Today we’d like to introduce you to Sugandha Singhal.
Hi Sugandha, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always been a curious person. Being born into a traditional family in North India with three more siblings was very fulfilling. The foundations were set right where we learn to value individuals and relationships more than anything else. I was introduced to Yoga and Ayurveda since childhood by my Grandparents and Parents. But being born with limited resources also gave up my chances to search for answers in life and pushed me to live it as per the wish of society.
But the seeker in me didn’t accept that and as a child, I was a rebel and would question everything.
Education did not turn up as I had planned and I ended up becoming an engineer. I worked in multinational IT companies where I wore multiple hats of Coder, ProjectManager, Consultant, and Worldwide Trainer for 10 years, which gave me a chance to travel around the world. My corporate instinct taught me many life lessons but the seeker in me was searching for something else.
The traveling was an eye-opener and the entrepreneur in me wanted to do something of my own. So, I started a company in early 2017. Paperbots happened with the vision to provide children with unlimited opportunities to develop and nurture their creativity and learn through hands-on activities in our STEM labs. The entrepreneur journey taught me so many new unexplored fields like sales, marketing, operations, and above all the survival instinct. Due to personal reasons, I had to shut the company but I got lifetime learnings.
My Yoga Journey: From Competition to Contentment
My relationship with yoga reflected my own self-definition as a yogi, entrepreneur and hustler So, my yogic journey started in my childhood as my grandfather used to practice and teach us in our early ages but I took it seriously in my 30s when life hit me hard with multiple soul-searching questions and I wanted to seek their answers. Also, my physical and mental health completely deteriorated, I was diagnosed with PCOD.
So, while I was practicing yoga under a teacher in a studio setting for a few years I felt like going deeper into it and that is when I enrolled for 200 HRS Yoga Teacher’s training.
At that time I had no idea how the future will unfold for me I was just a seeker looking for answers, and a My gurus did justice by providing me with spiritual enlightenment.
I think the best gift I have given myself was joining the TTC course. More than the physical aspect of it, I was getting moved with the psychological and spiritual changes in me. My whole perspective toward life has changed and I was getting a better version of myself every day. There was no looking back after that, I felt like spreading these amazing life-changing experiences to the world and helping as many people as possible with their physical and mental health.
I started teaching and also learning with the best masters. I traveled to far remote places in India to learn authentic yoga from the best gurus and did my 300HRS, Prenatal, and Yoga Therapy training. I also did Holistic Ayurvedic Nutrition certificate training. I felt a deep inclination towards women’s health as I myself have juggled between my Personal and Professional life which had taken a toll on my health.
With “Yoga” “Ayurveda” and “Habits/Lifestyle” changes I saw tremendous improvement in my health and I felt the need to help as many women as possible. That is where the “Wellness Sutra” is formed to fill the health needs of today’s women who wear multiple hats. I am also a member of the WICCI Karnataka Yoga Council and won a prestigious “Yogini” award for my work in Karnataka, India. After teaching and learning for more than 5 years in India, I have moved with my family to Dallas and now spreading my work here.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Any journey is not fun without hurdles and ups and downs. Mine has been a roller coaster ride where every turn and twist has been breathtaking and super fun. Since earning was a priority in the early days, I jumped into the first job I got. The struggle to survive in the most expensive and crowded city of India from a small town was a huge lesson. From there I got an opportunity to come to the USA when I was 25 years. I went back to India after 2 years of living here and was a bit lost in my career. I knew that I don’t enjoy my work and surely don’t want to spend a lifetime doing something I don’t like, so I changed a few jobs but had the same dissatisfaction. With the stress building up my family was getting affected so was my health. Though I had no financial backup, I decided to leave my job and took a risk of starting my own company with all the savings I had. It was a failure, but the journey had huge learning. The learning I didn’t get in my 10 years of Job, I got in 2 years of entrepreneurship.
As an entrepreneur initially I faced a lack of confidence & self-doubt all the time in the first 2 years
Self-doubt & lack of confidence are related. Self-doubt can dent your confidence. I was also shattered and I took the help of Yoga to understand myself and my mind. As a student the Yoga journey is beautiful but when it comes to making it a living it’s very challenging.
The market was overcrowded and saturated and everything was getting sold in the name of Yoga and Wellness. This time, I choose the career not for money but for my true passion to help individuals. I realized how blessed and happy I feel when I see content faces filled with gratitude coming out of class or when I help someone heal their bodies.
So, the progress was slow with no income initially or sometimes some losses but I cut down on all my expenses and lived a very grounded life. I keep pursuing my dreams. I am still doing the same because it matched my “WHY” in life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are not just Yoga classes; we are passionate women who are experts to understand the female body and combine the science of “Yoga” and “Ayurveda” to bring balance and harmony. In my 40 years of life, I have seen several changes in my body at different stages. When I was a working woman, my 9-5 job was so demanding that I had no time to dedicate to my health and that is where I went wrong with my lifestyle and landed with PCOD issues. When I conceived my daughter, I had major anxiety about the pregnancy as I was not ready both physically and mentally. While I delivered my baby I went through postpartum depression and don’t know how to seek help. I was physically and mentally shaken. That is where I took control of my health and with the help of Yoga and Ayurveda, I am able to maintain balanced physical and mental health.
This is where I realized, to bring harmony you need to create an internal balance. We go through your entire lifestyle to suggest the changes which are sustainable and will uplift you both physically and mentally. We offer In-Home and Virtual Personal, Group Yoga sessions to females, and also Prenatal and Postnatal. We also offer Nutrition that is based on Ayurvedic science as per your body type and your lifestyle which is sustainable and will stay with you for a lifetime.
My team is also females who are in their 40s and 50s experts in “Ayurveda” and “Yoga” to help females in their different stages of life as per needs and demands. We believe that harmony of Body and Mind is the road to inner happiness.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wellnessutra.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/wellnessutra
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/wellnessutra
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyU4rbRJ3ZjpJAPYEgXWg5Q