At the age of 13, when Ishani was diagnosed with type one diabetes, everything seemed to be going wrong in her life. As a teen, she struggled with her diagnosis and did everything she could to hide it from her friends, to avoid any and every kind of questions that could be asked about.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of my best friends knew about it, back then. I tried to keep it hidden as much as possible. In a country like ours, fourteen years ago, coming outright and saying that you had diabetes was something that just seemed wrong to me\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Type one diabetes is a chronic auto immune condition where a person\u2019s immune system starts to attack and destroy their insulin producing beta cells. This leaves the pancreases with little or no ability to produce insulin, the hormone which regulates blood sugar. Without insulin in one\u2019s system, the sugar stays in the blood and can cause serious and fatal damage to the system. Due to this condition, patients are required to pump or inject insulin in their bodies every day in order to just stay alive.<\/p>\n
When people find out about her condition, they often come to her with rather bizarre solutions. \u201cDon\u2019t eat meat, submit yourself to the fate of this God, wear this gemstone, take such and such Ayurveda preparation\u201d these are some of the most commonly heard \u2018solutions\u2019 people throw her way. \u201cWhile I know that their intentions aren\u2019t wrong, I am also aware that diabetes, especially Type One is on curable and I am at peace with that fact\u201d Ishani said.<\/p>\n
Type One Diabetes, unlike Type Two Diabetes is an auto-immune and genetic disease not a lifestyle disease. Type Two is more commonly seen in adults and is almost often caused by a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy food habits, high blood pressure, etcetera.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor my yoga classes and also while I was studying, I have travelled extensively across the country and almost everywhere I went, I observed that juvenile diabetes is a taboo and people rarely talk about it. Because how can a child have diabetes! And even if she does, there are so many other who have such ridiculous concerns!\u201d she said. \u201cThey wonder who would marry me, if I could have children, if I will even live to see the next day. As long as I take my daily dose of insulin, I am fine, and I can do absolutely anything in the world!\u201d<\/p>\nWhen she was diagnosed with diabetes, Ishani was merely a teenager and desperately trying to fit in to the society. She said, \u201cThe diagnosis came at such a wrong time! I was a teen and I wanted to do everything my friends did, I didn\u2019t want to have to regulate my food intake! But thank god I didn\u2019t do any of that. I wouldn\u2019t have lived to see another day had I been stupid enough to not take my insulin shots!<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring this entire period, I believe yoga has helped me a whole lot. Initially when I practiced, it was because both my parents did, and my younger brother and I just wanted to spend some extra time with them. But after a certain point, I started realizing that this is benefitting only me! So, I started taking it a little more seriously and the rest, as they say, is history!\u201d<\/p>\n
After completing her Undergrad in Business Administration, Ishani joined her father\u2019s architectural firm for a couple of years. She worked as the Administration in-charge while also thinking of doing a course in Interior Designing in Italy. Once that was done, she returned to India, but she felt something wasn\u2019t right. \u201cI was constantly irritable and depressed. After coming back from Italy, all I wanted to do was lay in bed and speak to no one. I knew these were the classic signs of depression, but I just didn\u2019t want to accept it\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
People with juvenile diabetes often are more susceptible to anxiety and chronic depression, which was exactly what was happening to Ishani. This was one of the most major turning points in her life where she started doing yoga even more seriously, apart from visiting a doctor too. She said, \u201cI started looking at yoga as a life saver and I knew that this has been my life\u2019s purpose. Within a few months, I started feeling better about myself, which led to me quitting my job and going for a proper certified yoga training to Himachal Pradesh.<\/p>\n\u201cAfter finishing the one-and-a-half-month course, I started small, by helping out friends and acquaintances. This then led me to Kerala for another course in Shivananda yoga, which is basically the kind of yoga that every other form has evolved from\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
This course gave her the Certification from the Yoga Alliance in USA that let her start her own yoga classes.<\/p>\n
Ishani said, \u201cInitially, I would go to my client\u2019s place where there would be a group of other women too willing to learn. But as time passed, I wanted to have my own studio and that is how I started Soulish, at my parents\u2019 place.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoga has helped in numerous ways, it has not only made me happier but also resilient and confident. I know that no matter what curve ball life throws at me, I will always be able to bounce back from it simply because of Yoga.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ishani started her own yoga classes called Soulish By Ishani in a spare room at her parents\u2019 house in March 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout, my entire journey, from my diagnosis to Italy to my depression and now my classes, yoga has been a constant in my life and I am extremely glad that my mother introduced me to it at a very young age\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
While she doesn\u2019t have her own YouTube channel just yet, Ishani does have her own blog where she has narrated her entire journey and can be contacted any time.<\/p>\n
Here is a video of Ishani during one of her yoga classes.<\/p>\n
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