Asha’s health issues began with a severe back pain episode followed by anxiety attacks, fibromyalgia, IBS, hypothyroidism and chronic constipation. In addition, she lived in fear of developing diabetes as almost all her family members had diabetes. A chance viewing of a video on Facebook changed her path from disease towards health. Here is her story of how she moved from constant fear of illness to empowerment.

Asha Shivaram
43 years, Home-maker
Almere, Netherlands

Life threw me a curveball - 2009

My story begins when at the age of 34, I suffered a severe slip disc trying to pickup my second child aged 1. I did not have any medical conditions till then except for being hypothyroid. I was having symptoms of stiff back and indigestion for many days but had ignored them. Juggling family responsibilities, work at office and my nature of being a perfectionist had taken its toll and my back finally gave way. I suffered a week in agony, bed ridden and in such severe pain that I could not even turn. This was my second episode of back pain having suffered the first one in in my college.

Little did I know, that this pain would take me on a journey towards health. I was still in pain for almost a month. I couldn’t sit for long periods of time and the memory of the painful episode kept haunting me. No doctor could give me a reason why this had happened except to suggest physiotherapy, stretching, walking etc. I did take up their advice and started morning walks. Though I experienced relief, the progress was slow and there would be occasional recurrence of the back pain. I spent a lot of money and time on acupuncture, back massages, physiotherapy with only temporary relief.

A couple of months after the back episode, I started developing anxiety. My heart would start palpitating, I would break out into sweats, couldn’t sleep and had racing thoughts. It was frightening and I had no idea why and what used to bring this on. It felt like my body was not in my control. All my blood reports were normal but I knew something was wrong in my body. I started having pain in my right knee. After a blood test, the doctor said I was having the beginning of arthritis. Soon after this, I started developing aches and pains all over my body. Getting up from bed in the morning was so painful.I felt like I had the flu all the time. Another round with the doctors and they diagnosed me as having fibromyalgia. My periods were also erratic and one of the doctors said that I was at the beginning of menopause. I was just in my 30's! So many new medical terms! I began to believe that my body was broken and I would always be this way. I knew a lot about diseases but not much about health.

I joined a yoga class to strengthen my back and calm myself. My day would start at 5:30 in the morning going to yoga class and from there on go on to work traveling 2 hours oneway in a sitting position. Only a person who has a bad back and aches everywhere would understand this agony.

I also started taking ayurvedic treatment for my pains and anxiety. While this helped me a lot symptomatically, I was still frustrated when episodes of severe back pain and anxiety attacks would occur .I was no better in understanding the cause.

The move to better health - 2013

Soon we moved to London due to my husband’s work. The cold weather, homesickness, lack of enough sunlight added to my anxiety and loneliness. In addition, I developed IBS. I was scared of traveling as I feared that I would need the toilet anytime. One day while browsing Facebook, I came across the talk by Dr Nandita Shah of SHARAN (Sanctuary for Health and Reconnection to Animals and Nature) – Health in your hands. I watched the entire talk and something just clicked in my head, as if all the pieces of a puzzle were falling in place. I decided to turn vegan. I started implementing changes in my diet - from my current vegetarian diet to a whole food plant based diet. A whole food plant based diet includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole unrefined grains and excludes dairy in any form, non-vegetarian food, refined oils etc. I noticed over a period of two months that my IBS and anxiety disappeared. After suffering from anxiety for over 2 years, it was just gone in a couple of months! I understood that the hormones and chemicals in dairy were responsible for my IBS and mood swings. My entire family switched over to a plant based diet and we saw amazing healing in skin conditions, migraine and reducing incidences of cold and cough.

The journey continues – 2016

Next part of my healing journey started when my son starting developing eczema on his face.

I knew that there were lifestyle changes yet to be implemented. I started consulting with a Natural Lifestyle Expert from SHARAN. I was introduced to the principles of nature cure through them. Based on their advice, I started reducing grains in our diet and increased raw food and fruits. Just with this change, my back pain disappered completely.We as a family, also incorporated many changes in our lifestyle like more outdoor time, grounding, daily gratitude, quiet time, going to bed on time, only fruits till 12 p.m, intermittent fasting etc.. My son has experienced a great deal of healing in his skin condition. I experienced a reduction in all body pains. My body feels light and flexible now. My back is stronger than ever. All my blood levels returned to normal and I am now off all medications.

The many layers of truth - 2017

I continue my health journey by deepening my understanding of nature cure. I completed two courses in nature cure from PSY Solution (https://www.facebook.com/getPSYsolution/). I understood the concept that all diseases share the same cause and treatment is also the same – remove the cause and the body has its own innate intelligence of healing. I have faith in my body. I do not resort to medicines even for colds, fevers, infections etc. I know now how to conserve vitality so the body can work on its job of healing undisturbed. All is possible with faith, patience and return to nature.

I am truly grateful for all that I have gone through. I met so many wonderful people like Smitha Hemadri, who was practicing nature cure for many years and who selflessly guided me and helped me mentally and spiritually in this journey. Without these experiences and the people I met, maybe I would not have developed faith in the body’s healing powers. I share my knowledge with friends, family. Some people listen but not all. Many of them have embarked on their own journey to better health and found success. Most importantly, I frequently talk about natural health management with my children so they do not resort to quick fixes if they fall sick.

I am not perfect and there are situations when I go off track. However, it is getting better with time. I am at peace with my imperfections and feel empowered since I understand how to get back on track and know the real truth about health. I am excited to see where else and how far this journey takes me as time goes by.

My wish and hope for the future

It is my sincerest wish that the knowledge of nature cure and self-empowerment is available to everyone irrespective of their age or background. I would like everyone to experience the magic of natural healing. I wish that this be taught in every school and all children get to know the truth – Get back to nature and everything will be taken care of. As Dr Vijaya Venkat of The Health Awareness Centre says – Self care is Health care is Earth Care. This lifestyle has the power to heal our planet.

(About Asha Shivaram: Asha is a qualified nature cure health coach. She conducts group programs and offers 1:1 health coaching to heal from lifestyle issues. She is also an engineer, a homemaker and a volunteer for different causes. She worked for many MNC’s like Nokia, HP, Accenture during her career in the software sector. She enjoys reading about health, veganism, conservation and environment issues and loves to garden in her spare time. She writes about veganism and sustainability issues on https://www.facebook.com/sustVegan/. She is a mother of two children. You can follow her at:- https://www.facebook.com/getRevitalizeNaturally)

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