The path I’ve trodden to arrive here today!!

The path I’ve trodden to arrive here today...

My journey to being an embodied leadership coach and speaker was not a straightforward one. But I’m grateful for the seasons of my life that have brought me to where I am today. 

Sometimes I say I’ve lived a life of dualities - having been born and raised in the East (India) and then living and working in the West (US and Australia). 

My work as a coach and speaker is underpinned by years of experience and study, and for those who are interested, I want to go into a bit more detail around the studies and training I’ve done to create my own unique model of embodied leadership for women. 

The first half of my life: India.

I grew up in India, in Chandigarh, and I still have family in India who I regularly visit. 

I completed my first degree in India, graduating with a Commerce and Economics Degree in 2002. 

Moving to the States. 

In the USA, I continued my studies, completing my MBA (Accounting & Finance & International Business) in Rochester, as well as completing all the exams for my CPA (though I never got the licence to practise as a CPA) and taking part in a six-month internship at Bonadio.

I then moved to California, where I worked for two years as a Senior Consultant for KPMG.

And then to Australia. 

I arrived in Australia in 2009 and continued my corporate career. I was passionate about my career and had dreams of climbing the corporate ladder. I wasn’t really aware of it at the time, but my identity and self-worth were very closely tied to performance in my jobs.

So I worked for big corporates - KPMG and Westpac - climbing the corporate ladder. I looked like I was doing well, but as I progressed my health suffered. I was hit by chronic fatigue and other ailments. I was struggling on the inside, just like most of my peers. This time in corporate gave me a lot of insight into what it means to be a good leader, the dynamics of corporate teams, and the impact of corporate culture. I saw men and women leading ‘successfully’, but realised many of them were successful at work, but had other struggles in their lives as a result. 

In 2004 I left my corporate role to start a health and fitness business with my then partner. My own experiences of burnout and corporate overwhelm meant I had an intense interest in wellbeing, and for three years I co-led the business, which grew to a team of 15 people. During this time I continued to struggle with health issues on and off, even though I was leading a health-focused venture. 

Alongside these experiences, I started to study and experience various practices in wellbeing, health and psychology. This led me to start questioning that something was deeply missing in what I was creating at that time and also what was being sold in the market. I could no longer blame my past jobs or corporate structure because my internal issues had followed me into my own business.

Then started my real journey of discovery and questioning everything and starting diving deep into various experiential training, including (not limited to): 

Certified International Health Coach - from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

Mindfulness training: including over 1,500 hours of practice. I’m a registered mindfulness and meditation teacher with the Meditation Association of Australia. 

In Your Own Skin program - 200 hours of mindfulness mentoring with Jess Huon, including long silent meditation, Buddhism and tantra meditation. 

Silent meditation courses - with teachers who have been practising for decades including Patrick Kearny and Christopher Titmus. 

Wild Roots Work - over 150 hours of practice in workshops and mentorship with Amit Carmelli. 

Embodiment Teacher & Practitioner Training - with Michaela Bohm, who is well known for her work in trauma, embodiment, sexuality and sensuality. 

Emotional Mastery - the language of emotions training influenced by Karla McLean’s work, emotional work with Possibility Lab Training, Emotional Health Care Practitioner training via Heart School and Radix somatic psychotherapy. 

Shadow Work - one year long rigorous expert training with pillars of consciousness. 

Tantra - training and courses in sensuality and sexuality via The Yoniverse and Tantra is Love.

Life Coaching - certification from Authentic Education. 

Practical learning - I’ve also undertaken courses on polyvagal theories, attachment theories and nervous system work, and have worked with experts in areas such as a radix somatic psychotherapist, internal family system, kinesiologist, body trauma experts, voice therapy and osteopaths, to gather further insight. 

Ongoing studies: 

All of this work, experience, study and training has brought me to where I am today, and I’m committed to a lifelong learning journey, so my education continues. 

I’m currently enrolled in a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from Melbourne University (2022 - 2024) and in Radix Somatic Psychotherapy (2023 - 2025), which is mind, body and emotions integrated - a body-based approach to psychotherapy.

I don't believe in teaching something that has not been embodied in my own body, so the wisdom comes from body intelligence rather than theoretical concepts. This allows me to bridge the gap between science, spirituality and humanity.

I’m honoured to share my knowledge with my clients, and to use my insights to create transformative programs, coaching and speaking opportunities. 

If you’d like to find out more about my experience, please do get in touch.