The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science.

Albert Einstein

SONJA SHAH-WILLIAMS BSc (Hons) APA

AnalaAyurveda. Sonja Shah-Williams. Ayurvedic Medicine practitionerI began my quest for balanced living at a very young age. My parents were born and raised in Gujarat, North West India, where the diet was, and still is, imbued with Ayurveda’s  principles, and is heavily influenced by seasonal produce, thereby providing the nutrients and Ayurvedic ‘qualities’ required to maintain health, both on a daily, and seasonal basis.

My mother, an amazing self taught, passionate cook, nurtured my passion for instinctive, balanced, and wholesome cooking, and having never measured ingredients, she has always relied on understanding the innate properties of foods such as spices, and how they work together to influence the taste, and nutritional value of a meal.

She has always subconsciously followed Ayurvedic principles, as most Indian people do, and used seasonal foods, which tend to maintain balance through their innate qualities. As children, my siblings and I were given yellow milkwhen we were poorly. This was milk boiled with turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves and jaggery. Today, in the West we are finally beginning to understand the importance of wholesome nutrition in preventive health.

My late father was one of the first Indian GPs in West Yorkshire. From him, I gained my desire to help people to nurture their holistic health, and thus remain physically, emotionally and spiritually strong, and thus find greater joy every day. I also inherited his desire for justice, and equality in all areas of life. The ability to maintain health should be equitable, not for the privileged, affluent few. Ayurveda is equitable, and helps anyone and everyone to realise their potential, and become their very best version.

 

GROWING UP

Growing up close to the wild, rugged and hauntingly beautiful Yorkshire Moors, I often spent time walking, and admiring the sheer beauty, resilience and adaptability of plants and flowers. I wondered how they survived in such harsh conditions.

In the summer months I would spend time in the garden, carefully picking rose petals and steeping them in water to make my very own rosewater perfume. How simple and beautiful this seemed. I was mesmerised by the roses, by their delicate blooms and heavenly scent, and it is then I understood that all life is intrinsically linked.

OUR CONNECTIONS

I am a great advocate of our oneness with nature, our connectedness to the universe, and the divinity that is in each of us. Einstein’s words resonate profoundly with me. Health is not something we need glorify as a scientific goal; it should be seen as part of our being. I believe that once we discover the scope of Ayurveda, we witness a true sense of our self that cannot be explained by science.

I knew of Ayurveda as a teenager, through my regular family holidays to India, where many people rely solely on Ayurvedic doctors, but it was not until I went back to university and commenced my Ayurveda degree in 2010 that I realised how powerful this science and philosophy of life is. During my internship at a teaching hospital in South India, I observed the dramatic improvement of chronic and complex diseases that allopathic doctors had simply been unable to treat. Patients were ‘miraculously’ healing, having been given an intensive programme of treatments known as Panchakarma. Witnessing such dramatic health improvements was incredibly life-affirming, and my experience confirmed to me that I was studying the right subject, and I had found my life’s purpose. 

The Ayurveda doctors in India who taught me, and allowed me to observe them in their work, were humble, and without ego. They felt honoured to have been gifted their knowledge to make their patients well again. I too feel privileged to be able to help my clients to get to know their unique selves through Ayurveda, and be able to make considered, measured choices that positively impact their lives. 

OUR PLACE IN THE NATURAL WORLD

We must accept our place within the natural world, and honour the importance of mutual respect between animals, plants and flowers. As an Ayurveda practitioner, and author, I help people to understand how their internal balance is related to the external world. The healing power of plants and their flowers is simply amazing. My passion for Ayurveda and its place in modern life means that I love nothing more than delivering its eternally true, and relevant messages to as many people as possible, through long term one to one consultations in London and Suffolk, short talks, events, my books , my pure body oils, and my gorgeous, small batch hand made grass fed organic ghee.