Managing Stress with Nithya Karia of Nithya Karia Wellness

Episode Overview

Episode Topic

In this episode, we welcome Nithya Karia, founder and CEO of Nithya Karia Wellness. Nithya shares her expertise in holistic health, integrative nutrition, and positive psychology, focusing on stress management through gut health principles. She discusses her unique background and personal journey that led her to combine these disciplines to help individuals balance life’s demands without sacrificing joy or health.

Lessons You’ll Learn

Listeners will discover the importance of daily check-ins and intentional choices in managing stress. Nithya introduces her five habit framework: clarity, control, confidence, curiosity, and creativity, and explains how these habits can be integrated into daily life for better emotional and physical well-being. She emphasizes the power of the gut-brain connection and provides practical strategies for maintaining a balanced lifestyle.

About Our Guest

Nithya Karia is the founder and CEO of Nithya Karia Wellness. She is a renowned holistic health expert, an integrative nutrition coach specializing in gut health, and holds a specialization in Foundations of Positive Psychology. With a background steeped in both Western medicine and Eastern culture, Nithya offers a unique perspective on health, focusing on fostering low-stress habits and balancing life’s demands. Her work has transformed the lives of many individuals, helping them achieve both professional success and personal well-being.

Topics Covered

We discuss the historical evolution of holistic health practices, focusing on the integration of gut health and positive psychology. Nithya shares her personal journey and how it shaped her approach to stress management. We explore her five habit framework, practical strategies for reducing stress, and the importance of prioritizing emotional well-being. The episode also covers the future of stress management and the role of technology in holistic health practices.

Our Guest:  Nithya Karia on Training Medical Professionals in Gut Health

Episode Transcript

Surani Fernando: Welcome to another episode of Holistic Health Habits, where we explore practical strategies for maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle. I’m your host, Surani Fernando and today we have a very special guest, Nithya Karia, the founder of founder and CEO of Nithya Karia Wellness. Nithya is a renowned holistic health expert. She’s an integrative nutrition coach with a gut health specialization, and she also has a specialization in Foundations of Positive Psychology and with this unique and complementary background, she’s able to help individuals manage stress by fostering low-stress habits and give gives her clients practical strategies to balance life’s demands without sacrificing joy or health. Welcome to the show, Nithya.

Nithya Karia: Thanks, Surani.

Surani Fernando: So first of all, you know you have a really interesting background. Can you share a little bit about your story and your own evolution in the holistic health world, combining gut health principles with broader psychological well-being to help with stress management?

Nithya Karia: Yeah, absolutely. you know, really, I think all of our journeys kind of began from a very personal space. I think it’s really what what drives us and what excites us about, especially, I think, when it comes to health. And so, you know, I grew up actually in a family of physicians, really steeped in, in Western medicine, but also eastern culture. And so I kind of had a unique upbringing. And for me, it was really important that, you know, I had kind of a lot of symptoms and things that happened in my body even when I was pretty young, and I just never felt compelled to to find the answer through a pill or through, you know, medication or something that was really just symptom related, really. And it started from a really young age. And just as I got older and things kind of progressed, you know, I lived what I thought was, you know, a healthy lifestyle. But for me, the primary focus was really around, you know, goal attainment and like, how do I show up as a driven individual. And that was my primary focus. And what I started to see the older I got was that, you know, how I was showing up was altering. How I felt and how I felt was also really important to me. Just for the longest time, it kind of took, you know, that back seat. And so there came a point in my life when, you know, it was kind of a bottom for me. Something happened in our family. My husband was hit by a car biking on his way to work, and thankfully, you know, he’s made a full recovery.

Nithya Karia: But at that point, it was really just this, you know, this waking up for me of realizing that, you know, I was really trying to go in two directions at the same time. And I really wanted to find in the end, when I came out of all of this, you know, there’s got to be a way for me to feel like I can achieve what I want in my life and simultaneously feel good along the way, like, stop putting it off for tomorrow, for one day, for when the kids are older, for when I retire. All of the things that I’d also just heard from colleagues, friends and witnessed, you know, growing up and, and just continued to see in my mentors and, and people that I interacted with. So I went back and, and, you know, focused on holistic health originally and then just started to supplement all of that with the gut health. To me. You know, that gut brain connection is a really powerful reminder, of, you know, that the mind and body are one and it’s not even on a spiritual level, but really on a very, very practical, scientific level that that we’re connected and information actually goes both ways. I think a lot of us think of the brain as just this, this awesome place where everything is kind of originating and that it can, you know, it’s sort of like the be all, end all. But the truth is, is like so much of the incoming information actually comes from our body. And so I, you know, you know, incorporated that into my work and really eventually kind of distilled all of this information down into into five habits, which is what I teach high vibe habits.

