Spreading the goodness of yoga and naturopathy

At times, life experiences end up changing the course of our journey and we unintentionally stumble upon something that is our true calling. Ritu Sharma’s professional life was perfectly on track, but when she witnessed her father and father-in-law battle cancer around the same time, that made her pause and think about the futility of constantly running around to achieve something at the cost of health. It was then that she found herself drawn to naturopathy, yoga, and self-healing and decided to take it up professionally. Today, she is a certified expert who conducts training and workshops, organises awareness camps and drives and is also an educator. Through this story, Sharma hopes to inspire everyone to practice yoga and adopt the principles of naturopathy. There is also an important message for women who are struggling to find their true calling.

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Swati Subhedar

“Sometimes we find ourselves walking on an alternate path, different than the one chosen by us. I can now say from my experience that one must keep walking on it. It may lead you to a different destination, but this destination will open multiple doors for you,” says Ritu Sharma, a certified yoga and naturopathy expert.

She would know better. Back in the day, when Sharma secured the second rank at the national-level Railway Recruitment Board exam and later pursued an MBA, little did she know that ultimately, she would end up becoming a certified yoga and naturopathy expert. She has always been passionate about promoting healthy living, but her journey took a completely different turn when she decided to pursue a diploma in yoga and naturopathy and take it up professionally.

“After losing my father and father-in-law to cancer early in life, I was even more determined to adopt and promote healthy living, yoga, and naturopathy. To join the diploma course at the DY Patil University in Mumbai was a conscious decision, but it wasn’t an easy one. My husband would travel extensively, and I had two young children to look after,” says Sharma.

“I got immense support from my family, especially my husband and mother-in-law. Today, when I teach yoga and naturopathy to children and adults, I feel content. It’s wonderful when you are able to turn your passion into a profession, but it wasn’t easy to reach where I am today along with juggling between so many responsibilities, shifting multiple cities and raising two children. And therefore, I decided to tell my story. I hope it inspires you to incorporate yoga and naturopathy into your life and through my story, I also hope to motivate other women,” she adds.

The beginning: Getting drawn to naturopathy at 13

Sharma did her schooling and college in Delhi. Her father SK Sharma was with Delhi Vidyut Board and her mother Krishna Sharma was working at Delhi University. “I would accompany my mother to the university sometimes. There was an institute called the Gandhi Bhavan, where they would teach naturopathy. My mother would take mud therapy. I was just 13 but was fascinated. That’s when it all began. I had no idea then that I would re-connect with naturopathy years later,” says Sharma.

After graduating, Sharma took the national-level Railway Recruitment Board exam and was recruited by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. “It was a great opportunity but commuting in Delhi wasn’t easy. I still remember I used to take the Haryana Roadways buses! I also pursued an MBA along with the job as that was the requirement. In the evenings, I would teach underprivileged children studying in government schools. Some of the parents would pay me Rs 500 as tuition fees. I would save the money and help my siblings financially,” reminisces Sharma.

Turning point: Pursuing a diploma in yoga and naturopathy  

When Sharma was working in Delhi, her parents started looking for a suitable match. Their search ended with Amit Kaushik, a marketing professional, and son of an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer KK Sharma.

“During our courtship period, my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. I witnessed his struggle. I saw him take numerous medicines and yet his health kept on deteriorating. Over the years, because of his professional commitments, he had ignored his health. It made me realise how badly we all take our health for granted. Unfortunately, my father-in-law passed away just thirteen days before our marriage in January 2007,” says Sharma.

After getting married, for six months, Sharma continued to work in Delhi while her husband was in Mumbai. It was around this time that her father was also diagnosed with cancer. It crushed Sharma. It made her realise that diseases are like unwanted guests that knock at your door when you are least expecting them, and hence it is wise to live in the present moment whole-heartedly. She decided to quit her job and move to Mumbai to be with her husband. He got transferred to Pune and but soon they came back to Mumbai.

“This back-to-back moving and the vacuum on the professional front left me exhausted and frustrated. I couldn’t take up a job because there was no one to look after the children. It was then that I decided to reconnect with my passion and enrolled myself in the Diploma in Yoga and Naturopathy course at the DY Patil Institute in Navi Mumbai and completed it in 2018,” says Sharma.

Though her mother-in-law Aruna Sharma stayed with her to help her, and she got full support from her husband, it wasn’t easy. Sharma would wake up early or stay up late to study. She even attended the long weekend classes to compensate for the week, but that course was something that she needed to do for herself to change her life.

