Why I chose Healing over Hustle

Most people have known me as the go-getter Neha—logical, analytical, competitive, always striving for more. That’s how I saw myself too. And then, one day, it all stopped making sense. A simple question from a boss lady— “So, what do you do 40 hours a day?”—shook me to the core.

Majestic Kailash at sunrise: a transformative journey in the heart of the Himalayas.

We were all working endlessly, but was it really adding value? Was it nourishing me, or anyone else? That question planted a seed of doubt, and I set out to find an answer. I wanted to know: What is my true happy place? True to my temperament, I decided to climb a mountain. Since I had not yet experienced the Himalayas, I chose Mount Kailash. It has been two years since that journey—and in many ways, I never really came back.

Unlike my previous treks, there were no modern comforts, no luxuries. The Himalayas carry a haunting, humbling quality. Yet I was so lost in my search that I forgot to be afraid. At the foothills of Kailash, something shifted. I felt no desires, no striving. Everything just made sense. That was the moment I heard the name Dr. Lad, and I knew the seed had been sown by Shiva for me to return and study Ayurveda.

Around the same time, the Bhagavad Gita quietly entered my life, guiding me like a gentle hand. What followed was the most profound year of my life. I felt as if I had been born again. And like any birth, it wasn’t without pain—awkward, uncomfortable, disorienting. But it was also real, raw, and necessary.

I am still analytical. I am still left-brained. I am still drawn to the world of business. But alongside that, I’ve begun the deeper journey of knowing who I truly am. Because I now understand: our true happy place is not outside—it is within us, in our very essence: Sat-Chit-Ananda (existence, consciousness, bliss).

This journey continues, and with it, a calling. My Guru, my Shiva, has given me the mandate to take Ayurveda forward. I have no choice but to answer this call.

And so, I am here—for you. As a friend. As a health coach. As a life coach. As your cheerleader and stressbuster.

In the feet of my Shiva, my Guru,

Neha