[00:00:14] Amy: Hi everyone. Welcome back to the Holistic Health Show. Today we have Nikita Thakkar on the show with us. She's joining us all the way from the UK. Nikita, today we're going to start discussing life purpose. What is life purpose or dharma in Sanskrit? Now, this is something you're the expert on, so I'd love for you to dive right in.
[00:00:36] Amy: Tell us a little bit about Yourself how you got into what you do and what it is.
[00:00:43] Nikita Thakrar: Yeah, well, firstly, namaste. Thank you so much for having me. It's such a pleasure. I think that you're doing such wonderful work, Amy, and I'm really in awe of everything that you are doing with this podcast and the reach and the impact that you're having. And the word Dharma is very, very important to me.
[00:01:02] Nikita Thakrar: In fact, I remember being quite young and growing up hearing it and always being curious about what it was. And it was only when I went to India in my teenage years that I started to see people practicing Dharma. And what I mean by that is it's a Sanskrit word, as you said, very loosely translated into life purpose.
[00:01:26] Nikita Thakrar: And so it's like this idea that we're all here for a [00:01:30] reason, that we have a duty to serve others and to contribute our unique gifts to the world.
[00:01:36] Amy: That's beautiful Did you go to India on this journey or did you happen to find yourself there? Anyway, what was that like?
[00:01:44] Nikita Thakrar: So I grew up in the UK. I was born and brought up here, British Indian heritage. But when I was 18, I faced an identity crisis. And what do I mean by that? Well, I didn't know who I was. I was suddenly torn between two cultures. Was I British? Was I Indian? Which customs should I follow? Which rituals? What religion?
[00:02:06] Nikita Thakrar: And so I decided to take myself off on a journey to India and to really find myself. Who am I? This was always the question that was going through my mind. And I guess that's why I was always drawn to Dharma. And it was when I was in India and I was training to be in classical Indian dancer, and then later in yoga.
[00:02:28] Nikita Thakrar: That's when I really started diving deeply into this concept.
[00:02:33] Amy: Well, I'm very intrigued I can't wait to learn more about this There are a lot of questions that are popping up in my head , so we have Dharma loosely translated as life purpose. How do we get there? How do we begin this journey? Where does one start?
[00:02:49] Nikita Thakrar: well, the first thing is to actually want to, I guess that's the, the main thing to have an intention, have a curiosity, just like I [00:03:00] had, you know, asking myself these profound questions at a young age, who am I and what am I here to do? And what I'm noticing is that since the pandemic, people are asking these types of questions more.
[00:03:13] Nikita Thakrar: So that's excellent that you have asked, how do I get there? Well, in my experience, the first step is getting to know yourself. So, you know, personal development. is really looking inwards, understanding who am I. We're often exploring the world around us and studying external subjects and animals and everything else.
[00:03:37] Nikita Thakrar: But like, how often do we actually study ourselves? How many of our listeners here today actually know their favorite color? How many people know their personal preferences? We often just go along and we think that we sort of need to fit in and we need to adapt ourselves. But Dharma is about being true to yourself, about showing up and being authentic and bringing all aspects of your personality together.
[00:04:07] Nikita Thakrar: Often we think, Oh, there's a part of me that I dislike, or there's a personality trait that I don't like. Actually it's recognizing that each part of you is there for a reason and they make up your complete whole.
[00:04:22] Amy: I could imagine that it's a very challenging journey. To get to know oneself so deeply, it's [00:04:30] it must be overwhelming. So often, as you said, we just kind of get through the day by day. We go with the flow. Life is so busy and we don't really take a lot of time out for reflection, whether that be on, you know, daily events or self or family life or, you know, all of the things that we could possibly reflect on.
[00:04:52] I would imagine that when you're working with people and, guiding them or taking this journey with them, that they reach some blocks. You know, and, and some challenges on that journey. So can you maybe give us a little insight as to the journey itself?
[00:05:07] Nikita Thakrar: Yeah. So similar to, you know, the chakra series that you do and the healing, it's definitely not linear and it's a process and it's a journey. And in fact, my brand is called journey with Nikita because I guide people through this process. And so what I've done is I've combined my knowledge of neuro linguistic programming with spirituality.
[00:05:32] Nikita Thakrar: And so we're trying to bridge together psychology, and philosophy. And this is something very interesting. So I take people on a journey using the neurological levels of change. It's a pyramid and it takes them through different stages of their lives. So we start off with their environment. So we really start to explore questions like, am I happy in my home?
