Who we are
Amreeta Mohandas
I’m a woman who feels alive when walking in nature, a science dork obsessed with the mind-body connection, loves her chocolate and bollywood dancing, and an obsessive clean freak. I am also a proud #shotonIphone photographer and enjoy creating simple DIY arts & crafts around the house with my daughter. I love travelling off the beaten path but at the same time, I am equally happy to stay at home and eat kitchari for dinner most nights. I am also a woman who took back control of her life experience in her own hands, figured out how to be on her path. I changed my career, cleaned up my relationships and revolutionized how I show up for myself. And here is my story.
Soon after my pregnancy, in 2014, I started developing weakness of my skeletal muscles – especially those that control the eyes, mouth, throat and limbs. I was soon diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle. Over the course of next one year, I couldn’t talk, walk, eat, see like I used to and then came another twist – I developed another autoimmune and inflammatory disease, Stage 4 Rheumatoid arthritis which affected my joints real bad- to top it all I was new Into motherhood and clocking in 50 hours a week as a finance professional in a Fortune 500 firm. What was I was left with by 2015 year end.
- a basket full of prescription pills of steroids, pain killers, immunosuppressants,
- relationships around me of a mother, wife, daughter, friendship demanding attention, even the relationship of one with the self,
- a trauma unhealed from a life threatening surgery,
- a body and mind, screaming for change and attention.
I was tired of feeling like a Wasteland – a rootless place and its ground infertile. I inhabited it for decades. And then in 2017, I discovered Yoga and Ayurveda with my teacher, Tracey Burrows in Bahrain. And this new discovery kicked off the spark for my healing process to begin. I was inspired by this holistic science of health and healing – how it taught people to take care of themselves naturally using simple means of food, exercise, herbs, cleansing, nature, and sacred silence. And from then on I was no longer a passive patient relying on the orders of a physician. I slowly learnt how to feed my body and mind on all levels. For the first time in life I felt this is where I belong. I wanted to learn more about this ancient science and practice more of it. Within a year I was out of medication by following an Ayurvedic lifestyle. My digestion got better, my sleep pattern improved. My energy levels went from low to vital and I finally felt alive in my body. I felt whole and comfortable in my own skin for the first time. I felt stronger than ever before. I began to rediscover the wisdom that already existed deep within me – my body’s innate intelligence.
I soon realized that my heart was simply not in the world of counting money for a multi-billion corporation. I felt the need to help modern women like me live healthier, happier and more fulfilling lives. I wanted to bring my past experiences and the wisdom from the ancient teachings of Ayurveda and Yoga into practical life skills for modern humans. I wanted my voice to reach urban women – those steel-magnolias living in cities, seeking success and equality in the corporate world – or those go-getter mamas trucking their kids around town to endless extracurricular activities, battling busy highways downingdouble expressos. I used to be exactly that kind of woman and I know how it feels. I decided I want to become an Ayurvedic wellness coach in 2019.
In a synchronistic turn of events, one of my best friends, Swathi, who has always been there by my side during my highs and lows, calls me up one sunny day in 2021 with an idea of how about both of us together as a team, we marry the idea of Ayurveda, Habit Change, and Nutrition. And that’s how SOMA was born. And here we are today with you all to be a part of your healing journey – To help you join yourself to that which strengthens you (food, plants, meditation, art, music, people in your life) and let go of that which weakens you. So to all you reading this, we want to help you discover that you always have a choice – to become the author of your own story or be the victim of it.
