We are starting a Mental Wellness/ Positivity series in collaboration with Sakhi magazine (https://sakhi.online) and will be sharing mental health hacks and tips to feel better/ more positive. Given the current situation of the world – sickness, diseases, deaths, wars, violence etc – most of us need it. While a lot of things are beyond our control, our mindset is definitely in our control and we can do some simple things to keep ourselves uplifted and boost our mental health. Stay tuned.

If you would like to contribute Mental Wellness/ Positivity tips with photos feel free to email us at empoweredbwb@gmail.com or editor@sakhi.online or post on Instagram and tag us @empoweredbwb & @sakhi.online and use the hashtag #PositivityWithEmpoweredNSakhi
If selected we will feature your tips. If you would like to donate towards our positivity sessions for women, feel free to contact us as well.

THEME: FASHIONABLY HEELED

Check out our ‘Fashionably Heeled’ issue in collaboration with Sakhi magazine.

Fashionably Heeled

Supported By:

Light Antana Photography
(http://www.instagram.com/light_antana)

The Old New Boutique
(https://www.facebook.com/theoldnewfashion/)

Zumba With Anu
(https://m.facebook.com/Anu.kulkarni.001/)

Go Vita Blacktown
(https://m.facebook.com/wellbeingkarma/)

Poornima Vamsi Academy
(https://poornimavamsi.com)

Meet our featured beauty with brains Rupa Parthasarathy, founder of Mindkshetra (https://www.facebook.com/mindkshetra/). A beautiful person both inside and outside, she has been touching hearts and lives, and painting the world a shade kinder. Here is an interview with her:

1. Tell us more about yourself – your hobbies, passions, dreams etc.

Mine is a story that partly reveals itself with my distinctive tongue twister of a last name (always a great conversation starter!). At a glance, it’s easy to unravel my backstory of hailing from an Indian background. And within Australia, the story of my family’s journey to this land at some point. While that holds true, mine has also been a story of facing adversities, finding my feet, exploring my identity, and establishing connections. That’s what interests me about life-stories, there’s so much more than just what meets the eye. I have always held a deep love for stories. Hence, I am invested in life stories; I love telling them, sharing them and nurturing them. I am someone who believes in painting this world a shade kinder. I thrive on making meaningful conversations and connections.

I have a soft spot for my parent language (I prefer using the term parent language to mother tongue, as it’s the language of both my parents) – Tamil (my being lights up, in its presence). I also speak Hindi and other Indian regional languages (which, if I hear beyond my home’s boundaries, always make my head turn quicker than a bird and tugs at my heart with familiarity). I am also an optimist, an intrepid learner, a movie/music buff and a person who enjoys watching endless reruns of DIY home renovation shows.

2. Tell us what inspired you to start Mindkshetra?

I grew up fascinated with all things creative – sketching, music, dancing and storytelling were some of the pursuits I dabbled in and still do. Drawing from this experience, I understand how self-expression can be used to sort through mental chaos, gain clarity, and nurture physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. Art therapy provides me with an approach to facilitate positive change in a person’s (people’s) lives using creative means.

I founded Mindkshetra to create a place where people can experience some mind space. A place where we can nurture mental health from a wellness perspective, rather than only through an illness perspective. Growing up, I experienced that having conversations, even basic things like feeling overwhelmed or anxious, was always relegated either to occur either behind closed doors or mostly dismissed as something that will pass. So I wanted to create a space where discussions about mental health are facilitated openly. Much like how a consistent effort builds physical fitness, I believe it takes conscious effort to nurture mental and emotional wellness. Given, I have witnessed and experienced the healing powers of artmaking, and I teach creativity as a strategy to build and sustain mental health.

3. What is art therapy, and how does it differ from conventional psychotherapy?

Art therapy is a therapeutic technique that integrates psychotherapy and creative process to enhance physical, mental and emotional well-being. It is based on the idea that tapping into our creativity by engaging in self-expression can help us gain mental clarity, explore our emotions, develop self-awareness and promote our well-being. As the emphasis is on the creative process of self-expression, no unique artistic ability or talent is required. Artmaking in art therapy courses is playful experimentation with self-expression without having any concerns about achieving perfection.

As human beings, we are complex and unique. There are various factors like our upbringing, culture, heritage, genetics, family, to name a few, that play a role in how we process and react to situations. There are times when we cannot express our thoughts, feelings, emotions only by verbalising them. Art-making provides us with an avenue to externalise these internal workings. Self-expression allows us to view them outside of us, gives some much-needed space to reflect and process them.

4. What services do you offer at Mindkshetra?

Mindkshetra offers individual consultations, creative art-based wellness workshops for kids and young people, creative workshops for parties, celebrations, art therapy courses for adults and creative wellness and personal development coaching for communities and organisations.