[00:05:58] Nikita Thakrar: You know, do I [00:06:00] like the place that I live in? Do I like the people that I live with, my relationships, all of my personal preferences? As I said, many people don't even know their favorite color. So really starting to tap into things on an environmental level and then obviously suggesting changes If they need it to and then we start to move up the pyramid towards our behaviors Recognizing what are my personality traits that I like?
[00:06:27] Nikita Thakrar: And what are the ones that perhaps don't serve me as well? For example, if somebody has a trait whereby they're often late, they get late to places, it's more than likely that that's a pattern. And it's more than likely that that pattern runs across all areas of their life. And so it's asking the person, Are you happy with that?
[00:06:49] Nikita Thakrar: Is that pattern serving you well? And they may say, yes, it is. It's fine. That's the way I show up. And that's perfectly okay. But if they say, well, actually, no, I'd like to make a change. Then that's when we start to look at the belief behind the behavior. As you know, every behavior has a belief behind it.
[00:07:07] Nikita Thakrar: And that's where things get really interesting. And you mentioned blocks and it's usually when we start exploring our beliefs that we start getting to those blocks.
[00:07:17] Amy: It sounds like you're, you're working to build a really great foundation before building on that, which I can imagine only sets one up for success. These blocks that come up, do you [00:07:30] find that your clients and perhaps yourself through your own experience have a really hard time getting through those or past those?
[00:07:37] Amy: ? How do you support a client who's experiencing a block once they've, they've reached that stage in the journey?
[00:07:44] Nikita Thakrar: So of course, as I said at the beginning, the most important thing is the willingness. And I think that's what I look for in my clients. Like, do you have the willingness to change and the openness? And if they do, then it's very much just a shift in thinking. So, the beliefs, for example, there are two types of beliefs, as we know.
[00:08:07] Nikita Thakrar: There are empowering beliefs, beliefs that serve us well, and then there are self limiting beliefs. And so, I believe that when a person is ready, to switch a limiting belief into an empowering belief . It's simply a thought and then of course the thought is repeated and repeated and ingrained and it becomes a new belief and i've seen outstanding results in myself and in my clients by going through this process and of course it needs Someone to be very objective and very open and as I say very willing
[00:08:42] Amy: I was thinking that word when you were talking then, openness. You have to definitely be, be open to the, everything that the journey will bring. How long, , this could be a lifelong process certainly because we're ever changing and the world is ever changing around us. But how long until a [00:09:00] client sees a result that they're really pleased with and that is life changing and that does give them that sense of, this is my purpose.
[00:09:07] Nikita Thakrar: Yeah, so I do this workshop in a day, actually, surprisingly, I cover all aspects of the pyramid in a day. And what I find is, what we do is we plant a seed to be able to then, be nurtured if they're ready to continue and do the work and then of course we follow it up with coaching sessions and Within a few weeks or a few months.
[00:09:31] Nikita Thakrar: They notice significant differences in the way that they work behave. And it's, as I said, a belief is always behind a behavior and, and the measure of success is really starting to see those lifestyle changes. And then as we go higher up the pyramid, we start to look at identity and identities. I find it very exciting.
[00:09:52] Nikita Thakrar: A lot of people find it scary, but I find it exciting because We have the permission to strip back the layers and to actually ask, ask ourselves, who am I behind the roles that I play? So, you know, if I'm addressing a group of mothers and I say to them, did you know that you are not just a mother?
[00:10:17] Nikita Thakrar: Sometimes there, you know, there's a look of horror on their face because they sometimes associate their identity with that role. Or similarly, somebody's job title. They'll often lead with that [00:10:30] because they've associated who they are. They've defined themselves by their identity, which is a very natural thing to do. But what we're trying to encourage people to do is look beyond, like, who am I behind all of that? And actually what we find is it's not tangible. It's not something that can be put into words. It's not a sentence or a role or a title. It's a feeling and more than a feeling, it's a state, a state of being.
[00:10:58] Nikita Thakrar: So people often say to me, can I really find my Dharma in a day? Well, no, perhaps not, but you can plant a seed. And ultimately it's about living in awareness with that state of being.
[00:11:13] Amy: And perhaps there's this element of forgetting who you were before you were a mother, before you were a parent or a spouse, before you were a, you know, whatever the job title may be, because it becomes such a huge portion of your life. You're, it can be all consuming and. That can make one just forget who, who am I and what do I like and what, what are my hobbies and where's my fun time?
