Meet our featured beauty with brains Simran Gulati, a model based in Sydney, Australia. She is the reigning Mrs India Global 2018 and Mrs India Australia 2016 – 1st runner up. She is also an actor and a humanitarian who uses her pageant platform to raise awareness about social causes close to her heart. She is the Brand Ambassador for a couture Indian brand, Elysian Desire. Simran is a mother of two and very active in the Indian Australian community where she encourages and supports women in the community by empowering them. Her education background is a Double Degree in Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance) and Information Technology (Information Systems) from RMIT, Melbourne.

She helps in raising awareness of community issues. She feels there are women who are struggling to juggle their multiple roles in life – a professional, a mother, a wife, a caretaker and many more. There is a lot of stress that comes along with that, and a woman often forgets or selflessly doesn’t think about her mental health while she is busy keeping up with her responsiblities. Simran’s role is to help women individually and in a group environment and connect them with like-minded women to empower them so that they don’t feel that they are alone and connect with others to instill mental stability. She has teamed up with Liptember, an organisation which focuses on women’s mental health and she is currently helping raise funds and looking for ways to raise even further awareness in the Indian community.

She works with the women across the Indian community on a one to one basis and helps them raise their confidence and makes them believe that anyone is capable of achieving anything they set their mind to.

Here is an interview with her.

1. What do you think are the main challenges today in reaching gender equality?

I believe as the world is evolving, we have already made great strides towards reaching gender equality. However, there are still some countries which are trying to reach the status quo. Some of the challenges we face are based on the traditional thinking of where a place of a woman is in this world. I believe it’s about education and challenging the norm to overcome that. Women are always going to have a chip on their shoulder to prove themselves, and I believe it’s a good thing as that gives them an edge and more motivation to prove themselves. The best way to overcome a challenge is to prove you can do it and I believe women all over the world are doing more of this than ever before.

2. Share an experience where you helped/ empowered a woman and it changed her life.

I have worked with many women from all facets of life including women who have been scared to challenge themselves because of what others would think. One experience I would like to share is when I met a woman who was very stressed about her role as a professional, mother, wife, and a caretaker and that affected her mental health. I felt I could relate to her as we are all busy. I spoke to her on a regular basis and gave her tips on how to deal with stress and juggle life roles. I also told her not to forget about taking care of herself. I helped her develop a fitness regime and to take care of her mind and her body. It helped her to challenge herself and to become a better person. By just being there for her and empowering her to look at life through a different lens has helped her excel in all facets of life. Giving your time to someone is the best thing you can do for them.

3. What is your advice to young girls who want to grow up to be beauty queens?

Just be yourself. Beauty isn’t about what is on the outside, it’s about how you are on the inside. Staying true to yourself and having a cleansed mind is the most important part of being a beauty queen. People judge beauty queens on not only appearance but how much difference you can make in lives and the community that surrounds us.

4. What is the most rewarding part of your work?

The most rewarding part of my work has to be the joy that I feel by helping others. It’s nice to see my efforts come to fruition when I am able to make a difference in people’s lives, whether it’s just giving advice or making a difference in the community where a little thing one does can have drastic effect on others.

Meet our featured beauty with brains Jasmin Shojai, a model based in Sydney, Australia. She is an internationally published model, entrepreneur as well as an aspiring actress.

Here is her story.

“My dream to become a ‘supermodel’ began when I was a young girl. I was inspired by many models and TV shows such as ‘The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’, and ‘Next Top Model’. My journey in modelling all began in 2015. I have since taken the industry by storm, competing in the National finals of pageants in Australia, including Maxim’s Australian Swimwear Model of the Year, while also appearing in Playboy and Maxim magazines internationally, and appearing on National TV, most recently Channel Ten’s The Sunday Project.

One of my biggest achievement so far has been winning the National title of ‘Australia’s Top Glamour Model of 2017’, which has since given me a lot of local and international exposure.

Modelling and acting has been my passion since the beginning. I am striving to achieve many more inspiring goals that I have set up for myself, within the modelling, business and screen acting industry.

When I am not working I love going to the beach and keeping up with my fitness regime. I love animals and am a big believer in justice. I want to do more charity work and hope to make a difference in society.”

Here is an interview with her.

1. Who or what inspired you to become a model?

As I was growing up I was always inspired by the models I saw on TV and in magazines, for example ‘The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’, ‘Next Top Model’ and Vogue. They were really amazing to see. I did my very first photoshoot 2 and a half years ago and I remember having so much fun. It was such a wonderful experience, I wanted to be there all day. Since then I have never looked back.