At Mindkshetra, our mission is to support life stories using creativity. The practise caters to a wide range of people. These people have experienced life adversities, mental health conditions, or anyone interested in taking care of their mental hygiene or connecting with their intuition.

Our Practice is based on the philosophy that we can author our life stories through self-awareness. We believe in seeing clients as a whole person – not defining them by their diagnosis, based on the philosophy that we can author our life stories.

THEME: LACE & GRACE

The purpose of our fashion features, photoshoots & events, is to empower and uplift women through fashion and make them feel confident about themselves. Another purpose is to provide a platform for women in the fashion industry to showcase their talents, skills and products.

Meet our featured beauty with brains, Sarah Dawkins, a Health Practitioner based in Spain.

Sarah is a Registered Nurse, Author, multi-award winning entrepreneur and Holistic Health Coach. She has a plethora of experience in health and wellness gained through her many years in nursing and her insatiable drive to improve overall health through nutrition and natural means. Her coaching sessions are designed for anyone wanting to improve their overall health, whether there is an active health problem to resolve or not. Sarah’s 12 week on-line course, Healing At Home and her hand made natural and organic products, complement her coaching.

Here is her story:

“My training as a Registered Nurse started in 1998. For years, I loved it, helping people to heal. However, in 2013, after completing my Master’s Degree (MSc), I left to set up my own company. I had designed a flow chart for a procedure, registering it with Intellectual Properties and writing a handbook alongside it, for Nurses working in the Recovery Room. I sold my handbook and flow chart to other hospitals all around the globe.

It was during my Master’s Degree at the local University, I joined their Graduate Entrepreneur Programme (GEP). I was put forward to present my company at an entrepreneur’s day and I won an award for my work. I was then advised by the GEP to enter the National Freelancer’s Day competition to find the best UK freelancers. I was a little hesitant because it was a large national award but, hey, what did I have to lose? Absolutely nothing. I entered and came second!! The top three winners were taken to see the then-Prime Minister of England, David Cameron, inside 10 Downing Street…. What a privilege.

I wanted to do more though, my heart was in helping others to heal. I had naturally self-healed from several diseases; eczema, psoriasis, reflux, underactive thyroid, adrenal fatigue, suicidal depression, two frozen shoulders, as well as various body and head pains. So, I trained to be a coach, to give me the skills to help others. This work is so rewarding. I love seeing people have a realisation that they can and do heal.

Still, I wanted to do more. There are too many people suffering unnecessarily in the world today from dis-ease, being told by doctors that they have “chronic, life-long and life-threatening” illnesses. It is more important than ever now to take responsibility for our own health as it has become more difficult to get appointments with doctors and hospitals. I started writing a book, initially about my own natural self-healing. I didn’t feel that this would help enough people, so I had the idea to get many people on-board to write about their own natural self-healing journeys too. How was I going to do this?? Could I do this?

As Doctor Joe Dispenza says, “When we experience for ourselves, or witness in another person, something that we’ve once believed to be impossible, we are freed in our beliefs to transcend those limitations in our own lives”, meaning, it only takes us seeing one person doing what we thought was impossible, to change our belief of what is possible.

Well, I advertised on social media and started reaching out to people, asking for healers. I had many people answer my call. It was exhilarating! To date, I have seventy healer’s journeys, in their own words, from diseases like; ALS/MND, Auto-immune (thyroid, ME, fibromyalgia, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis etc), colitis, asthma, eczema, depression, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic pain/CRPS and more.

My book is called; HEAL YOURSELF. The remarkable journeys of ordinary people healing themselves of disease in extra-ordinary ways.

I am submitting my book to the publisher in April and will be led by them on what to do and when it will be published. I know it will help many people around the world to challenge their beliefs about healing and hopefully start their own journey to wellness.” – Sarah.

Please feel free to contact her if you think she can help you.

Sarah Dawkins RN, BSc (Hons), MSc, AMC
Holistic Health Coach
Helping you to heal yourself, naturally

Web – http://www.sarahdawkins.com
Email – sarahdawkins@pm.me
Facebook – /dawkinsse
Twitter – @dawkins_sarah
IG – @sarah.dawkins.health
Linkedin – /sarahdawkins

Meet our featured beauty with brains Vanessa Marie,
a Coach & Entrepreneur based in Sydney, Australia. She is the founder of ‘Girls Empowered’ (http://www.girlsempowered.com.au). Here is an interview with her:

1. Tell us more about yourself – what you do, your passions, hobbies etc.

I’m an introvert, a travel addict, a Mother of two and also founder of Girls Empowered. I do coaching and run workshops to empower young girls and help them find their inner confidence. It took me a long time and a lot of self reflection to figure out what I really wanted in life and what was important to me. My number one passion is travel with Greece and Cuba being my favourite countries. I also love reading, writing, playing backgammon and writing to do lists.