[00:11:41] Nikita Thakrar: And That's what yoga, and meditation teaches us to be able to step out of ourselves just for a few minutes. I mean, we're not saying that you are not that role. Of course you are that role, but just experimenting with this idea just for a few moments to be able to [00:12:00] step out. And just be.
[00:12:02] Nikita Thakrar: And that's the thing. We are human beings. We're not human doings. And so it's just creating that shift. If we can do that at least once a day, we start to notice big differences in the way we think, the way we perceive things. And actually we'll become less stressed. We become stressed and we become restless because we're not necessarily in alignment with our Dharma.
[00:12:28] Nikita Thakrar: So what do I mean by that? I mean that we're perhaps resisting our soul's calling. So our soul is trying to express something in bodily form and we're resisting it and that creates a sense of unease. Now, when I say resistance, it might be doing a job which is against my values or having a hobby that I don't really enjoy, but I think I should be doing, you know, that kind of thing.
[00:12:58] Nikita Thakrar: So Dharma is about finding out who you are and then living it.
[00:13:05] Amy: That's very powerful. . You mentioned the changes that people are experiencing once they've completed this workshop and they've done some coaching sessions and they've seen improvements.
[00:13:17] Amy: Can you explain what they look like? What are some of the changes that people are finding? You know, are they as elaborate as all of a sudden I, you know, I'm not living my true Dharma and now I'm [00:13:30] going to by switching careers by. You know, I don't know, is it spending more time with family, picking up or dropping hobbies?
[00:13:38] Amy: What sort of changes are people seeing? And are they behavioral as well? I know there's a lot there, but I'm really trying to grasp the whole picture.
[00:13:48] Nikita Thakrar: Yeah, so what does it look like to live in alignment with one's Dharma? Well, from experience, because I'm fortunate to be living my Dharma. It's very fulfilling. It's very rewarding. Now, that's not tangible. Those are states of being. That's a way of showing up. And so what I immediately start to see in my clients is a realization.
[00:14:14] Nikita Thakrar: First of all, that, Oh wow. You know, I love swimming and yet I never go swimming. You know, when I was younger, I played tennis, yet I don't play tennis now. So the realization is the first thing, because as you say, people go through their lives and they get busy and they get into routine. And they forget who they are.
[00:14:34] Nikita Thakrar: It becomes less of a priority. The children's activities become more important or their financial issues or whatever it is. And that's what we try to change to because behind every behavior is a belief. So if the belief is, Well, my children's activities is more important than mine. Then they're not going to have a health club membership or have a tennis club membership.
[00:14:59] Nikita Thakrar: And so it's [00:15:00] about getting them to shift that belief. And that is what takes time. And that's what the resistance is. But if they're able to do that, then the result is yes, on a behavioral level, they start to change. They start to do things that they enjoy doing. A lot of people describe it as I've got, I've come back home.
[00:15:21] Nikita Thakrar: I've come back to who I am. I it's, I feel similar to how I was when I was a child. I feel like I was in my youth again. It's that kind of feeling of being very authentic, connecting to one's essence to actually being who I'm meant to be, not who society thinks I should be or who my family think I should be.
[00:15:45] Nikita Thakrar: And that it can't really be put into words. It's a state of being.
[00:15:49] Amy: I wonder, we're so time poor at the moment. Everyone is very busy with plenty of things. Family, work, all of it.
[00:15:58] Amy: What do you say to people who think, I want to take this step. I want to do this. enter this journey, or at least inquire and discover a little bit more. But I don't have time. How do you, or how would you approach that?
[00:16:14] Nikita Thakrar: Yeah, so the first thing I encourage people to do is to start a meditation practice because meditation is something they can do by themselves Anywhere, anytime, you know, it's free. Why not? There's not really much of a [00:16:30] reason not to do it And so by starting with a meditation practice, they start to tap into themselves.
[00:16:37] Nikita Thakrar: And often, you know, we get our answers from ourselves anyway. And so even just spending a few minutes every day doing some Deep breathing, doing a guided meditation. It's a very good first step for those people that are time poor while their child is, you know, in their dance class, they could be just doing that for example.
[00:17:01] Nikita Thakrar: And that's a really good step. And I think that sort of opens up the mind to then want to take further steps. And like I said before, the, once the willingness is there, in my experience, child everything else just starts to fall into place to enable them to do it. You know, it's like we take one step and the universe takes all of the rest of the steps for us.
[00:17:26] Nikita Thakrar: That's my belief that we just have to make that little bit of effort. And when I say effort, I don't even mean physical effort, just that thought that I would like to do this. This is something I want to do for me. And then things will just fall into place. I'm sure you've seen that in your own life.
