The landscape had been treacherous, marred by some very steep trails and some very long plateaus. I had tried every quick-fix in the book that promised to get me to my 30-kg lighter destination — the soya flour diet, fit for life, the IN-famous GM diet, Atkins… I even spent 30,000 rupees to be plugged to vibrator machines and kneaded like dough in the hope of getting off my well-trodden weight-loss path leading nowhere.

My morale was low and I hated everything about myself. Needless to say I fell off the wagon to bounce back to my happy 94-kg frame.

Then one day, I won the lottery: I finally got a seat in an NLP practitioner course I had been chasing for 6 years! Dr. Richard McHugh (Dick), an Irish Jesuit priest, had been ordaining NLP disciples for decades in India.

My turning point was an NLP exercise that fired something off inside me – and it’s been a magic carpet ride, to say the least. Loving myself and knowing exactly what my goal looked, sounded, and felt like, I embarked on my journey yet again, determined to travel light.

I then decided to go all-in and license as a Master NLP Practioner and Trainer with the co-founder Dr. Richard Bandler in the States and the UK.

As the weight fell off, I realised that the other burning issue I had was hormonal ups and downs as I had embarked on a very uncertain perimenopausal roller coaster ride. The sudden surprises from very painful breasts to breathless palpitations had me in a spin. After much searching, I decided to put on my researcher lab coat again, and immersed myself in research on digestive health and its impact on the mind, hormones and weight.

In Jan 2016, I began my yoga teacher journey, specialising in yin yoga – a gentle, meditative practice that works on not just the physical, but the subtle energetic and emotional body as well.

I have since spent my time in personal sadhana, studying anatomy, various teachers’ styles, and the application of yogic philosophy in contemporary times. I’ve taken off for yoga retreats to Gokarna, Kerala and Goa, India to steep myself in my practice and surround myself with like-minded yogis.

Today I meet my body where it is, listening deeply and gently supporting it as it rides each new wave.

So, this is what I've learnt and am on a mission to teach you:

Nurture your adrenal glands that produce the stress hormone cortisol. As we move towards menopause, the responsibility of estrogen production is placed on the adrenals, making it even more vital you reduce your exposure to stress of various kinds – mental, physical, nutritional, etc

Most of the major hormonal glands correspond with the energy centers in the body (read chakras). Bringing about this balance on the physical often requires work on the emotional, mental and Spiritual. I use yin yoga and essential oils to bring me back to equanimity.

Track your cycle, make sense of patterns and follow the moon to restore your natural rhythm.

So remember, you can stay in control when you know how.