“This is the message I want to give to all the women – that you are the drivers of your life. You are responsible for your past, present and future. There are going to be unavoidable breaks like marriage, children, or relocations, but never give up. Your happiness is in your hands. If working is a requirement, then go out and work, but if it’s not, then enjoy every moment of your family life. Let there be no regrets,” says Sharma.

Teaching yoga and naturopathy

From 2018 until now, Sharma has organised numerous health awareness camps and drives. “In Mumbai, I taught yoga to people of all ages. I organised awareness camps for children to teach them the principles of naturopathy and tell them the importance of exercising, eating healthy and avoiding junk, packed or preservative-laden food. I also worked a lot with women to make them understand the importance of knowing the source of our food as we unknowingly end up consuming a lot of toxic and pesticide-laden food,” says Sharma.

She adds: “My main aim is to make people understand that the body has the power to heal on its own and it’s harmful to pop up pills the moment we get a fever or cold. It’s the body’s way of throwing the toxins out. I work a lot with women because they play an important role. For instance, now that I have been practicing yoga religiously for years and have incorporated naturopathy into my life, my family too adopted these good bits without me having to tell them. Both, my daughter Dhwani (14), and son Veer (10) do yoga religiously, pick up fruits over chips and eat pizza only occasionally. My husband travels a lot and eating out is unavoidable, but now he picks up food that is relatively healthy.”  

While she was busy organising health camps in Mumbai, Sharma also learnt the entire Bhagavad Geeta and she would also teach those concepts to women and children.

Moving to Kolkata and working with Adivasi women

In the second half of 2019, Sharma’s husband got transferred to Kolkata. Soon after reaching Kolkata, she joined the Lions Club and became the secretary. Just a few months before their moving, Cyclone Amphan had ravaged parts of the region, so the first task at hand was to help those people.

“When we went to distribute food and clothes among the Adivasi community, I noticed that a lot of women were malnourished, even those who were expecting. In the next few months, I worked a lot with Adivasi girls and women and told them the importance of eating healthy, especially while pregnant. I shared with them simple knowledge that they anyway get a lot of Sun, they walk a lot and so they just need to eat healthy food like dates, jaggery and fish that was available in abundance around them,” says Sharma.

A few months later, during the lockdown, Sharma, along with others, distributed food, and ration among the underprivileged. They also opened a makeshift dispensary at a local gurudwara, where people would come for consultations. She also organised diabetes awareness camps for senior citizens in Kolkata.

Moving back to Mumbai, launching own website  

Early this year, her husband got transferred yet again and the family moved back to Mumbai.

“The only positive of the lockdown was that people learnt the benefits of working online. So, along with the whole shifting, setting up a new house and enrolling children in new schools, I continued taking online yoga and naturopathy classes. My experience of working with the expecting Adivasi women in Kolkata inspired me to broaden my horizon. I did a course in garbha sanskaar and now I work a lot with expecting mothers. I also learnt about the science of chakras and how they affect us. I did a course in water therapy and face yoga, and now I teach women pre-natal and post-natal yoga,” says Sharma.     

Sharma’s primary aim is to spread awareness about the goodness of yoga among all ages and that it is a lot more than just weight loss and stress management. “So many yoga classes are mushrooming these days and it has now become fashionable to learn yoga. One need not pay through the nose to continue going to a yoga class. You just need to learn the asanas and then you can continue at home. I sometimes feel sad that we have to tell people to practice yoga. It is a part of our culture, and it should come naturally to us. Along with yoga, I continue to teach the principles of naturopathy, and work closely with the International Institute of Naturopathy. Yoga and naturopathy go hand-in-hand and one must incorporate both into our lives,” she says.  

Sharma plans to launch her website that will go live soon. It will be called Yogtatvam — Center for Ashtang yoga, pre-natal, post-natal yoga, garbha sanskaar and naturopathy (www.yogtatvam.in). It will be a one-stop shop where one can find all the information about yoga and naturopathy. Once a week, she also plans to conduct free sessions for the underprivileged. Yogtatvam got a boost this year when the Ministry of Ayush-backed International Yoga Organisation registered the venture as an “International Yoga School” in its official global directory and appointed Sharma as a ‘Yoga Brand Creator’. Sharma feels this will help her venture grow.   

 Ritu Sharma is a Mumbai-based yoga, garbha sanskaar and naturopathy expert. You can write to her at kaushikritu35@gmail.com.

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