Nithya Karia: And it really talks about the root of the problem, because what I experienced, what I saw a lot of, you know, my peers and people in my life experiencing is that when you go after, you know, the thing that you want to bring into your life, whether that is health, that’s peace, it’s fulfillment. you know, all of the things that we search for really fall under this one umbrella of just we do it because we want to feel good, right? I want to have a nice home because it makes me feel good. I want to have a loving marriage because it makes me feel good. I want to, you know, whether it’s the work, whether it’s personal or professional, right? That is the is the end goal. Yeah. And the trouble with just adding something to your list, like, okay, let me just learn how to eat. Well, let me just, you know, exercise more and take care of my body is that it doesn’t change just because we add it to the list. It doesn’t change our sort of mental capacity to prioritize. And so if I still have built a life around putting everything else first, saying that my work is more important than I am or somebody else is more important than I am, right, then, even if I want it really badly for me, it’s really hard to make that consistent change, like for it to actually become a part of my lifestyle if I don’t learn to kind of, you know, reprioritize and reevaluate how I am actually prioritizing the things in my life.

Surani Fernando: Yeah. And you mentioned, you know, your five habit framework. You’ve been the cornerstone of your your practice. Can you walk us through these habits and explain how they integrate into your clients daily lives?

Nithya Karia: Yeah, absolutely. So the five habits are clarity. Control. Control, confidence, curiosity and creativity. And it’s really a habit that a healthy habit for all of the places we can kind of find ourselves in our minds, like with our emotional well-being, which is the past, the present and the future. And clarity is really this constant alignment that begins with just the simplest first question is just how am I feeling right now? So it’s not just what I’m doing in life, right, but how I’m showing up is changing. You know how the choices that I’m making, how I treat someone, what I decide to go after, right? Do I ask for that promotion at work? Do I go out on a limb and and, you know, start my own business? Like all of the things in our life that we are, all the possibility that we see for ourselves actually begins with this, with how we feel, because it changes what we see as possible. Yeah. So that’s that first habit of just, you know, maintaining clarity with how we’re feeling and what we want in our lives. The second habit is control. So not just identifying it. I’ve had clients that really get stuck in this phase.

Nithya Karia: They have the awareness. It’s this guy, I feel like crap, but then they feel really upset about it and disempowered. But the next habit is actually understanding that we always have choice and so finding that next step, that piece that’s doable for us, right. That first lowest kind of stretch goal so that we start to create consistent change in our life. The third is confidence. And this is, you know, acknowledging so often it’s really easy for us to see ourselves as the problem. Gosh, I made that poor choice eating. I didn’t work out. I didn’t, you know, whatever it is, we see ourselves as the problem. So spending as much time as we spend kind of dwelling and stewing in what is not going well in our life is also harvesting what is going well. How are we contributing positively to our life, to other people’s lives and and witnessing that and accepting that as, as part of the experience. The fourth one is curiosity, which is really a healthy reflection tool. Instead of instead of distracting habits like judgment and comparison, which really find a way to, you know, kind of conveniently have us measuring lower usually than than the people that we see around us.

Nithya Karia: It’s really a healthier way to say, you know, what’s actually happening right now and creating a more objective space for us to reflect in. So kind of taking the emotion out and realizing that emotions are just information. So I get to take that and do something with it and really see, like, you know, what could I actually be doing differently that would move the needle and creativity is is the application of that like taking that to the next step and saying, if I look around me instead of comparing, I can look around and really feel inspired. I can say, oh gosh, Sorani is doing, you know, this tonight. That sounds really fun and exciting. Someone else’s is, you know, vacationing. Someone else is eating this way. It’s just really looking around us to say that what works for my life is really going to be a unique a unique fit. Yeah, like a look around because there is just, you know, this overwhelming amount of information out there of what’s kind of good for us. This is our opportunity to say, to really experiment and say, let me try this and see what actually works for me. Yeah.

