As far as I can remember, I wanted to be in a field which would be creative and would keep me close to the happiness I get from creating beautiful things. So I chose drawing and fine arts as my main subjects during my graduation and went on to do a Masters in it which I finished in 2006. At that time, I thought I would become an artist but I don't think I possessed the mastery of the craft. I was good at it but not great, however the academics did land me a job at a prominent art gallery which marked the beginning of a decade of working in the Indian art market.

 

In between this stint, I took a break of one and a half years in 2009 and opted for an MBA for which I went to London. Again this change didn’t give me the fulfillment I was searching for. 

 

By the time I finished my second masters, I was turning 30 and marriage happened or rather I made it happen. I have come to believe that one has to go through a dark phase in life before awakening and my marriage proved to be a perfect ground for the turmoil. It pushed me towards the question who I am and why I feel the way I feel and do the things the way I do? 

 

Since then I found myself on a path of self discovery and it led me to a yoga teacher training course. I had been attracted to yoga since my first job at that art gallery where my manager was a yoga teacher as well. He sowed the seed of yoga-love in my heart. Yoga felt like a solace and an extension of the self to an extremely emotionally exhausted 37 years old me.

 

I went ahead and taught yoga for a year after completion of that course but I felt stagnant. There was a constant nudging in my heart that there is something else, something related to deep fulfillment which is not here in Yoga. I felt the constant longing of something more. 

 

During this time my own counselling and therapy had begun. It started giving me insights into my heart and mind. Counselling led me to the alleys of my own mind and my psychology and felt like the missing piece in the puzzle in my life. I started to understand why I do the things I do and why I feel the way I feel. My own therapy opened the door to a world which started giving me the feeling of that fulfillment I was always looking for. And I came to realise that having a human body would mean understanding and accepting all the 3 aspects of being which are biology, psychology and spirituality.

 

Surprisingly, I was brought towards the idea of becoming a counselor by my own therapist many times during this phase. But it took some time for me to let that idea sink in. When I say “it took me some time”, I mean a couple of years because somewhere I think I had to be prepared for it by the universe before I could accept the idea completely and go for various trainings & courses in psychology. 

 

Meanwhile I took an option my family shared with me - to work with them to extend a part of their business in a new city close to my hometown. Without pausing, without researching, without running this option through my therapist, I said yes, thinking I’ll be close to my family and I’ll be able to heal. Fortunately or unfortunately, it turned out to be an extremely lonely experience revealing more of my inner patterns, beliefs and emotions. My dark phase wasn't over yet. Remember the thought about being prepared by the universe? Felt more like roasted in an oven by the universe.

 

The business couldn't take flight and was shut down in a year leaving me hopelessly directionless. In the meantime, I kept my self-work going and kept my personal counselling on. I think I survived that lonely phase because I had the support of my therapist. Without a path in vision, I was absorbing every advice that came my way as a spong. Someone advised me, why don't I teach English? Because of my command over the English language, I am naturally an amazing coach. It seemed like a good idea at that time and I jumped into the field while completely ignoring the idea of becoming a coach to help people change their lives. I took my IELTS teachers training from British Council and taught ielts for the next few years, however during this time the acceptance towards becoming a PSYCHOTHERAPIST started to set in because the students I was teaching started to notice and feel my non-judgemental attitude and my natural empathy. They began to talk about their problems, concerns, emotions, thoughts and feelings. I could provide a safe space for them to share their heart out. These young adults were my training ground.

 

I finally let my heart open. I began taking COACHING & COUNSELLING sessions for adults. To my amazement, I was natural at it. I applied for MA Psychology. The whole learning journey felt so close to my heart. Each topic, each type of therapy, each psychologist I read about made me feel I belong here. I began reading books by psychologists world over and I started taking various courses on varied modalities and therapies. 

 

As I read and learnt more and more I felt at home. I could make a difference to my clients’ lives. I began receiving positive reviews every now and then. It really felt like my own path. A path where fulfillment held my hand and walked with me. It's been a few years since I found my calling. And the journey has been immensely fulfilling and purpose driven. 

 

One thing always stayed with me all this while - my spiritual side. During my school days, I remember searching for how to meditate in the books of Vivekananda in my father’s collection of books. My intuition has been very strong from my early years and that is why I was inclined towards past life regression and the tools of divination. But could never say a complete “yes” to any of these initially. Being into helping people move through pain to power gave me the courage to add these feathers in my cap. I got trained as a PAST LIFE REGRESSION THERAPIST. This experience took my life to another level. And also paved the way to Pendulum Dowsing and Tarot Reading. 

 

I learned and got trained in CBT, PCT, ACT, IFS and somatic awareness. 8 years and many courses down I could help more than 500 people come out of whatever was troubling them. I am naturally empathetic and non-judgemental - perhaps those are the qualities I expected from the world for me and therefore these oozes out of my every cell. 

 

I am in training forever. Constant learning attitude helps me help my clients on a deeper level. My self-work continues till date and I know for sure that it will go on till I reach my grave. Perhaps my obituary would read “She was a woman who helped thousands to rediscover & reinvent themselves because she rediscovered herself every single day”.

 

I want to say that I am there for you! And I am proud of wherever you are in life. I am here to listen to what you have to say when no one is listening to you. I am there to witness whatever you are feeling. You can pour your heart out and you will not be judged. I will help you move through pain into power, through inner work, therapeutic dialogue, and fierce compassion. Remember, You’re worthy!