[00:17:45] Amy: Absolutely. And it, it can be like you said, it's and I've said this before on, on the episodes, it's about being 1 percent better every day. And by better, I just mean by making a small change in the right direction [00:18:00] and it doesn't have to be this magical overnight transformation. And it's very encouraging to hear as well that.
[00:18:08] Amy: This whole process starts that way and it starts small and then as, as you're more comfortable and as the openness and the change begins, the, the pieces do fall into place and you don't have to take, weeks or months off or.
[00:18:24] Amy: You know, go soul searching for a year and I know in the past that's a lot of what I would hear about is, oh, you know, I went on this meditation retreat and it was a month and a month is a long time away. And if you have that time and you can participate, that's amazing. But what you're offering is something that you can fit into your daily life, around your family life, around work.
[00:18:49] Nikita Thakrar: Yeah. I personally have done the retreats. I mean, I did a month in an ashram in India and I've done lots of retreats since. And now I host my own retreats. So I do encourage them. But actually, as I say, if the mind is not ready, even if you go to a beautiful retreat, you're in a lovely rural place and you've got great facilitators, you may not be able to switch off. So, you know, I was inquiring about going on a writer's retreat because I love writing and I spoke to a writing retreat facilitator and I said, I really want to come because I can't write at home. I think five days away is going to really help me. And she said, [00:19:30] believe it or not, so many people come on this retreat and they have a writer's block.
[00:19:35] Nikita Thakrar: And I was so surprised to hear that because I just thought you get there and magically. You're kind of in the zone. And she said, no, she said people have a writer's block and they tend to not write anything in those five days. And it's the same with a yoga retreat or any other retreat. If your mind is not ready and you're not willing and you're not open and curious, it doesn't matter where you are in the world.
[00:19:58] Nikita Thakrar: You can start right now, just, you know, in your living room, in your car, providing you're not driving it. You know, wherever you are, and just start small. Start a few minutes a day. And the best thing about living in today's time is there's so much available online. You don't even have to pay for very much.
[00:20:17] Nikita Thakrar: You can have access to podcasts like this one. You know, wonderful coaches sharing, their insights on social media. There's so much free knowledge available and so you don't even have to pay a lot of money.
[00:20:33] Amy: It's very true. Nikita, I would love if you would tell us a little bit about the workshops that you do do, including these retreats.
[00:20:42] Nikita Thakrar: Yeah. So I'm based in the UK. So most of my offerings are here in person, but I'm soon to be launching a Dharma diploma. So it's going to be really exciting because it's going to be an accredited course. Course which will be held online so people all over the world will have [00:21:00] access and it's really bridging together ancient knowledge with modern mindset.
[00:21:06] Nikita Thakrar: So I mentioned earlier about marrying psychology with philosophy and I find this so fascinating and I really hope that I'm living the day that a scientist and a spiritual leader agree. And they come together and science merges with spirituality. I really pray that I'm alive on that day because I think that will be a wonderful thing to experience and see.
[00:21:31] Nikita Thakrar: And I think that's the direction we're going in. I think we're all heading towards this kind of new world that's being created. And I say that with a spark in my eye because I'm so excited about what's to come. You know, people are feeling Down and worried about the global crisis and the threat of AI.
[00:21:52] Nikita Thakrar: Actually, I'm very optimistic and I don't say that in a naive way or, you know, with denial, I see it as transformation. Everything that's happening is happening in the short term with a lot of disruption, but actually in the longterm, I believe that it's all happening for the greater good.
[00:22:13] Amy: Absolutely, I would agree with you there. Nikita, if anybody would like to discover more or reach out, inquire, or sign up for a workshop, can you give us some insight into how often that you do them and how people could find you?
[00:22:27] Nikita Thakrar: Yeah, so I've got my [00:22:30] own social media channel, I've got a podcast as well, so you can look me up, Journey with Nikita, and my website is the same, journeywithnikita. com.
[00:22:40] Amy: If you're listening to this show today, please reach out to Nikita. You know, like she said, it only takes a small change just to get started, but reach out, ask some questions and start your journey.
[00:22:54] Amy: Find your Dharma. Thank you Nikita for joining me on the show today, it's been an absolute pleasure.
[00:22:59] Nikita Thakrar: Thank you. Namaste.
[00:23:00] Amy: And if you've enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, if there's somebody in your life who you think would really benefit from Nikita's work, go ahead and share it. I'd appreciate all of your comments, your reviews, please like and subscribe to the channel for more of this holistic health content.
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