Surani Fernando: Super interesting. And can you provide maybe some examples of how your clients have transformed their lives using your five habit framework? Maybe there might be one particular success story that you like to to talk about that you can share with us?

Nithya Karia: Yeah. so I had a client, and, she was found that she was very, very, very comfortable and confident in, you know, in her career and in her work. But there were many things in her personal life where she really just felt like, you know, much more disempowered around just I just, you know, this is a relationship I have with my kids or kids were older and out of the house, but still something that kind of, you know, that she wanted to see improve, would like to have a difference in even in her personal relationships and and just found herself always kind of making decisions from a place of, of low expectation. And, you know, she was able to when we walked through these habits like really leave behind. Again, a lot of the stress that comes from just the fear of, you know, am I doing enough? Am I showing up enough? Am I all the what ifs? I think that we can project into our how we’re showing up, how we’re, you know, into our relationships and really started to realize that there was so much more that she could offer herself around creating boundaries for herself, around, you know, just receiving more from the life, like just taking stock and realizing that, wait a second, I’ve actually accomplished every single thing that I have set out to do in my life. And there are a few things right that still need working on. But instead of feeling like, it’s just a matter of time before something kind of goes wrong, she was really able to, you know, to take charge and really feel like, you know, have a more accurate representation. When she saw her life. Right.

Surani Fernando: Hey, and are you noticing that you have a particular group of clients that come to you, you know, is it an age group or is it a gender or what would you know, be obviously. I mean, I assume you would be opening up your services to, you know, the broad range of whoever wants that. But are you noticing some trends there?

Nithya Karia: Yeah, absolutely. I find a lot of women, working moms come to me. this can be some that have come much later in their career, in their life, some who have come, you know, with, with young kids. But it’s really, I think, this commonality, this desire to say, like, you know what? It’s time. Like, I, I know how to accomplish things. I know how to get things done. What I, I feel like I need support around is figuring out how can I enjoy it, right? How can I actually let myself receive from a life that I have poured into? Yeah.

Surani Fernando: And, you know, are these would you say that, with this sort of framework, you’re noticing that, you know, people are coming to you because they’re missing this sort of service or this practice in the general holistic health field, like, how does your practice separate from the rest and traditional methods of stress management?

Nithya Karia: Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s it’s probably a combination of factors is what I’m seeing. And it’s one that it’s the over information of like where do I start? I’ve I’ve had clients that really get lost in the weeds of, you know, oh my gosh, I read this article that said, if I chop my garlic and let it sit out for 30 minutes before it has, you know, more beneficial health properties, you know, really getting stuck sometimes when that is not for that specific client. That’s not where she was, right? She was still struggling just to, you know, cook meals at home. And so starting like offering women I’ll say women because they tend to be the majority of my clients. I speak to, you know, groups of of any gender. But for my client base, primarily women and, you know, really offering them a place where they can come even if they don’t know exactly what it is that they want. I think that’s the other thing. A lot of people offer services and provide guidance when you know exactly what you want. I want to lose 10 pounds. I want this to happen in my life, right? My work really supports you around this idea of like, I know I want change, even if I can’t pinpoint it, even if it’s something, you know, an intangible like my happiness, peace.

Nithya Karia:  you know, that type of thing. The habits really support the exploration and the development and really the almost instantaneous transformation that you start to feel just from that one decision. I had a client just last week that shared, like, you know, a win for her was like, she had the meltdown. She, you know, it kind of exploded at her husband. But then afterwards she realized she was like, oh my God, I realize I wasn’t even mad at him. What what I was upset about was that I kind of just wasted the 30 minutes of free time that I had before we were supposed to go do this thing, and I was frustrated with myself. And even though she didn’t make, you know, a different choice in that moment, what she realized was still really empowering for her to to start to make the connection between her choices and how she was feeling.

