first time, I began to understand the depth of my own pain and the language my body was using to express its ‘dis-ease.’ I knew I couldn’t change my external circumstances but I was convinced a lot more could be done to help me regain my health and energy if I chose to. I truly believed that, ‘I had acquired this condition, and if I had acquired this, then I have the power to let this go too.’
And so I embarked on a course of holistic treatments, including homeopathy, naturopathy and nutrition as well making lifestyle adjustments such as meditating daily. I learnt to be kind to myself and to trust myself. I realised that if I didn’t make these changes and practise them regularly, no one else would do it for me!
Fast forward to 2005 when I qualified as a registered homeopath. Over the years, with a combination of homeopathy and naturopathy. I’ve helped numerous clients to overcome their health challenges, including women who, like me, are suffering from hormonal disturbances.
In time, not only did these approaches help me to turn my health and well-being around (I’m pleased to say that I stopped taking the medication many years ago now) it also led me to the work I do today. Inspired by the difference it had made to me.
Yet still there was something missing. There was still more work to do on myself which I share with you in my next blog here https://rebalancinglife.com/from-striving-to-thriving-the-journey-continued/
This is my journey, it was my choice to address my health this way, and it may not be how everyone would sese themselves or address their health concerns. It takes grit, resilience, hard work and determination. It takes a complete sense of ownership over your mind and body. The key factor here for me was that I acquired this condition and I am responsible for this and if I acquired, this then I have the power to let it go too.
If you’ve read this far, then I thank you for your time, and I hope it gives you a sense of confidence that whatever your struggles are in life, there is always hope, there is always a lesson, a positive learning through the challenges we face through which we can move forward positively.
To your health and life in 2019!
ps. If this post resonated with you, I would love to hear your comments below and if you feel that there’s someone who could benefit from reading this then please share away on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter