My path to healthy living.

Hippocrates said, “If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we could have found the safest way to health.” I have adopted this as my fitness mantra throughout my life. Living this way has allowed me to reap many of the benefits that accrue when the mind and the body are nourished and nurtured to be in sync with one another. However, finding this balance has not been easy. I had to go through a difficult and intense process of trial and error to realise what worked best for me. 

My own personal journey with health began as a young adult when I realized that my family’s genes could predispose me to a host of common ailments. However, as I delved deeper into this area, I learnt that how we live has a greater influence on our future health and wellbeing than the genes that we were born with. I could choose to play an active role in preventing or even reversing some of these conditions if I could teach myself to eat and live in a certain way. My body taught me how to listen to it. As I became more attuned to listening to my body, I realized that if I ate unhealthily even for a day my gut would protest by making me feel bloated and uncomfortable. My body started demanding wholesome, nutrient dense food. Similarly, if I had not exercised that day I would get irritable and feel lethargic. My mind became equally demanding, prompting me to devote a few minutes everyday to simply disengage. I could almost hear an inner voice prompting me to nourish and nurture my body the right way. Doctors and health professionals often refer to this as the wisdom of the body. Unfortunately, many of us abuse our systems to such an extent that we stop hearing this voice. I was guilty of this too. Knowing that simple changes in Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitude and Nutrition could lead me to rediscovering this wisdom of the body left me feeling empowered and motivated.

At this point however, I hit a couple of road blocks. I realized that the advice given by popular news feeds, books and even doctors was often conflicting and confusing. The plethora of information regarding health and wellness was daunting and some of the processes involved were time consuming and often expensive. Many a time when we are faced with a medical crisis, we are ill equipped to make informed decisions about our health. We are forced to rely solely on our primary care doctors to provide all the solutions. Though this is not in itself undesirable, often by the time we receive a diagnosis from our doctors, we have already lost valuable time we could have directed in preventing the issue in the first place. 

Faced with all the confusing advice on healthy living, I decided to put my passion into practice by formalizing my learnings and becoming a certified health coach. Everything I have done over the years seems to have come synergistically  together now as I am able to partner science with practical knowledge. As an internationally certified health coach, I feel confident that I can help many people kickstart their personal journeys towards healthy living in such a way that it will become an integral part of their lifestyle. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”