Surani Fernando: Yeah. And so, yeah, you’re with your psychology background, you really do that personalized assessment, really digging into what the the issue might be. And then they’re able to sort of pull the threads out and, and find out what the issue is with exactly their behaviors. Yeah, definitely. Really interesting. You know, I think that it’s such an intricate sort of area where, you know, you’re you’re behaving a certain way and, you know, it’s it’s so true when you said that, you know, with other practices, maybe you have that goal, you need to lose 10 pounds and it’s very like scientific or maybe not scientific, but it’s, you know, very tangible in the way that you can just go, yep, yep, yep. But, you know, understanding how we think and how how we, how we respond to things and how that’s impacting us on a stress level. Definitely super complicated. But, it’s nice to it’s nice to see you tackle, tackle this for, for clients. And we often talk about technological advancements in the holistic health field. Do you have any go to’s for positive implementation of technology? And what are also some things that you think might be overhyped when we like? And we should perhaps be cautious, cautious of you know, I, I think a lot of, about a lot of the things that are require looking at a screen or if we need to be watching something educational that’s, you know, very much New Age. It’s about being remote, being online. But at the at the same time, for me personally, that also puts a bit of stress on me because it’s like, you know, constant that constant stimulation, you know, also just looking at a phone, looking at if you’re on an app that can also be quite stressful. So interested to know your take on yet positive implementation of technology, what we can really adopt, and then some things we should be wary of.

Nithya Karia: Yeah, I think you really hit the nail on the head. I’m with you there on it is such a nuanced thing. And again, it’s something like, you know, this is why I say my work is really the mix of, of both science, of understanding that there’s information that we can utilize, but also it’s it’s not necessarily helpful without the intuitive piece of understanding. How am I feeling with this? There are absolutely I mean, you know, some of the technology that I use are meditation apps and things like that. They can be really supportive. you know, some people I know really like journaling apps and things like, you know, it’s just a way of organizing your. Yeah, your thoughts and your feelings. But I do caution the use around them because sometimes it’s just it’s so black and white. A lot of them right click the button. How do you feel is it, you know, one, two, three, four, five? I think unwittingly, sometimes it creates a sense of judgment as we’re doing it because like, it’s a one, but I really want it to be a four today. And. Right, you know, the way that we reflect on it is something that we do want to be careful around. And I’m also agree with you that, I mean, a big part of my work is that you need to stay in touch with yourself.

Nithya Karia: Like you, it’s something that again, your body, your mind, your thoughts, everything is always offering you information. And while an app can be helpful, I think again depending on where you are in your kind of health journey, oftentimes it’s it’s over information like the aura rings by sleeping well. Oh look at this. Absolutely. If you’re someone who is like committed and dedicated and really far into your holistic health journey, that information, that data can be really supportive of seeing, like, I saw that glass of wine I had last night, you know, really messed with my sleep. But if you are in a phase where you’re kind of just entering, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself with more to do’s because I think really the habits, again, they work because you’re not adding additional things. You’re really looking at what you’re doing and starting to to transform these habits. And all five of those habits are things that you actually you have access to, and you are using them in your life in some way, shape or form. And the more you access them, right? That is how they start to just become your default and your habit. Yeah.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, definitely. and, you know, just talking about nutritional elements, what are some sort of things that you advise your clients in terms of things that they can be doing to bring down those, those stress levels, like these sort of things to do?

Nithya Karia: Yeah. I think, you know, again, it’s eating, it’s moving and it’s sleeping there like the most foundational pieces And really, when you consider these instead of, I think the the biggest kind of mistake I see my clients make is, is trying to go from like 0 to 60 again, like if you’re not already, maybe eating healthy or cooking at home ordering, you know, even if you’re doing meal prep and other stuff like from a company and you’re trying to make it simple if you just you haven’t carved the time out to do this type of work, right. You’re getting a little ahead of yourself. And when we don’t see progress with ourselves, it really deflates us and it becomes really hard. This is why the consistency piece is really linked to choosing just that first stretch goal for yourself. So with sleeping, if you don’t even get to bed at the same time each night, your first goal might just be set a bedtime. Like even if it’s like 11:00, right? And you want to go to bed, your goal is is ten. Set it at 11. Start getting to bed at the same time every night. Right. And then can you move it up to 1045? Right. See what’s possible. Because as you start to create those new boundaries for yourself, to carve that time out for your wellness, you’ll also see what you’re doing that blocks it. God, I saw I you know, I wanted to watch another episode of Netflix or I wanted to get one more thing done on my to do list. Yeah, but really starting to create these bookends for ourselves to, to again, kind of carve out the time is how we realize, you know, what we’re doing. That’s kind of where we’re getting in our own way. Yeah.