2. What is your advice to girls who want to be successful models when they grow up?

Definitely be persistent and most importantly be yourself. The industry undoubtedly is a competitive industry, for everyone. Invest time and also money into developing yourself, and your career. Things like one on one posing lessons, catwalk training and short/long term courses make a massive difference. Especially for beginners, you need to know what you are doing and have a foundation of knowledge, and training.

3. Which part of your job do you find most exciting?

Every second of my career is always exciting. Being on set and working for the camera is what I love most.

4. What are your future goals?

I have many future goals. I look to progress with my career as a model and do covers for major magazines. Being featured in Playboy, Maxim and FHM has been so phenomenal. I would love to be on their covers one day. With my developing career as an actress I look to act in a Television series and in Films one day. At the moment I am doing acting classes and I am enjoying it so much. There are a lot of amazing things to look forward to in the future.

Meet our featured beauty with brains Malti Kumar, a beautician and event organiser based in Sydney, Australia. Here is her story.

“Hi, I am Malti. I am from Chandigarh, India. I had a really good upbringing and was taught culture and dicipline. I never thought I would migrate to a place so far away from India (a country I still refer to as home). I was very social in India and organised many parties with friends. Life gave me an opportunity to migrate to this beautiful place Sydney and start a business that I was already working on, when living in India. In the last 21 years of my career as a trained professional beautician and event organiser, I have met so many different and diverse people in my community as well as outside my community.

Every year, I organise an event called ‘Sakhi Celebration’. The event was originally designed and created for ladies of all ages and eras. It’s about enjoying and celebrating beauty with friendship. It is a place where once a year ladies can keep all their worries at home and be there at the event to enjoy the moment and bask in sheer happiness. It’s an one stop shop for fun, games, dance, raffles, prizes, competitions, shopping, photo booths and a dance floor to get all your energy out. The ladies who attend feel refreshed and energized at the end of the day. The remnants of this fun filled day remains in your soul for a long time. Come along with your girlfriends, neighbours, sisters, mums, aunties, daughters etc, and you would be re-living those fun and happy moments with them again and again.

Growing up, I never faced any discrimination due to my gender. People talk about Gender Discrimination in India especially from where I come from, but I was raised by a man who loved his daughters way too much to even let us know that women are not the preferred gender in our area. I never faced any roadblocks as I grew up, learning to respect the oposite sex and vice versa. I have learnt to be independent and have my own voice and opinion. Women empowerment is a very broad term. It has its own meaning to every woman and its definition varies according to one’s perception. For me it is about being independent, having my own opinion and choice in everything and having control over things in my life. Giving my daughter the same upbringing is what I feel is truly respecting womanhood. As girls we all compete with each other but as women we empower each other. That is what I see in my daughter who seems to be growing up to be my reflection and is empowering others. That does give me the satisfaction of being a good parent.

I would like to conclude by telling all the women around me: ‘Love and respect yourself for who and what you are.’

My definition of Women Empowerment is:

‘A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everybody else’.”

Meet our featured beauty with brains Tarnya Cook, a beauty and wellness therapist based in the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. Here is an interview with her.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

I am the owner and operator of Tarnya Cook Skin and Wellness, I have been inspired by beauty my whole life but only recently has it become a full time career choice for me. When I was younger I was always doing my friends’ make up, or at home beauty treatments, styling their hair, sometimes even cutting it. I had absolutely no experience, just a passion for doing it and some crazy friends who let me do it. So later on after getting to a cross roads of sorts, I decided it was high time to take it up professionally. I’m now passionate about providing my clients with treatments that not only are results driven but a form of ritualistic self care. Something we all need in our everyday lives. Like my tag line says “Your skin will be glowing, hydrated and plumped. Your soul will be rejuvenated.”.

I’m on my own self love journey, now in my 40’s I’ve realised how important it is to create a life you love and not just play victim to the life you have. I think thats why I’m so drawn to helping others through my own little niche of the beauty and wellness world, not only do I get to help others but I also get to explore my own path and begin a new journey of re-invention. My twenties were all about looking forward to what I thought I needed to be really living and then in my thirties after becoming a mother, I spent a lot of time looking back to what I now had lost from my twenties. So my forties are about just being present, living the life I have and not spending too much time on the what ifs or dwelling on the past. Just trying to accept life where I am and make the most of everyday.

2. Growing up, what were your goals and dreams? Have you fulfilled them?

My goals and dreams have evolved with life and experience. I’ve never been one to only have one destination in mind. I’ve lived my life by allowing opportunity to take me in different directions, to constantly re-visit what makes me happy and most importantly what’s not working for me. I’ve always let go of things that weren’t working for me in terms of jobs, and opportunities that haven’t turned out to be the right fit for me. I don’t believe in the old school beliefs of going to school, getting a job and doing that no matter what for the rest of your life.  But I do believe in exploring life and getting out of it the most you can.