2. You organise workshops for girls. Who or what inspired you to help/ empower girls?

Growing up was a bit of a struggle for me. I lacked confidence and like many young women I had issues with self esteem and body image. Many of the things I struggled with are still relevant today but in a much bigger way thanks to things such as social media. My own struggle has inspired me as I don’t want young girls to base their self worth on a number on the scale or the way they look. I really want girls to feel empowered, strong, and confident enough to move forward with their head held high. The statistics about how young girls view themselves are alarming and while I can’t change the world hopefully I can make a small difference in some way that helps create positive change.

3. What are your goals in life? Have you achieved them?

My number one goal is to live a meaningful life which I try and do in some way daily. I definitely haven’t achieved all of my goals though. Im completing a degree in Humanitarian and Development Studies and one of my life-long goals is to spend time in developing countries working with young girls and women. My other goals are to continue to grow my business, write books and of course just be happy. I’m a bit of a late starter and in the past often let my fear of failure stop me moving forward but now as I’m getting older I can see anything is possible!

4. Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

In 10 years I see myself buying a villa in Greece and spending my summers enjoying the sunshine, food and islands. I hope to have achieved my main goals and be happy, healthy and making a difference somehow.

Feel free to check out her FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/girlsempoweredworkshops/

A warm welcome to beauty with brains Anu Kulkarni, who recently joined our platform as a Model and Zumba Instructor. This gorgeous passionate lady has the strength and willpower to achieve whatever she dreams of.

“1. From being a fulltime homemaker, to being a successful banker, I have had my fair share of learning new skills and overcoming hurdles in trying to make my place in the corporate world. I achieved success but with that I had to put aside some of my aspirations, namely modelling, dancing and exercising.

2. During my journey I had to overcome a number of situations that drove me to the brink of mental and physical exhaustion. I gained weight, was moody, socially disconnected. It took a lot of family support, determination and strong willpower to come out of that as a winner.
3. I had gained 30 kgs. One year ago, I embarked on my transformation journey that started with a weight loss program, becoming a certified Zumba instructor and following my passion to remain fit and be expressive and a role model to all those women who would like to make their presence felt.
4. My aim is to inspire people through Zumba and make a difference in the lives of anyone I interact with, through my positive attitude and the willpower to realise my self-worth.” – Anu.

Feel free to check out her Instagram:

Www.Instagram.com/anucool12

A warm welcome to beauty with brains Poornima Vamsi, who recently joined our platform as a model and Hormonal Health Coach. Smart, beautiful and talented, she achieves success in whatever she does. She has a burning desire to help women achieve their dream health.

“I am a mum of 2 boys aged 8 and 4, working full time in Melbourne. My quest to help myself goes back to half a decade ago, when I was diagnosed with hormonal imbalances, leading to Thyroid and Ankylosing Spondylitis. Weighing a whopping 90kgs, I found it hard to do day to day chores, forget about playing with kids or going for walks. Given the lively and cheerful personality I had, life seemed absolutely hazy when I found myself getting into post partum depression. Deep down in my heart I knew I had to do something and while you read this – do you also have a feeling running in your heart about your health ?

After 8 years of research, analysis and studying, today I am absolutely grateful and blessed to be out of Thyroid medication, bringing my weight to 59.8kgs and most of all having this burning desire to help women like YOU, who has been looking everywhere for a permanent solution but hasn’t found it yet. I would love to have you inside my group where I provide immense value on Hormonal Health and the amazing transformation my clients are seeing. Join me in there and I will be happy to serve and walk you towards your DREAM HEALTH !”

Feel free to join her group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/poornimavamsi/?ref=share

A warm welcome to beauty with brains Pooja Sethi, who recently joined our platform as a Relationship Trainer. This gorgeous talented lady is the co-owner of The Relationship Transformation Academy.

“My Name is Pooja Sethi and I with my partner Bharat Sethi run ‘The Relationship Transformation Academy’.

It’s natural for anyone to feel torn between competing and feeling equally responsible in unique aspects of life, while the most critical action is not to indulge yourself in negative emotions and take action to transform your relationship for a happy family.

We at poojabharat.com understand that every family & business needs a program to build good relationships. We all have our unique problems within our families or within companies.
We at PoojaBharat provide family coaching sessions that provide couples, families with the tools and techniques to resolve conflicts, turn arguments into agreements, let go of all the past negative experiences you may have.
We also provide Business Relationship coaching to facilitate team motivation, align business values, bring the best out of your team, and to resolve their conflicts.

We coach you for the values of your life and install positive behaviours with proper communication, building self-awareness with your own conscious and unconscious mind, so you get the happiness, quality of life that you desire and deserve.” – Pooja.