Surani Fernando: And you know, when it comes to you, you know, when we talk about gut health is, you know, linking the microbiome to that like a big part of, of how we deal with stress, how we’re processing stress.

Nithya Karia: You know, the gut bacteria. Absolutely. You know, create so much of what we’re experiencing, what feels like we’re experiencing in our mind, you know, the serotonin and the dopamine and, you know, just the the rest of our metabolic function, even. Right, really resides heavily with the health of our gut bacteria. And again, how you eat is important, but also just looking at your life again with a consistent how am I feeling? It’s just really connecting that idea that stress shows up sometimes in ways that we don’t. We don’t perceive it as stress, right? Whether it’s worry, it can even be excitement. Right. But things that start to throw us kind of off balance. It can be anger, frustration, sadness, all of these things are stressors for us. And when we experience them for long enough, right. This is that chronic stress that starts to really affect our health. Like, you know, to to have something happen as a one off is is totally fine. It’s normal. We’re built for that kind of thing. It’s the chronic stress, right, that starts to degrade us. You know, in a very slow but downward slope that we often just don’t pay attention to until we get a bigger wake up call, like a diagnosis or, you know, something really scary happening in our lives. Yeah.

Surani Fernando: And what are some things that you see, like common in your clients where they might not realize it, they might think that they’re, you know, doing everything possible to reduce stress levels, but it actually might be the reverse, like, for example, maybe going too crazy on a workout or eating something that is just over overdoing it and, you know, putting stress on the gut, you know, do you see some common trends there?

Nithya Karia: Yeah, I would say it usually kind of skews the other way versus kind of like over health. Okay, most of my clients are coming to a new place where they’re they’re wanting to create a routine for themselves, and they have not necessarily been able to. Again, the stress component there lies in the judgment of what they’re doing as as part of it. Right. Like, I wanted to do this thing and I didn’t do it. I was supposed to check in with how I felt and I didn’t have a chance all day, but it’s really the consistent stress of they wouldn’t say it this way, but what it is, is really like that feeling of a lack of control. my workday just ran, you know, ran so long. And then I had to run to pick up the kids. Right. And understanding that that stress is really it’s it stems from the meaning that we’re creating right from the things that we’re telling ourselves. if I don’t do all of this work that comes my way, or if I were to stop work at 5:00 instead of 6:00 or instead of 530, right? Whatever it is that boundary we’re creating, if I do this, then my boss is going to think that I’m not working hard enough or someone else my colleagues are going to say, I’m lazy. I’m not pulling my weight. I see this especially with women really feeling, you know, like I said, most of mine, they wear so many hats, including mother and primary caregiver for maybe a parent, children, a household on top of what they’re doing outside of the house. Yeah. And just realizing that, you know, someone is always going to claim our time.

Nithya Karia: And part of that control, part of that stress reduction, is really hearing what we’re telling ourselves of what’s motivating our decisions of, okay, why do I feel like I have to like, I can’t say, you know, put a hard stop to my workday, you know, why do I feel like I have to say yes to every ask that somebody, you know, claims for my time and and assessing that the thoughts that were telling ourselves that story about who I am create a lot of the stress. And as we start to explore those again, always reconnecting, you know. Sereny asked me to, you know, to do this favor for her, but if I say no, she’s probably going to be mad at me, and then this is going to happen. But really, as soon as I feel that disconnect of like, I actually I don’t feel good, I need time to, you know, get home and make dinner. Right. And connecting these things with realizing that I have so much more control over my life, and it’s not always comfortable as we start to make this transition. But there are ways to do it again in these kind of bite sized ways where, you know, it’s not like, okay, I’ve been working till 11:00, you know, working 60 hour workweeks, and now I’m going to work a 40 hour workweek. Right. Those things are practical. So learning how to to really step our way, walk our way, step by step into the life that we want and realize that that choice really does reside within us. Yeah.

Surani Fernando: And you’ve been in this field for a while. how do you see the field of stress management evolving in the years to come based on, you know, what you’ve experienced so far?

Nithya Karia: Yeah, I you know, lately I’ve had a couple of really interesting conversations around this and really trying to, kind of bridge two worlds. I think now we’re seeing a new workforce where there is a younger generation that is that really values the idea of the experience and their feelings, and they’re still working with a whole nother, you know, several generations of people who have grown up and really lived with this, this work ethic of it doesn’t matter how I feel, we’ll just get the job done. So I do think it’s a really interesting conversation of of allowing each group to kind of learn from the other. I think both have something to contribute to this conversation around productivity, around, you know, just quality of life. And how do we how do we respect and honor how we feel and our own health, our happiness, our emotional health and wellbeing, our physical health and wellbeing, along with the fact that we still need to get things done? Yeah.

Surani Fernando: Okay. And you know, we have some holistic health professionals who will be listening. What advice could you give them to stay ahead of the curve and incorporate these up like, you know, changing landscapes and upcoming innovations into their practice?

Nithya Karia: Yeah, I think it’s what I see even in my colleagues in my own work. Right. That I think has proved really successful for our clients is is that idea of, you know, whatever your approach is, whatever your belief is, whatever your value you’re adding to your client’s life is to really value that individuality component of it. Because I can think that, this is the best way of eating. This is the best way of working out. But the truth is, is that each of us are such unique individuals. You know, whether it’s our gut microbiome, whether it’s our brains, our bodies, you know what lights us up? Like eating broccoli can be good for me. But if I absolutely hate it and you telling me that that’s what I need to do, you know, it’s it’s a it’s a cost benefit evaluation that I think we cannot undervalue. Yeah.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, when you’re consuming all this information on health and wellbeing and do this, do that, it can be very overwhelming. And sometimes, you know, you just need joy in your life. And maybe one time you do need that dopamine hit that is a chocolate full of sugar, you know? Yeah, yeah. And, yeah, I’ve.

Nithya Karia: I’ve sort of.

Surani Fernando: Realized that, you know, to prioritize life, you know, all the education that you get and, you know, it’s continued learning. But we we only have one life and it’s very short. So we also need to have joy.

Nithya Karia: Yeah. And you know what the funny thing is? You know, the wild thing is what I’ve realized is that when you lead with joy as that compass, I think for a lot of us, I’ll say this personal experience, like, I think there was a part of me that feared if I if I just let myself feel good that I was going to somehow just, you know, go crazy and go haywire and never do any of the things I never want to do, any of the things that I, I needed to do or maybe I wanted to do. But the truth is, is that when we lead from a place that feels good, we are just automatically making the better decisions we want to make, right? We’re more likely to sleep. We’re more likely to eat well. We’re more likely to be, you know, treat the people we love good. We’re more likely to show up for our colleagues and all the things we try so hard to have the energy for and the stamina for. They just damn naturally when we. When we feel good.

Surani Fernando: Yeah, definitely. And so moving on to some practical advice and best practices that you can share with some of our listeners, some of whom might be tuning in with, you know, not a lot of knowledge on on the space and are struggling with high stress levels. What are some immediate steps that they can take to begin fostering low stress habits and balance their personal and professional well-being that obviously you know your specialty, not overwhelming them.

Nithya Karia: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, the first thing is, is, is recognizing that you’re in a stress state, ideally way before it becomes really symptomatic. You know, many of you may already be there, but if you’re not, again, that daily check in, that hourly check in, I say do it as often as possible. It’s become such a habit for me that I can automatically like within a few minutes. I can tell if I like getting ten step or have a conversation with my kids and I’m getting really frustrated, or I can feel my shoulders raising. And that just came from the repetition of checking in. So you got to. Number one is just know where you are at at any given moment. And number two is if. Right. Our brains we have access to different parts of our brain when we are stressed versus when we are in a safer kind of emotional space. And there is something if you can’t work from the head down, right, to change the thought, you can actually help to kind of pacify and soothe your nervous system, which will send the physiological symptoms right through your body when you, you know, couple things like taking a really deep breath, multiple deep breaths. Right. Massages at vagus nerve. It stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system. You can you know flagpole breathing that in for four hold for seven out for eight okay. Things like this that start to again.