3. According to you, what makes a woman truly beautiful?

Beauty is just a concept. Physical beauty is different to everyone, what one person finds attractive another might not. So I think beauty is about being the best you can be which isn’t to be confused with being perfect or setting yourself impossible standards and expectations. Its about being comfortable in your own skin, embracing your own inner beauty and letting that shine through. When we like ourselves, it shows. When we’ve done the work to accept ourselves, it shows. And of course looking after your skin and maintaining a natural glow is of utmost importance!

4. Who or what inspires you?

I’m inspired by people who are going for what they want in life. It doesn’t matter what it is, but if they’ve conquered their own inner critic and are working towards their goals then I find that majorly inspiring. I’ll often be brought to tears by these stories and it doesn’t really matter who it is or what they are achieving, for me its more about that struggle of acheiving. Its not always easy to go after your dreams and the rollercoaster ride can be really hard. So when I see someone achieving a major goal or accomplishment it really triggers an emotional response and a connection in me. And its these connections rather than the people behind the stories that fill me with emotion and inspiration. But of course it would be remiss of me to not say that my kids are a constant source of inspiration. I want my children to be inspired by me, to make what they want out of life. To stray from the normal course and really explore what their passions are and what connects them to their experiences of life.

Meet our featured beauty with brains, Aayushi Kumari, an IT professional and fashion blogger based in Sydney, Australia. She is one of the top Australian brand influencers. Here is an interview with her.

1.      Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

Hi, I am Ayushi, an ordinary girl with extraordinary dreams. I work for Adobe as an IT engineer. Right from my childhood, I had a passion for fashion and beauty, perhaps inherited from my mum.

I always believed in the significance of “Me Time”. I always wanted to do something apart from my regular IT job. So I did a diploma in Painting and used to conduct art workshops for kids and adults during weekends. And when I migrated to Sydney, I thought let me do something about my strong passion for Fashion and Beauty. Thus Sydneyfashionlife was born, now competing with the top Sydney Influencers, collaborating with top Australian and International brands and fashion events .

Blog: https://livewithayushi.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sydneyfashionlife/

It’s tough to balance between a full time job and blogging which in itself is a full time job. But I am learning to balance between the two with time.

2.      What challenges did you face in your life and career and how did you overcome them?

Well, I strongly believe that the biggest challenge a person can face is “the person himself/ herself”. We often have a lot of stigma against ourselves, negative vibes and low confidence. The day we learn to fight and win against these mini obstacles that we have created for ourselves, no one can beat us.

I will give you my example. When I came to Australia and thought of starting blogging, I suffered from low confidence. I started thinking I would never ever be able to make a name for myself among the fashionable, beautiful top notch Australian influencers. Who would want to see my posts on Instagram or read the content on my blog? But I didn’t give up because I thought, I am not starting fashion and beauty blogging to compete with anyone. Its my passion and I will work for my passion because the end goal is my happiness. So I tried and failed a couple of times because I had no direction or guidance as to how things work in Australia. I failed multiple times before I attained top position among Australian influencers. So guys, never ever give up on yourself and your attempts.

3.      What is your advice to girls who want to be successful fashion bloggers?

Be fun, be yourself. The moment you try to copy someone else’s ideas or styling, you already have lost the originality. Be original to gain followers, be consistent with your blogging and work hard on your digital content.

4.      What do you think, we as women can do, to reduce gender inequality and empower other women?

I am a person who strongly believes in woman for woman. We may not need to do things out of our way to empower people. Even simple things work.

Let’s not intrude into other’s lives, let’s be less judgmental and help people around us – both men and women to strive towards a better tomorrow. Do good and good shall come back to you.

Meet our featured beauty with brains Katie Mincy, a massage therapist and wellness coach based in Florida, USA. She is a truly inspirational woman who has overcome sexual abuse and drug addiction, to reach where she is today. Here is her story.

“I am Katie Mincy. I’m 24 and live in Florida, USA. I’m currently a student attending University in pursuit of a Nursing Career. I am also a Licensed Massage Therapist and Health and Wellness Coach. But before attaining these titles, I had a very rough life.

I was abused by a neighbour when I was 7. I went to therapy for it once and never went back again. I moved on and it was never spoken about again. No one but my parents and brother knew what happened. So I buried it deep down and made gymnastics and dance my life.

