In this episode, Neelam Harjani shares her inspiring journey from investment banking to becoming a leading yoga teacher and wellness coach.
After experiencing burnout in high-pressure finance, Neelam transformed her life, dedicating over 20 years to helping high achievers sustain peak performance without sacrificing well-being. Recognized as a Global Woman of Influence 2024, she works with CEOs and global leaders, providing science-backed tools in mindfulness, breathwork, and resilience to thrive in demanding environments.
Neelam opens up about battling chronic health issues and finding healing through yoga and mindfulness practices like Pranayama. She offers practical tips for managing stress, aligning your career with personal values, and embracing the present moment to transform your well-being.
Whether you’re navigating career changes or seeking tools for stress relief, this episode delivers valuable insights to help you glow from within.
Episode Highlights
00:00 Introduction
00:46 Neelam’s career transition
06:05 Overcoming challenges
16:18 The power of breathwork & Pranayama
21:31 Understanding negative mental bias
24:28 Managing stress and emotional baggage
26:40 The interconnected pillars of wellness
29:59 Living a glowing life
31:09 Final thoughts & quickfire questions
Episode Resources
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DISCLAIMER
All material in this episode is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this podcast episode. Instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.
The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the speakers, and readers and listeners who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. In addition, the information and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of every contributor. The Company acknowledges occasional differences in opinion and welcomes the exchange of different viewpoints.
TRANSCRIPTION
M: Welcome, Neelam I am so happy to have you on the podcast today.
N: Thank you, Martina. It's such a pleasure.
M: I would love to know from you, you've been in this health and wellness industry for so long. Tell us a little bit about how you got into this in the first place.
N: Oh, this is a a story in itself. We're gonna rewind about 20 years. So I went to the London School of Economics and I graduated in management. And with my degree, I just jumped right into investment banking, like pretty much my entire cohort. And, so it was just going with the emotions, really feeling like this is what's the next step for me.
This is what's expected of me. And yet deep down I know, I knew that there, there was something that wasn't aligned. And it got to a point where I was really having to drag myself into work because that inner voice was shouting. And yet, to be honest, like my ego, the prestige of the job, everyone being proud of me.
Oh, you're the youngest female derives, traitor, sitting on the trading floor, the power, all of that. Kept me there, despite me not even feeling in place. And so I think when that resistance is something that you almost normalize, then I. It manifests on the physical level, and so it came to a point where I was so burnt out, like literally in my late twenties where all my friends would be out partying the night away and I was barely limping home. Just it calcified into lower chronic lower back pain. I had gut issues. I would sleep like 8, 10, 12, 14 hours and. Still wake up exhausted.
So I just knew that there was a sense of depletion, and obviously hindsight, 2020, I can pinpoint what it was, but at the time I was feeling lost. I was feeling conflicted within, and yet I was feeling very stuck. In actually the way the world and the universe works, it's, it can be so miraculous. So the global financial crisis hit and being a junior, I was one of the first to get laid off, and it was almost like that. Difficult decision was made for me. Where I couldn't bring myself to quit a job that I knew came with so much where my community, my parents, everyone was so proud I couldn't let go of that.
And yet I knew it wasn't serving me. And so it was done for me. And I thought literally, Martina, I'm not even lying. That same week that I got made redundant. My yoga teacher said, you know, Neelam you've been coming to my class for 12 years now. There's not even that much more I can teach you. Why didn't you just go sign up for the yoga teacher training program?
And in my head, I laughed and I thought, I'm not gonna quit my day job to, to join this teacher training program. And lo and behold, I had so much time, I didn't have a day job. And I thought, you know what? Why didn't I take. Just this one decision for me, something that I actually wanna do. And so when that was aligned, it was just pure magic, and my, when my head and my heart and my hands were all working in synchronicity, and I felt oh, I'm. I'm teaching and in that hour I'm affecting change. I can see that somebody's came and they were, they were stiff and they were tight and they're leaving with a smile or they were leaving relaxed.
And so I think that in itself was really rewarding because being part of a big corporation, I didn't really get that feeling of. Agency or how is my impact? Like, how is my work impacting my clients? And so it's literally been, then through my own journey of healing, through my own journey of fixing my lower back pain, fixing my energy levels is then, when I decided, okay, I'm gonna start teaching. And in order to do that, I brought in a team. And so we have a team of experts who take private classes and I've actually just graduated from Harvard Medical Schools wellness coaching program. So really trying to bridge the science with these ancient techniques.
So yeah, I told you it'll be a long story, but here you are. Many years later, this is the journey that. I've been on.
M: Thank you so much for sharing. I think it's something that probably a lot of my listeners can resonate with when it comes to, dragging yourself to work sometimes and not having a lot of energy and feeling maybe a little unaligned, especially for people who start tapping into spirituality and self care more.
There will come a moment where you're like. What I do at my day job just doesn't really feel aligned. It doesn't have to be for everyone, right? Yeah. But I think a lot of people experience that. And so what you shared around how the universe magically brought this teacher training, into your space in the same week sounds very magical.
And the synchronicities are just. Yeah, pure magic sometimes. How did you follow through after this? Because you could have just gone back to another day job, maybe after the training, or maybe the pressure around you was too big of you should go get a job and stop teaching yoga. So I'm curious how you manage that, because there's a lot of mental chatter around that, right?
N: Yeah, a hundred percent. And thanks for bringing that up. That's almost like the addendum to my story. There can be that value alignment but it also takes a lot of courage. Yes. And. I definitely saw that, that there were many times where even I was tested I said, okay this is me being a Samaritan to the society, to the community.
I'll put up free classes in my neighborhood. And so I was just teaching these free classes and, a headhunter called me and she was like, you know what we're looking for a profile exactly that fits you for a hedge fund role. And it's bas basically it's yours. You have the experience, you have the credentials, literally just come have a little form like the formality of a chitchat and and the job's yours basically.
And so this was my first test where I was confronted, oh, okay, here, here it is. Everything that I thought I was this old identity things, I'm reshaping into this new identity. But there's temptation. Oh, that, that security the paycheck every month, all of that. And I, so I really felt like it was a test because the time that she asked me to come was like nine to 10, and that was exactly the same time that I had my free community class.
So I was like okay, I'm now at this crossroad, right? Should I try? And I said, I think that this is a sign because it's literally it's the one hour a day that I'm booked up for this commitment of that I've taken. I wanna show up for my class and I wanna show up for myself in that.
I can make this work. And so I, with a lot of courage, turned down that meeting and said, you know what? I wanna pursue this. I, it's just, I've just started, let me see where I go with it. And I get there at nine. I. Ready to start my day feeling really proud of myself. Oh I've I've leaned into my inner voice into what is designed for me and I roll out my mat, and I'm very enthusiastic about starting the class.
Martina that day, nobody showed up, so it was again. This point where again, I was faced with my ego who do I think I am that, oh, okay, turn down this job, this security, and all of a sudden I'll catapult into being an entrepreneur and really testing my conviction even if nobody comes. Am I still gonna show up? Am I gonna show up for my passion? Am I gonna show up for my conviction, or am I now bound to the praise that I'm getting all of that reinforcement, me feeling good that I'm helping people, all of that. Is that why I am showing up? Why is it right? So I remember I called my then husband now, boy. My then boyfriend, now husband.
And I was crying. I was like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't even know if I made the right decision here. Just that confusion. And and he was like just stick to it, give it some time. And of course I did, I showed up day in and day out and people came and they became consistent and I, there would be like one.
Client who enjoyed my class, who would tell 10 of her friends, there'd be one client who enjoyed my class, who would tell her company. And literally that's how the doors open for me. And now ironically, I'm back in the banks. I'm back in finance, but this time as a corporate wellness coach and really talking about stress management and resilience.
But yeah, it, oh, good. It's a path that tests you and I think deep down. It's that. It's how sure you are in yourself and why you're doing what you're doing. That will start to attract the results and the success because you're not doing it for anything outside. It's really aligned to your inner guide.
M: Wow, that's so wild. So wild. And at the same time, it's yeah, of course this was going to happen because how are you just gonna become a yoga teacher and then it's gonna be super easy, right?
N: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So I think sinking my teeth into reality and then really honing my passion and honing the love for my work. And then I feel like when you love what you do, you'll just keep doing it. Yeah. And the more you do it. That's what success follows, right?
M: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I would love to learn a little bit more about your own recovery, because I know there's a lot of people who feel really stressed and maybe they have started a yoga teacher training or completed it and are teaching a class here and there, but they're still being pulled back into this corporate life, right? And I would like to know from you what were specific tools that you used for yourself to get your energy back, to have more motivation, to wake up feeling excited about your life? What are some of the things that you did?
N: So I think a lot of it is also mindset. When you're excited about the potential that gives you a lot of energy.
When you feel like I'm in a rut and I'm just going from one day to the other and every day feels the same, that was really what drained a lot of my energy. So even just holding on to a sense of hopeful hopefulness. Yeah. Brought in like a spark to my day. Like I wonder what today will bring.
And I think I've always inclined, I've been very inclined to inspiration, so I would read. Success stories or, or great biographies of people who've, or Oprah or just people who've made who've just channeled in during any hardship and stayed aligned to, to their heart's calling.
And so I think I remember watching, speeches and being like, oh, I really wanna make a difference to the next generation as well. So having that hopefulness, having that putting your mind in that modality of inspiration will absolutely elevate your energy. And do what you can. I remember doing a couple of exercises as well, like when it was journaling. Like I, I would fast forward. And light and write a day in my life of the way that I wanted it to be.
And so just really living as if my dreams were my reality. And so I think also attracting that vibration of energy versus feeling helpless, yeah. I would do that also, I would do put together vision boards and things to say, okay, this is my trajectory physically. Physically I would obviously continue with the Asana. I also, I know that in my personality, I really, nature speaks to me a lot, being in nature I feel like is so healing, I would take like a scenic route and just be in, in nature a little bit before I started a class to ground me, to center me. So that also, it allows a moment where my restless mind can pause a little bit. And I think that is also, find a practice where you can hone in that skill of pausing that restless mind.
So initially yoga teaching did that for me. Because it, it meant that I was so focused on my students. It was, I was so present to what they were doing, to their alignment, to how they were breathing, that it didn't matter, what I was doing after the class. It was very much in that present moment.
So whether that for you, that's just sipping a cup of tea, watching the sunrise, taking a warm shower, feeling that connection. To the present moment. I think that gives us so much energy too. And I think for me, a big turning point was when I started to really integrate Pranayama that breath work into my daily practice.
M: Okay. So much to follow up about. The first thing that you mentioned that I think is really important is. This hopefulness versus hopelessness, right? So stepping out of this victim situation where you're like, oh, this is all happening to me. I can't do anything about it.
Everything is so hard, and yeah, it can be hard and it is hard sometimes, right? But we have to shift out of that into a place of full ownership of, I'm responsible for my life, for what I do with my time. I'm responsible for my wellbeing. I'm responsible for how I feel in my body. And it's a hard task to take on.
Nobody can take care of your wellness. Your job will not take care of your wellness if you don't do it yourself. And so that's something I talk about a lot, this shifting out of this victimhood into a place where you are fully responsible for all the decisions that you make. And if you have a busy day that is full of meetings, then this is your choice, right? And it's okay to choose that. And then you can also choose something for yourself at the same time.
N: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I remember just even. Taking a sense of ownership around my relationships. I'd be like, oh, I really want, I really want mom to to, be affectionate with me now that I'm adulting. Everything's a bit more transactional. And that was because of my doing, the mo, once I noticed that and once I realized this is what I want, like I'll now go and bear hug my mom on the couch and. It's me taking that agency, it's me taking that ownership of, this is the kind of relationship I want with you, and we'll giggle about nothing.
But it's that lightness that I can bring to a relationship rather than waiting, oh, when is it gonna be like, how it used to be where it was fun and it wasn't a to-do list around. Daily admin or whatever. Yeah.
M: Yeah. Yeah. That's so beautiful. You also talked about pranayama. I would love to know a little more about your experience with it. How can people implement it into the daily life? I think breath breathing and breath work generally is way what's the right word? There's just so much possibility and power in it that we are not even aware of yet.
N: Definitely. I think I, I dabbled in pranayama quite casually, and as you said, it's quite undervalued. Like you don't really know whether you're breathing right? You, there's so many different types of breathing. And so to even formulate like a. A routine. I think things made a such a difference, a real shift. When I did the happiness course, when I learned the suggestion, crea, it's so it's like a 20 minute breathing exercise and it and I did that before I had my daughter.
So this was maybe about 15 years ago now. And it was incredible because I did it. At the time my husband was going through a bout of insomnia and I read up that, oh, this breathwork course can help, improve sleep quality. So I signed both of us up thinking I'll be the supportive wife, I'll come along, but really you need the benefits of this course.
And lo and behold. He did the breath work and he was lying down and he was lulled to sleep like a baby. And I did the exact same breathing. And for me, it was like for the first time ever, I had been connected to my charger, to my energy source. Like I felt so much energy and so I felt wow, this is really remarkable because we're doing exactly the same thing, but we're given what we need.
It finds that calibration and I balances. So the, all the, all that time when I was feeling burnt out and fatigued, it gave me the energy I was seeking. And for him, he was over overworked and. Anxious. It allowed him to calm down. Wow. I actually teach this course because I've seen such tremendous impact from it.
And I practice every day and not a day goes by that I don't practice because Wow. I've even tested like. What frequency am I on when I don't do the breathing, and what frequency am I on when I do it? And as you said, it's about taking responsibility. It's not about finding time.
It's really about making time for what matters, right? Yeah. So it's if I make that 20 minutes for me to fuel my cup, then how am I gonna show up to my colleagues? How am I gonna show up to my clients? How am I gonna show up to my kids? It changes entirely when. I put the oxygen mask on myself, so to speak.
M: Yeah. And you like literally add oxygen to your body? Literally.
N: Yeah, literally. Yeah, I think 90% of toxins are released through the breath. So when we're not breathing correctly, just think of the, think of the compounding effect of detoxification that the body's having to go through.
M: Is this an exercise that you can explain briefly or is it too complicated to follow it?
N: Yeah, it is. I can definitely explain the steps, but of course, like I highly recommend the course. Yeah. Go through it so that you can, again, take away this feeling of ownership in terms of empowering yourself with what you need to know. It's a nine hour course but just to distill it. It's really about helping us create this relationship with ourselves, right? Where we can start to notice the more subtle aspects of ourself, because honestly, where are we really living? Most of the time we're living in our thoughts, right?
Like we don't notice our stomach until we get a stomach ache. We don't notice our neck until it creaks. So this is again, like allowing that mental chatter to pause so that we can start to bring awareness to. To bring energy to what's already working rather than only noticing it when something's breaking down.
So I think that's already such a massive leap in terms of preventative health. And then also when we're breathing, we're suspending the thought, right? So most of the time when we're thinking we. What timeframe are we existing in? Okay. This, I'm gonna maybe go into a bit of philosophy here, but we're existing, mainly our thoughts are oscillating between the future or the past.
Very rarely are we thinking of right now. So when we're thinking of the future, what is the vibration, the emotion that's connected to it? A lot of it is that victimhood that you were saying is, it's connected to fear it because it's the unknown. I don't know what's ha gonna happen tomorrow. So yes, I'll plan, yes, I'll forecast, but really I'm scared because I don't know if I'm fully prepared. And we're thinking of the past where generally where is our mind going? I should have done that better. Why did I say that? What? I don't believe I was so disorganized. How can I have missed that meeting?
We're going into things of, we've got a negative bias in our mind, right? Yeah. 70. We remember negative things, 70% more than positive events. So if we're going into the neg, into the, the negative aspects of the past, then again, we're riddled with a feeling of regret. So even emotionally, we're hijacked when we're in our thoughts because we're either ho holding onto fear or regret either way takes away our feeling of ownership.
Yeah. Takes away our feeling of empowerment, right? And so when we practice breath work, we're really practicing for the mind to come back to stillness, come coming back to the here and now. Then also what it does is it instills a sense of confidence in hey, and courage. Yeah. And compassion in how we, in, in how we interact with ourselves and with our with our activities.
M: Yeah. And then the here and now is really the only time we are. Living and this is the only time where like we can make decisions and change things and tell people how we love them, like Exactly. I think it's so important to have these practices. Also what you mentioned earlier around this finding a moment.
For your restless mind to pause, whether it's on a walk in a yoga class during breathing, it doesn't really matter what you do, but the more you can be in the here and now, the more fulfilled your life can become. Absolutely. Because we cannot be happy in the future. We cannot be happy in the past. Like we can think about the past and be happy about it, but we're always, the feelings are always happening now.
So yeah, creating that space for that, I believe. It's really the key. It sounds very cheesy, like the key to happiness is just being present. That is such a key learning from the course that I took away. That all, I'm doing all of this. I'm planning for my business to be a success.
I'm planning for my kids to grow up and be independent. I'm planning for the next holiday. I'm basically always postponing my happiness. But my locus of control is here. It's me choosing to smile now or not. Yeah. And that's the only thing I can control. So when we live, much like when we're living more in the present, when we're training our mind to be much more in the present, yes, absolutely.
We're allowing the happiness. And I think that it's not even, it's something we need to cultivate. It's not even a skill. We learn look at kids. They're so joyful because they're so present. And so it's just tapping into that, that inherent nature that we have. But what we have to do, I think, is a process of unlearning.
And that's where, stress management comes in. So when we unlearn all of that worrying, all of that stressful chatter, then we can sit in the present. And I think for me, that breath work really helps to clear, have a healthy outlet for that stress. Yes, for that, maybe emotional baggage, let it go.
So then I can again choose from that state of feeling empowered. Not being at a victim or a cul culprit mindset, but really feeling centered and balanced and how I choose to respond versus react, if I'm being triggered in that sense. It's pretty amazing, especially because we're breathing anyway and we're breathing all the time.
It's just where our attention is, right? At the moment and I'll teach that even in corporate settings, and I'll say, if you're feeling stressed and you're focusing on your stress, then your awareness. Your attention to that stress is magnifying it. You're focusing on your breath and you're just focusing on feeling relaxed.
Then, hey, you know what that attention is, what's gonna inspire more of that feeling of relaxation, which will actually end up helping with our decision making because we've all been in a position where we've made a decision emotionally and. That's, that, those are usually the decisions we regret. Yeah. I shouldn't have done that. I should have, held myself together a little bit. And I think
M: What's interesting that you mentioned that through breathing you can release the stress because so often we just hold onto it, right? We're so stressed, our calendar so full. So we don't really create the time to do anything with it because stress is a very heavy, highly charged energetic thing that weighs on, it can weigh on your mind, it can weigh on your physical body in different ways. And so using breathing or any other techniques like movement or journaling, talking about it is all a way of actually processing that energy and moving that energy out of your physical system or energetic system
N: Fully. Even in terms of the pillars of wellness, one leans into the other. So if we're not managing our stress, it'll affect how we eat. Yeah. Our cravings for sugar or salt or caffeine, it'll affect how we how we socialize. Often when we're stressed, we're we become withdrawn.
We cannot be bothered to go out and catch up with a friend because. We're on survival mode anyway, right? It'll affect how we sleep. So all these things are so interconnected, and that's why I feel like when we can even just ho hone in on one aspect, say, yeah, for example, okay, I'm gonna manage my stress through 20 minutes of breathing, you'll start to see this mushrooming effect with the other pillars of lifestyle medicine where oh, all of a sudden I can sleep easier. I can I can sustain that diet that I want, and then again that, that reinforces feeling empowered because then your stress is not taking over your decisions. You are much more conscious.
M: Yeah. It all goes together. That's why it's the whole wellbeing is, it's such a holistic thing.
N: Yeah. It's such a holistic thing. So much is interconnected and it doesn't really matter where you start. As soon as you start somewhere, it's going to affect the rest. So many different branches come about. Like I started with breath work and now, meditation has been is such a. Important aspect of my day as well. Movement, as you said, but then also finding time to, to connect socially, yeah, I think US Surgeon General said that loneliness does the same amount of harm to our body as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. We know that, oh, if I'm gonna just smoke like a chimney, I'm definitely, affecting my health really badly. And there's big effects. But yet we think it's okay to lock ourselves in a room for weeks and, just interface with our devices.
And I think it's also go, as you said, goes hand in hand with stress because there are two dimensions that stress takes, fight or flight. So we'll either withdraw or we go aggressive. So in both scenarios our relationships get affected. Yeah. Our sense of self gets affected, even as part of the breath work, the the founder who created the happiness course, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, says in order to even get to world peace, we need to release physical stress. We need to release stress on the individual level because otherwise it comes out as aggression.
M: Yeah. And it's the classic thing. Be the change you wish to see in the world. How can we have world peace if we don't have peace within ourselves in mind?
N: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I think even, as a mother, I've definitely seen such a shift. I'll, I can say be kind and then I can model it. And there's definitely two different. Different learnings that are taking place. Uhhuh, a hundred percent. I'm grumpy and I'm snapping at a taxi driver. I'm like no. It's really important that you're kind and respectful, but that's not the message that's coming through. Yeah. Yeah. So that's why I think looking after ourselves actually has such a huge ripple effect in that way too.
M: It does. It really does. What would you say living a glowing life means for you personally?
N: In my early days, I was very image conscious, and that would mean, that would translate as, perfect skin, perfect physique the right clothes, the right style, all of that, right? I think through my journey of understanding myself a little bit better.
I can now see that was like, that was a lot of moed insecurity. Yeah. Of having that outward perfection. I think a glowing life for me starts and ends with a smile. If we can feel contented on a daily basis, if we can feel grateful, if we can feel like there's joy within then that's what we will share outward.
If we're not glowing within, how can we make our life glow and we can only share what we have? So I think that's the inner journey where it begins as well.
M: I love that. I have a couple of quick questions before we wrap up. Yeah, absolutely. What is your favorite quote?
N: I think you already said it, be the change you wanna see. Think that's such a big one in terms of Yeah. Integrity and walking the path.
M: I love that. Now, this is a fun one. If there was one thing you could take to a desert island, what would it be?
N: A lot of water.
M: Yeah. Water is so important. So important.
N: Yeah, in my mind, I'm already thinking like, oh, should I bring my headphones or should I bring my yoga pants? And I just feel like, even just being surrounded with the sounds of nature and connecting to silence. That can be such a gift in its own that I wouldn't wanna take away from that scenery, but I would bring my best friend because I think when we can share it and we can be have that company, then yeah, our joy multiplies.
M: Yeah, exactly. Otherwise you would be lonely and sad on the island. What do we do all day? Neelam what are three things that you are grateful for today?
N: I'm extremely grateful for this conversation. Just being able to connect with like-minded people. And. You gave me an opportunity to be so unfiltered. You made it so comfortable for me to share my rawest moments from being fired to being ultra vain, to being insecure, so I'm really grateful for you and this opportunity, Martina. Thank you.
M: You're welcome.
N: I'm grateful for my masters. I'm grateful for my teachers. I would not be here today if I, somebody didn't hold my hand. Through the path and through and so that I can continue to inspire others in front, and work with people who, who need that support. Not discounting that I've come with all the answers, but really people have taught me they've been so patient with me. And so I'm very grateful to my teachers.
And I'm actually a little bit emotional, but I'm very grateful to my husband. I think we started our spiritual journey together from two different paths. Like he's still in banking. But he'll, but we will, we'll walk the path together, so to have those values where I'm not having to feel like there's a trade off or a compromise if I wanna do my meditation, doesn't mean that he's having to babysit.
And there's maybe a bit of resentment because, oh, here you are just sitting in a room on your own and I'm carrying slack, you know where, so having that family environment where we. All very much value the same principles of self care. Yeah. And being surrounded by that. So if I'm teaching a course, he'll happily look after the kids, or if he's stressed out, he'll go on a silence course and I'll be there. And so being able to, to tag team, because we both have the same principles and we're, our values are aligned. I think that mean that means so much to me.
M: Wow. Congratulations for creating that. That is really beautiful.
N: Thank you. I'm so grateful. Thank you so much.
M: What would you say is one thing, if there's just one thing that everyone should do for better health and a little bit more of the glow in their life, what do you think that should be?
N: I would say assess their relationship with their phones.
M: Wow. Okay. Yeah, I love that.
N: Because I think so much of the time, if we're uncomfortable or if we're super tired or if we're emotional, we will pick up our phones as a way of desensitizing and numbing ourselves from what we actually need.
And so it's become so easy in this information age to just keep bombarding ourselves with more, I. I feel like there's so much sacredness in the Less, and when we can create a healthy boundary with our devices, then we can sit in ourselves and find that glow and that comfort and that joy in ourselves.
M: Yeah. I think it is so important. I have lots of clients who struggle with. I wanna say social media addiction, it's almost an addiction, right? So your phone controls you. It's not that you control your phone. And again, can we go back into this ownership of saying, you know what, this is my phone. I use it when I want to, and I'm not, I wanna being controlled by it in terms of always grabbing it in every, free moment. And I'm guilty for that too. I think we all are. We use it. We depend on the phone so much these days. There's so much we cannot do anymore without them.
N: No, but those social comparisons that, that will leak away our joy, right? When we're always upward comparing, what are we doing to ourselves? We're just pushing ourselves down or we're creating doubt and we're creating a feeling of, inferiority there. And then I think even, I coach so many executives and if first thing they do is look at their phones, their dopamine goes so high.
Yeah. That the rest of their day, they just don't feel like doing anything because their motivation is sucked out by the first 15 minutes of their phones. Yeah. So wild. Yeah. Regaining our power, regaining our control is so important. Absolutely. Absolutely. To even start that time, 'cause we'll say, oh, I don't have 20 minutes to breathe, but I'll probably spend two hours scroll doom, scrolling online. So it's again, assessing some of those, programmed behaviors that go unnoticed.
M: All right. No phone. Not no phone, but like assessing your relationship with your phone would be yeah.
N: Use it 'cause it's so handy and we need it. Yes. But use it but make sure it's not using you.
N: Is there anything else that you would like to share with our listeners today?
I think when we can step into that vibration, where we feel looked after, where we feel that, even things that are difficult that we're facing now are moments for us. To hone in skills that maybe we didn't even know. Challenges is, it, is what really up levels our capacity. So if we can see things in the moment as just our journey of fine tuning and trust in that fine tuning.
When we have that trust, we're then automatically letting go of stress because when we're stressed, we feel like it's all happening to me. Unburdened on my shoulders. I have to survive and get through it. But when you feel like there's, a greater intelligence and it's supporting me to my highest path, then we're much more willing to go through those maybe difficult times knowing that the view's gonna be incredible at the end of the tunnel.
M: I love that. So beautiful. Where can people connect with you and find you online?
You can connect with me on neelamharjani.com. That's just a easy way to understand what I do, whether it's from the. Online yoga courses that I offer to the breathwork to the one-on-one personal coaching, wellness coaching that I can do. That's probably your best bet. And from there you'll be guided to maybe inspire yoga or inspire wellness as a way. Based on your interests.
M: And I'll share the link in the show notes so everyone can go click on there directly. Neelam, thank you so much for your time and your energy and for sharing your personal stories. I really appreciate the fact that you feel you've. You felt safe in this conversation to share? Yeah. Your background and your experience. I hope it really inspires some people to follow their heart and have the courage to make the decisions that feel really good for them.
N: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Martina. This has been such a joy. Thank you.