Nithya Karia: It’s a sense of control. Like you’re reclaiming control over your your nervous system essentially. And that is going to change the way that your stress response is, you know, either turning on or now it’s starting to wind down and turn off. And so one so you checked in, you saw how you were feeling. Now I’m going to do something about it. And that can be, you know, going outside, taking a walk, moving your body something to just change the, the scenery. Right. Maybe just saying wait a second. Do I have to believe that thought I just had? Right. These these four simple things can really just shift you into something else. And as soon as you hit pause, your brain is already in a different place and you’re going to have a little bit more clarity on, I probably don’t want to yell at that person. Or here’s what I’d rather say to my coworker that may be more productive. here’s what you know what? Maybe I don’t need that slice of chocolate cake because I’m actually feeling better. Let me have a glass of water first and then see what I’m going to. You know what I’m going to have. So understanding that stress is it’s emotional, but it’s also physiological. So there are kind of pores, these barriers these breaks that we can hit on purpose. But we can only do that when we know how we feel.

Surani Fernando: Right. Definitely some very good tips there, especially the breathing ones. So I’m going to going to look into that because I, I actually do feel like some breathing techniques that I’ve seen recommended. It’s amazing how much breathing helps because, you know, it helps our body to function. And sometimes I find myself just not breathing. I’m just like holding my breath. But yeah. And, I’m just like, oh my gosh, why am I doing that? Is it my own stress within? That’s just I’m in a stress mode or I. Yeah, I haven’t really worked it out. But sometimes even when I, I’m working out, I forget to, to breathe and then it makes such a difference when you’re conscious about it.

Nithya Karia: Exactly. And that’s what it is. It’s like we’re always making choices, whether we realize it or not. So the slowing down, that pace of just again asking how am I feeling is really just the pause so that we can make an intentional choice instead of a reactionary choice. Yeah.

Surani Fernando: Okay, great. And then finally, I’m curious to know how you adopt these principles in your very busy daily schedule. I’m sure your life is not without stress and you have to manage that, you know, how do you maintain stress levels focusing, you know, on your gut health, background and positive psychology principles. Like what would the day in the life of Nithya be like?

Nithya Karia: Yeah, this is a great week to ask me that question, Sarai. I have had, you know, with this podcast, I had some field trips with my kids for school. I you know, I’m teaching my group coaching class tomorrow and I’m doing a corporate wellness day on Friday. So it has been an editing my book along the way, which is coming out this fall. It’s a busy week and again, for me to get it out of my head is the first thing. So it’s number one is to create prioritization in my list. Right? This was happening today. Something else happens tomorrow, something else happens Friday. And alongside those things that are tasks that need to get done for the productivity piece of my day, I actually almost double down and invest like there’s no, there’s no budging around my emotional well-being in this, in this, these kind of weeks for me, I, I get up earlier if I have to, but I meditate, I make sure I’m getting to bed on time. I really hold strongly to the barriers around what supports my well-being, and this is a routine I’ve created for myself, like, you know, morning meditation, yoga, and even doing X amount of work, which again, I plan the night before. So when I wake up in the morning, I’m not spending energy thinking or, you know, letting overwhelm, you know, have an opportunity to enter the door. I have a list that I start the day with and this is what I’m doing. But it always starts with doing something to take care of my my stress levels as a proactive choice versus a, you know, a a kind of after the fact choice of like, oh my gosh, at the end of the day now I’m super like, if we’ve gotten to that point, the ideal is to really start to to feed ourselves and fuel ourselves in a way that we’re expecting, that we know what to expect in our day, and we have enough to give because we’re pouring back into ourselves as well. Yeah.

Surani Fernando: Great. Great insight then great, great advice. to to take on board. Lots of food for thought there. Well Nithya, we’ve come to the end of the episode. Thank you so much for joining us today. Your insights into managing stress. Stress, you know, with the gut health piece and positive psychology to foster lower low stress habits have been incredibly valuable, and I’ll definitely take some of that with me into my into my life moving forward. so for our listeners who want to learn more about Nithya’s approach and services, be sure to visit her website at Nithya Career Wellness (https://nithyakaria.com) . And if you enjoyed this episode, please follow or subscribe to the Holistic Health Habits Podcast for more insightful conversations and practical advice on maintaining a balanced lifestyle. Until next time, I’m Suhani Fernando. Take care and stay healthy.