In sixth grade was when my life started to really change. Middle school, or Junior High, is never an easy time for most kids. I truly struggled with depression and anxiety because of the area and social status of the kids I grew up around. I grew up in a town where, if your parents didn’t make a certain amount of money to be able to buy you the “best” clothes or the “newest” cell phone or technology, you got made fun of. If you didn’t play a sport for the school team, you were made fun of. If you weren’t stick thin and wore size 00 from Abercrombie or Holister, you were made fun of. After a while, I figured out that no matter what I did to fit in, because I had already been made fun of for one thing, I wasn’t going to be accepted. Rumours were spread about me that I was a lesbian and that I tried to convince girls on the dance team to sleep with me.

When High school came around, I had my first boyfriend and those rumors had started to die down. But other rumors had begun. Now that I had a boyfriend, people assumed that I had lost my virginity. However, that couldn’t be more untrue. In fact, it’s so untrue that the same boyfriend broke up with me because another girl slept with him instead.

After that, next summer, my best guy friend decided he wanted to have a girlfriend instead of spending time with me. Luckily, I met my current best guy friend that semester of school. Taylor has been nothing but amazing the past 9 years. I couldn’t have been blessed with a better person in my life.

But that didn’t stop the bullying from worsening and it didn’t stop the pain. I thought many times about suicide, to the extent of formulating plans and coming up with notes to who I’d tell my reasons of leaving the earth to. Luckily, my parents listened to my cries for help when I yelled out for it. We moved to Florida the summer after my 11th year.

Moving to Florida was both good and slightly harmful. It was good because I got out of the toxic environment of being bullied all of the time. I was able to complete high school on a good note and made new friends along the way. It was harmful because once I was out of high school, I started to rebel a little bit. I starting smoking cigarettes and pot as well as sleeping around and partying. I think because I wasn’t included in that scene at my old high school, I wanted to see what I was missing. Turned out that I really wasn’t missing much. Once I was through with massage school, I got my first massage job and realized I wasn’t making enough money to support both me and my boyfriend at the time. I was living with him and his family, and paid for everything for the two of us. By everything I mean, food, entertainment, drugs, and fuel for my car. So I got another job as a bar tender and realized that if I was going to be working in the morning and afternoon as a massage therapist and then working through the night as a bartender, I would need something to keep me awake besides an energy drink. I started to use cocaine as a way to stay awake during my bar tending shifts and then smoked pot to sleep. After a while, I started to use more cocaine to stay thin so that my now ex boyfriend would still want to sleep with me. I then thought that if I provided drugs, my “friends” would still want to hang out with me.

After realizing that those people weren’t my friends and that boy really wasn’t good for me, I went on a bender. I did a LOT of coke that day and didn’t realize how much I had actually done, until it was day 3 and I still hadn’t slept. I decided that I really did want to sleep and that if I slept for an entire day, it wouldn’t do any harm. So I took one of my mom’s sleep medications from her drawers and took out 4 or 5 pills, and took them with a glass of water. I called my best friend who was deployed at the time and told him that I was done with all of the bullshit of life and that I just wanted to sleep. At that point, I had hit a manic low point and was severely coming down off of the cocaine. I also hadn’t taken my antidepressant that morning. At that point, I had been taking my SSRI (anti-depressant) for about 6 years and my body was totally reliant on it. My best friend got really worried after I hung up and found a way to contact my mom. They rushed me to the hospital and after I came out of my blacked out state, I was taken to a psychiatric hospital for 36 hours.

3 weeks later, I turned 21 and my new chapter of life had begun. I started working again and saved up money. I gained a promotion through the company I was with in only a year. I took my first trip out of the country about 18 months later and soon after started school.

Here I am now, 24 years old in pursuit of a nursing degree. I have struggled with my weight after sobering up from drugs and gained way more weight than suggested. I took the healthy way out this time and lost the weight with diet and exercise. I started looking at life in a positive way instead of the negative way that I had once learned. I am now a Health and Wellness coach for an amazing company and love every second of it. My goal with both nursing and the wellness coaching is to travel around with nonprofit organizations that help both men and women that have been victims of sex trafficking. I feel so blessed beyond belief to have such an amazing life right now. I am being weaned off of my mood stabilizer and continuing to use nutrition and botanically based medicines to help control my mental health.”

Here is an interview with her.

1. What, according to you, is women empowerment?

To me Women empowerment is letting women of all ages know that there is an option to pursue their goals and dreams even when they’ve been knocked down multiple times. It’s lifting women up through encouragement and love. It’s showing those that have been through the hardest of struggles and defeat that they are NOT defeated and that they CAN bring life back into their lives.

2. What motivates you to continue your work as a wellness coach?

What motivates me to continue to be a wellness coach is the pure fact of knowing that there are people out there struggling with similar problems as I once did. I love knowing that by answering a simple question about nutrition or exercise I can help improve someone’s regiment of health and wellness. I am so grateful that I have been given the tools to help bless people with the knowledge of healthy living both nutritionally and mentally.

3. What was the hardest part about recovering from drug addiction? Can you share some tips on how recovered drug addicts can stay on track?

The hardest part about recovering from drug addiction for me, was forgiving myself for falling so low. It was really hard to get past the fact that I felt like I had failed both myself and my family. But, with the encouragement of my parents telling me that they were proud of me when I hit small milestones in my recovery and my therapist telling me that I was progressing and making big strides, I learned that forgiveness was easy to achieve once I allowed myself to be forgiven. As for keeping on track and staying away from drugs, I am one of the lucky ones; I don’t feel that pull towards going backwards like most recovering addicts do. I am very fortunate in that once I dropped those people that were toxic in my life and discovered what a TRUE friend was, that pull ceased to exist. Really it was the first few weeks of being without a “social” life if you call it that, that was just weird. Once I jumped through that hurdle, I quickly found new hobbies and outlets to move on with my life.

Meet our featured beauty with brains Shilpa Bhatia, a real estate professional based in Sydney, Australia. Here is her story.

“My name is Shilpa Bhatia. I came to Australia after I got married when I was 25, to start my new life in Sydney from Dubai. The only conditions I put in place when I received a marriage proposal was that I will not compromise on my clothes and want to work after marriage, which luckily was acceptable to my husband.

I never realised I was so career oriented or that I had so much willingness to grow, until I came here. Being from a middle class family, I have always adjusted to things like average job, average clothes, average home, and not having enough money to buy the stuff that I like.

I refused to have an average life in Sydney, I wanted to live life on my own terms, wanted to be able to buy all the things I wanted. I started applying for jobs two months after I arrived and got a job in customer service to gain local experience.

I continued my way through this, kept changing jobs to get the maximum exposure, worked with majority of the government departments and finally cracked a role in Compliance. Even after I got this job, I still wasn’t satisfied, I thought of giving my passion (Real Estate) a try. I started contacting all the real estate gurus in the market to get an idea if it’s a good idea to leave my current role (9-5 job) to start my passion. I was clearly advised by someone that it’s a male oriented industry, women wouldn’t be able to survive, to start a career in real estate from scratch is a lot of hard work etc.

Being challenged on my capability, I thought of it as a great opportunity to prove myself and started my role in Real Estate and sacrificed my 9-5 job in compliance which had taken me a good 5-6 years to get.

It was a hard way, you have to make contacts, build trust and there was lots of competition. But I did it. After a year of struggle, I can say I now get contacted by clients to sell their homes, and feel extremely proud when that happens.

Today (It has been 9 years since I came to Sydney) I’m a mum of two beautiful children, wife of an extremely cooperative husband and have a good life and career.

My story proves that we women can overcome the hardest of challenges, we are not scared of taking risks and majority of the times we just do it because we can.”

Here is an interview with her.

1. How hard was it to start your life and career from scratch in a new country?

It was quite difficult but if you have got the urge to prove yourself and have a “just do it” attitude, you will overcome the difficulties in some way or other. That’s how I overcame all difficulties which came my way.

2. Did you face any gender related roadblocks in your career? If so, how did you deal with them?

Even though Real Estate is a male dominated industry, if you’ve got the right knowledge and the skills, people would be keen to deal with you, regardless of your gender. Since I had the right knowledge and skills, I didn’t face any roadblocks.

3. What is your advice to women who are just starting out in a male dominated industry and want to be successful?

Embrace the opportunity. One of the great things about being a woman in a male-dominated industry is standing out. I did not enter the Real Estate industry because I wanted to challenge anyone, I felt I was good at it and passionate about properties. My advice to all the women out there is just go for it, If you’ve got the skill and the attitude, you will be successful, regardless.

Meet our featured beauty with brains Vanessa Safajou, a yoga instructor based in Sydney, Australia. Here is an interview with her.

1. It can be intimidating to attend a yoga class for the first time. What advice would you give a first-timer?

Do a bit of research to get a better idea of what kind of class is right for you. There are SO many different classes out there and it can get a bit overwhelming; there’s Hatha, Vinyasa, Hot Flow, Ashtanga, Iyengar, Bikram, Yin, Restorative, Power; just to name a few. Once you’ve found a studio or gym you’re keen to try out, have a read of the class descriptions and choose which class or classes seem most up your alley.

Classes with words like Yin, Restorative, Gentle or Slow in the title are generally lower intensity and a good place to start if you’re looking for a more nurturing introduction to yoga. This doesn’t mean these classes are ‘boring’ or ‘easy’, but they do have a more cooling and calming energy, often with simple postures held for time and with the use of props to make you more comfortable.

Flow, Vinyasa, and most heated classes generally have a focus on flowing through movement with the breath and visiting many of the fundamental postures of yoga (think Downward Facing Dog, Plank Pose, Cobra Pose, Warrior 1 and 2, Childs Pose etc.) that help to improve overall flexibility and strength of the whole body. Even if the class isn’t heated, these classes can really build up a sweat and are a great workout, so if you’re already active and looking for a more physically challenging yoga experience this would be a great option for you.

If you’re apprehensive to go to a class by yourself, think about going with a friend, partner or family member; maybe someone who already attends yoga classes and can introduce you to their favourite teacher, or even someone who is also nervous about trying a class for the first time. Knowing that you have someone to talk to before class, lay your mat next to, and maybe have a giggle with when you see some of the weird shapes we fold our bodies into, can make you feel so much more comfortable and at ease. Speaking of comfort, make sure you go to class well hydrated, avoid eating a big meal before class (yoga really kicks the digestive system into gear) and wear clothes you can comfortably move around in.

Also, be as open as you can to trying different classes with different teachers. Just as each of our bodies has a different experience with the yoga practice, each teacher has their own unique way of guiding you through this practice. Some teachers have a more anatomical approach to their classes while others focus more on the energetic, spiritual or philosophical aspects of the practice, all of which have enormous value, but when you find a class or teacher that really resonates with you, it makes the whole experience even more enjoyable and rewarding.

2. What advice would you give to a woman who feels she doesn’t have the right kind of body to practice yoga?

I would tell her that there is no right or wrong kind of body to practice yoga, that’s one of the most beautiful things about yoga. Probably the most common thing I hear from first timers or people that are reluctant to try yoga is, “I’m too inflexible to do yoga”. As someone who only a few years ago couldn’t touch my toes, I can assure you that if you are not flexible, you should try yoga. Yoga is such a great low-impact way to build and improve flexibility and strength of the muscles, joints and connective tissues and helps to build body and self-awareness along the way. The beauty of this practice is that it’s completely unique to each person; no two bodies are the same and this is reflected in yoga. In the different stages of our lives, factors like pregnancy, childbirth, injuries and illness can make certain aspects of the yoga practice less accessible or appropriate for our bodies at that time, but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be practicing yoga. As teachers, we learn the infinite ways in which we can modify and adjust postures to best fit the different body shapes, injuries and limitations we encounter in our students. Something I always encourage my students is to do is make the postures and movements fit your body, not the other way around.

Yoga is not solely a physical practice; in the Yoga Sutras (one of the most significant and renown yoga texts) Patanjali details the eight-limbed path of yoga on which physical postures (asana) make up only one of the eight limbs. There is so much more depth and benefit to the yoga practice, it helps us to connect and find a deeper awareness within ourselves emotionally and spiritually through non-physical practices like pranayama (breath control) and meditation, and if this is something you’re interested in exploring don’t be afraid to ask around for teachers or studios that offer classes that include these practices.

Finally, don’t be afraid to talk to a teacher about your worries or doubts. If you have a particular studio or teacher that you’ve been wanting to check out, you could call or stop by after a class and just have a chat. Let them know what might be holding you back, and they can advise you which classes might be more of a gentle introduction to yoga or more suitable for whatever physical limitations you may be working with.

3. What are some common incorrect assumptions about yoga?

That you need to be flexible to do yoga! This is so not true, and scares away some of the people that need yoga the most.

That yoga is boring or not challenging. It makes me really sad when people tell me they had an unenjoyable experience in a class because they found it boring or too easy. Even looking at yoga just in a physical sense (which is why a lot of people try yoga), there is so much to learn about even the most basic postures, we can never perfect a posture. Even though you may not break a sweat in classes like Yin and Restorative yoga, holding postures for long periods of time and being still can be really challenging in itself, as it gives us no choice but to be alone with our thoughts and can bring a lot of emotion and tension that we store in our bodies to the surface. There are lessons to be learned in every class whether you spend most of the time laying in Savasana or end up dripping in sweat from impressive flows and inversions, as long as we are open to them.

Again, doing a bit of research about the classes you want to attend will hopefully help you find a class that will bring you the experience you’re looking for.

4. Can yoga help in healing?

Absolutely, and in more ways than one.

Firstly, yoga is an incredible tool for healing the physical body. So many people come to yoga as a recommendation from their physio or doctor to gently reintroduce movement and to strengthen the body after childbirth, injury or illness. Yoga helps to improve flexibility, strength and mobility of the muscles, joints and connective tissues of the body which not only helps the body repair itself, but also helps to prevent further or new damage.

Yoga helps to unite body and mind, enabling a deeper connection with oneself. Many people find that their yoga practice has improved their body awareness; knowing when to push for a little bit more and, more importantly, when to pull away from intensity and be more gentle. Yoga can also do wonders for our mental health, with pranayama (breath control) and meditation practices being an excellent tool for those dealing with depression and anxiety. It seems like something so simple, but being able to breathe steadily and deeply, especially in moments of stress or discomfort, is an invaluable tool.

Finally, yoga helps to improve the relationship we have with ourselves and minimise the negative self-talk that can unfortunately dominate our internal dialogue. The more we get to explore our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states we get a deeper understanding of the way we feel and process our emotions and experiences, and move towards finding acceptance and contentment within ourselves.

Meet our featured beauty with brains Rebecca Ribbons, a fashion designer based in Sydney, Australia. Here is her story.

“Mostly self taught and under the tutelage of my beautiful mother/angel, bridal couturier Rose Ribbons, I learn more and more as I go along a similar journey to hers, the absolute creativity, patience and diligence that she tried to teach me. These qualities though I am finding, can only be learned in time and in the doing.

I studied fashion design after finishing high school but didn’t pursue it for about a decade, which I spent learning business and working as a bookkeeper in a variety of small businesses. I enjoyed it as much as possible but eventually couldn’t ignore the need to follow my creative urges towards fashion and design.

So I started my label, Smoke’n’Whisky, with the help of my former partner. We named it after our two cats, Smoke (may she be at peace) and Whisky, the ginger legend.

Smoke’n’Whisky was originally my little rebel clothing label where I made interesting pieces of clothing mostly inspired by fabric. This was and still is the outlet for my raging fabric fetish and slightly rebellious inclinations. Smoke’n’Whisky was born in 2007 and however old it becomes, will always be my baby.

Following a dream we both held, my mother and I went into partnership and opened a Couture dressmaking studio in Newport in 2010. We worked together there for three years, during which I learnt so much more from her, which I never knew that I didn’t know. In 2015, Rosy retired to play bridge and golf in the country with my father, and after much soul searching and consideration that a Libran gives to anything important, I decided to re-focus on my true love of fabric and design and pick up my sleeping baby, Smoke’n’Whisky.

As I am inspired by fabric, I began sourcing fabric from cultures such as Japan and India and have found much joy in re-birthing traditional garments into my own interpretations in partnership with the fabric itself.

My focus is on developing new styles of marrying the fabric with the female body to achieve a sense of balance and beauty in a delicate fusion of fabric, form and function.

I strive to maintain strong ethical principles surrounding all aspects of my business model and design process, remaining true to my values of sustainability, transparency and fair trade practices.

My objective is to breathe new life into the art of couture and create a sustainable and profitable business model to rise from the morass of corporate fast fashion, that respects and promotes others and allows a space for co-creation, equality and respect. And to help create a network of craftspeople, artists, designers, who work together to create a platform from which we can all earn a fair and sustainable income from our work.

I honour the qualities of Integrity, Respect, Honesty, Kindness and Courage and above all, Freedom.

Meet our featured beauty with brains Jasneet Jhinger, a personal trainer and fitness coach based in Sydney, Australia. Here is her story.

“I was born in India, studied in Canada and am now working in Australia! My name is Jasneet Jhinger. I am a Mechanical Engineer turned Certified Personal Trainer and Online Fitness Coach. My intense passion for health & fitness gave me the courage to make this career change and leap into a field that moulded me into the person I am today.

Due to the loss of a loved one, in 2011, I struggled to deal with the reality of what had happened. Without even realising, I started isolating myself from family and friends, work and social settings. One day (sometime in 2013), not sure, why or how, I decided that I wanted to start working out. I started training at home by following workout videos on YouTube. Soon after, I started realising how this was actually making me feel better, emotionally and mentally (saw physical improvements as well but emotional well-being surpassed everything else).

Ever since then, training and nutrition has been a huge part of my lifestyle and is a source of empowerment for me. I enjoy experimenting with new forms of exercises and programs as well as testing out various nutrition plans and diets to see how certain processes affect my body and mind. For the past couple of years, improving strength has been my biggest goal. Instead of having a body weight goal or certain physique goal, I have been focusing on getting stronger – every time I enter the gym, I aim to beat my previous record.

Training for me is not just a form of activity that “needs” to be done because it is “good” for me but is something that is LIBERATING, EMPOWERING & UPLIFTING! I can easily say, I have been able to create a healthy, balanced & sustainable lifestyle that is non-restrictive and is fun to live.

