I didn't want to fix my symptoms. I needed to trust my body.

Hair loss, weight gain, facial hair growth, aaaaaaand anxiety and depression. These are a few of my LEAST favorite things. But they all chose to wreak havoc on my body – for years - as a result of my Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis.

I saw over 12 different OBGYNs (who specialized in PCOS), endocrinologists, fertility experts. Their advice? Take prescription medications to fix your symptoms.

I didn’t want to fix my symptoms. I wanted to get to the root cause of my hormonal imbalance. I desired to truly heal from the inside-out. And at this point, I felt like my healthcare system was failing me.

I felt I needed to experience this suffering in order to arrive at a life-changing revelation: I had to take FULL responsibility for my holistic healing process. And I needed to trust my body. Trusting myself did not come from the hopeless, let-down, victim mentality that was clouding my experience. It came from cultivating self-love, self-respect, and believing without a shadow of a doubt that my body in fact DID possess the intelligence – and desire – to heal itself, despite what my doctors advised.

 I decided to jump fully into holistic healing. And, I changed my mentality to look at my healing process as a sacred and educational process – not an illness I needed to eradicate as quickly as possible.

 During my travels to India for my yoga teacher training, my intuition nudged me to spend a few weeks at an Ayurvedic hospital in Kerala (the Ayurvedic capital of the world) to undergo a panchakarma (deep cleansing process or purification). Ayurveda is an ancient medicinal system and sister-science of yoga. The timing was perfect. And I found a highly-rated, reputable hospital that just happened to have a spot available.

 For 21 days, I stayed on site at a beautiful and peaceful hospital that catered to whole-body healing through this ancient medicinal system. The prolific plants and trees confirmed that this particular hospital was known for its home-grown herbal medicines. I received daily treatments that revolved around herbal remedies and a plant-based diet. And within 21 days I was feeling better. I know – it sounds hard to believe. I was shocked, too. But the lab results didn’t lie, and neither did my spirit, which felt uplifted and recharged for the first time in years.

 My Ayurvedic physician, Dr. Aswathy, and I became good friends – and stayed in touch when I returned back home. I asked her to help me co-create the first protein supplement in the US for vegans/vegetarians/plant-based eaters that was guided by the wisdom of this sacred medicinal system, and featured the healing benefits of Ayurvedic herbs.

She was ecstatic. We put our heads and hearts together -- and Ayurvedic Protein was born.

Photo cred @photosbyfreespirit