Growing up in a conservative family in India, being newly married and coming to the US thirty years ago felt overwhelming. I encountered all the cultural changes of my new life at the same time that I experienced changes to my family and social structure. This unsettling foundation contributed to my feeling unfulfilled, even with all the blessings of loving families both here and back home. I found myself being dependent on external factors for my happiness. I began successfully working and acquired many different skillsets, but there was no lasting contentment. The feeling of discontentment affected all aspects of my life and especially my relationship with my husband. This emotional dissatisfaction even led to a time when I thought I needed to leave my marriage.
I began seeing a few well-known therapists, which continued for several years. I was diagnosed with depression, but I didn’t agree with the diagnosis and started to self-help with books and self-improvement programs. I started to practice yoga more frequently and found it to be helpful to bring peace temporarily.
Eventually, I began to experience the onset of vitiligo, which seemed to be a physical manifestation of my struggles with emotional health. This was an awakening moment for me and forced me to look for solutions outside of the traditional paths of counseling and self-improvement that I had pursued for so long.
After some reflection, I decided to travel to India to study traditional yoga philosophy. This exploration led me to discover that yoga is essentially a discipline of the mind, and I began to study yoga psychology. Through yoga psychology, I discovered the why of my discontentment, and from there it was easy to bring about change. Yoga believes “Avidya” or wrong knowledge is one of the main reasons for suffering. I completely understand this concept as I can see first-hand how this played out in my life. In all the previous attempts at counseling, I was given strategies to work around my problems, but I never understood the root cause of my problems. Learning about my unhelpful beliefs through yoga psychology, I got a deeper understanding of my role in my problems. It wasn’t clinical depression as I was diagnosed with, but rather my beliefs that were causing problems for me. Once understood, the problems became easier to work on. After growth through proper knowledge and understanding, I am now happier and content. I have clearer self-awareness and a higher sense of self, and relationship with my husband is healthier.
My efforts were further complemented using Ayurvedic treatments under the guidance of a well-known Ayurvedic doctor in India (who is now part of our team). This improved my physical health at a deeper level. I am seeing a reversal in my vitiligo from his treatment for which there is no cure in western medicine per my understanding.
I hope what I have learned can bring some awareness to others of the effects that our minds and emotions can have on our bodies and vice versa. I would like to give others the motivation and the power to make changes as I have.
As yoga is a journey of self-understanding, my role would be to guide and help, so that each person takes responsibility and does not rely on external factors for his or her happiness. Through yoga psychology, practicing yogic techniques and following ayurvedic diet, each person is capable of finding their path to that happiness and strong enough to undertake the journey.
Namaste,
Sangeeta Mehta
Sangeeta Yoga Consulting 