For this same reason, in 2016, I decided to finally give in and follow my passion to help others in creating their own healthy (mental, emotional & physical) lifestyle that is easy-to-follow and sustainable. I wanted to make others realise that it is not hard to achieve a well balanced lifestyle and that following a training program and/or healthy diets does not necessarily make you live a restrictive life that you do not enjoy. Life is too short to be living it unhappy (speaking from experience!).

Since I have been in this career, I have had the opportunity to work with amazing individuals and feel honoured to be part of their transformation (not only physical but mental & emotional as well). Based on my experience so far, I can easily say, “I empower individuals to overcome their stress & anxiety through my coaching and make them feel and look the best they ever have”.

Here is an interview with her.

1. Who or what inspired you to help others?

My personal battle with depression after the loss of my brother back in 2011 is what started this journey for me. Following a fitness and healthy lifestyle became an outlet for my grief, aggression and feelings. Working out, especially weight training, gave me a sense of accomplishment and made me feel empowered and strong. It is the sole reason I was able to come out of my depression which made me realise that there are way more benefits of training and living a healthy lifestyle than the physical aspect and progress. It has massive positive impact on your mental and emotional health. It inspired me to quit my job as a Mechanical Engineer and pursue this career in Health & Fitness to be able to help others see the same benefits that I did. I mean why wouldn’t you want to create a lifestyle that is healthy, sustainable, makes you happy and gets you in shape all while enjoying your life! It’s a win-win!

If you wish to learn more about me or my transformation story, please visit my website:

https://www.livfitlifestyle.com/about-me/

2. What is your advice to people who are unable to work out due to injury?

You can always work your way around an injury. I personally have a lower back injury but I have been able to work around it, do rehab exercises consistently so I can still kill each and every one of my workouts. In my experience as a Fitness Coach so far, 90% of my clients either have/had injuries or other physical limitations but they still managed to reach their goals they set out. One of my clients had both his wrists broken during a push bike accident and yet he still managed to stay on track with his training, worked out 3-4 times a week and progressing every single session. What you need is determination, appropriate training program and supervision from Fitness and Medical professionals. So really…..NO EXCUSES!

3. What are your thoughts on certain diets in general?

I am someone who keeps things simple, fun yet effective and sustainable for my clients when it comes to nutrition. I do not recommend or provide any set meal plans or diet plans as they tend to be restrictive and for most of us (if you love food as much as I do), it can be tough to stay consistent and motivated to stick to the restrictive diet. I mean of course meal plans and diets do work for some (Kuddos to you who can stick to it forever) but from my personal experience and my client’s experience, what has worked best is slowly and mildly tweaking your eating habits around your lifestyle.

Myself and my clients have successfully been able to create a balanced lifestyle that does not restrict us from eating certain food. All that matters is the proportion and hence we all follow the 80-20 rule. 80% of the time we ensure that we consume nutrient dense food and rest of the 20% we can indulge in some of our favourite treats. We do enjoy our weekends out with our friends and family without feeling guilty of that pizza or that wine. This way of living is fun, healthy and sustainable.

4. How do you keep your clients motivated?

One biggest tip (and the one that I apply to my clients as well) to stay motivated and determined towards achieving your goals is to break down your main end goal into smaller and short term mini goals. For instance if someone comes up to me and says I want to lose 40kg by the end of this year, no doubt it is a great goal to have and an achievable one too but trying to stay on track and motivated consistently through the next 7 months to see that 40kg loss is a bit hard. Rather than waiting around 7 months to feel accomplished, we break it down into short term goals of losing 5kg in the first month for instance, so the goal doesn’t feel so far fetched and you can celebrate your achievements throughout the journey which in turn keeps you motivated to keep pushing towards that next goal.

Other than that, I ensure my clients have constant access to me for support and I bond with them on a more personal level where they feel comfortable to come up and chat and share their concerns with me so we can work through it as a team. Because I totally understand that life happens and no one can stay motivated consistently – I don’t always feel motivated either and that is perfectly normal. We all need that extra push and external help to get through some of the tougher days and I make sure I am there for my clients when they are experiencing such times.

5. Anything else you would like to add?

I would like to conclude with one simple thing – creating a healthy lifestyle does not have to be tough, hard or restrictive. You can easily create a lifestyle that works for you as an individual, one you enjoy living, while staying fit and healthy (both mentally/emotionally & physically). Unfortunately, there are no short cuts to reaching your ideal way of living a healthy life. It is a process where you slowly start tweaking certain habits and create new ones and then only it can be sustainable. Short cuts lead to only short term fixes without guaranteeing life-long results BUT a healthy balanced lifestyle is what guarantees life-long success and happiness so choose wisely.

STOP THINKING & START DOING! TAKE ACTION NOW TOWARDS IMPROVING YOUR LIFE!