At BrilliantRead Media, it is our constant endeavour to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this, we invited Sreevardane for an exclusive interview with us. She is an Entrepreneur, Influencer, Health and Wellness Coach, and Change Enabler. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, her background, and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Sreevardane:
We are aware of your contributions to the ecosystem; talk us through your background and your journey, please;
I had been in the tech sector for about ~10 years, more than 50% of those spent in recruitment. Long insane hours, poor work-life balance all came at a cost!
There came a point (after having my child) I decided that I do not want to keep doing it this way, compromising my health every day & having absolutely no energy to even do the everyday things and that scared me. I was not even 30 yet! I had to pause and take a step back and prioritize my health.
Through lifestyle changes (discovering all through my research and passion for wellness) I was able to feel remarkable changes in my health in a short span. And, that paved the path for my journey.”
I was disheartened to see people in their 30s and 40s succumbing to diabetes, heart disease and even heart attacks at such a young age.
I started to realize there is fundamentally something wrong with the way most of us are living our lives. It made me think, that even if I can help one person, one family, the impact is going to be profound & will set a ripple effect. And, my journey began.
Since then I have constantly pursued education and up-levelled my skills in health & wellness coaching and functional medicine from one of the best in the industry! I am a certified functional medicine health coach and applied functional medicine practitioner in training.
How did you discover your passion in ‘Coaching’?
I started seeing remarkable results through lifestyle changes and I wanted everyone around me to benefit from it too! But I soon realized that people don’t change because “you ask them to”. Let’s be real – people don’t like to be told what to do. And, change is hard.
To be able to make sustainable changes, people need intrinsic motivation (it’s within us all), it needs to come within them and when they are ready for it, making the change seems much less challenging. I understood this pretty soon and that’s what intrigued me to take up coaching. It felt like a huge gap that the current market is not addressing and the most critical piece that people are currently missing.”
It makes sense right? People go to a nutritionist/dietician(all along fearing diet plans) and they are either not able to sustain it, or feel it’s too restrictive and navigate the plan in resentment. Why is it so hard for people to change even when their doctor says – to lose weight, walk daily – otherwise you are at high risk for heart attack. While they might know what they are doing is unhealthy & potentially life-threatening(in some cases), yet it is very difficult.
Then one led to the other and I found functional medicine. Life-changing is an understatement.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
My passion. The passion I have for the work I do, is to constantly learn more and to be able to impact as many lives as possible. It’s incredibly gratifying to hear from people how my programs, coaching and even my posts on social media have been life-changing for them.
To be able to be the beacon of hope for those who have been told that popping pills are the only way you have to move forward, and to be able to open their eyes to the power of incremental lifestyle changes is remarkable!
When people start believing they can heal, there is even a possibility, the magic starts to unfold right there!”
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
Honestly, there is no single person. But I find motivation and inspiration from everything/everyone around me. I do believe that people are incredibly resourceful and everyone has something to share with this world.
During my early morning walk, I find an 85+ old granny who finds it hard to walk, yet shows up every day with her walking support all by herself without complaining.
I find the grit and determination of a young toddler in the park, trying to climb the ladder for the nth time without giving up. I find the constantly changing seasons and nature very admirable and inspiring too.”
I find my fellow entrepreneurs on social media who keep moving in spite of their obstacles. It’s all around us, the only question is – are we looking?
I draw inspiration from people all around me.”
Please share with us, how do you motivate your clients?
I believe people are inherently resourceful. I just help my clients see their strengths, their ability to heal and reinforce their belief in themselves using my skills and that sets the tone for everything.
My clients start seeing incredible results (some intangible changes in their mindset and perspective) because they have a renewed sense of confidence in themselves and their ability to heal when they see what’s possible for them during our sessions.
I start off by trying to get them some quick wins that will reinforce their faith and that keeps them motivated and driven all by itself! So I would say – helping them have a taste of their success (in their ability to get well & thrive) keeps them motivated.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
There are a few:
> Scheduling time every day to just slow down and clear my mind. This will always be my number 1! Having a clear mind is first and foremost to be able to see a different perspective.
> Being honest and authentic.
> Cultivating a growth mindset vs having a fixed mindset.
> Never give up attitude.
> Constantly learning and growing and investing in courses, programs which help me develop as a person.
> Being kind to myself(We can often be our worst critic).
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
To be honest, I am not! Because I am only human.
However, I do know that I don’t feel great when I dwell on negative self-talk or mindset. I consciously make an effort to understand why I am feeling the specific way and try to process my feelings and emotions around it. It has taken some practice to get here.
One thing that helps significantly is scheduling a few minutes of alone time every day. Most of the days this looks like taking a walk – no matter if it’s sunny, raining or biting cold.”
Some days it looks like squeezing in a few minutes of meditation or a workout session. I also practise gratitude and most importantly express it often to truly soak in that feeling.
Last but not least, when I see my clients having incredible results and transformations and reversing their lifestyle diseases, it motivates me further to spread this goodness to more people.
Last but not least, can you tell us more about functional medicine and how it has helped?
Functional Medicine addresses the whole person & the root cause of the dis-ease than simply treating symptoms. It’s a science-based approach of “why” you have these symptoms, and not “what” dis-ease or dysfunction you have. When I say it’s considered the whole person, functional medicine takes into account your physical health, emotional health, mental health & spiritual health(sense of meaning & purpose).
All of these together make us who we are and can largely impact the status of our health!”
We also believe that signs and symptoms(ex. a headache) are a blessing, that’s our body communicating with us and often we don’t pay attention and simply suppress them with pills. Using functional medicine principles and lifestyle changes – I have helped my clients reverse their dis-ease dynamics, put their auto-immune dynamics into remission, Hashimoto’s, eczema, diabetes, PCOS, gut issues, anxiety to name a few! All this through targeted lifestyle changes – No medications!
Functional medicine is the future and I think it’s going to be the way forward in the coming decade. This is exactly what people have been waiting for. Because, people finally feel heard and not dismissed by saying “everything looks fine”, or “it’s all in your head”
To quote someone’s reply on my social media about functional medicine:
Omg!!! Something or someone I have been looking out for almost 10 years now.. Have been to countless doctors to understand what my body is undergoing.. all they could do it write some test recommendations, and name a disease, give some tablets to stop its symptoms flaring .. brilliant 👏👏
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
