A Glimpse Into… The Joyful Journey of Vinod Kumari: Eco-Wellness Entrepreneur
Meet Vinod Kumari, as her name ‘Vinod’ aptly hints!
One who stays happy & joyful and sparkles with beaming grace, a quality rare to find!
Vinod, as we know her today is the Co-founder of ‘Ecolive’, Gurgaon-based Naturopathy Wellness Centre and ‘ECHO’, a unique initiative to bring Ecological Practices and Sustainability in our lives.
As the co-founder of Ecolive, Vinod is often asked about Naturopathy and she responds with a natural enthusiasm, “Naturopathy is an alternative system for curative healing based on the underlying principle that we have the power to heal and restore our physical health through the use of nature’s five great elements.”
This system includes dietary and lifestyle changes, yogic kriyas and asanas, therapies using natural elements, acupressure/acupuncture acupuncture and exercise. Most important, Naturopathy ensures that no treatment modality is invasive or toxic to the mind, body, and soul.
Prior to becoming an avid proponent of Naturopathy, Vinod worked for over 17 years in the IT domain. She worked with TCS for 8 years in BFSI and then with Genpact as AVP, Corporate IT team managing HR & Training technology portfolio.
For those who wonder, why she became what she is today? the answer is as simple as it can get…
Her first experiment with Naturopathy started with curing herself of chronic health issues, issues which had hindered her lifestyle for most of adult years. As she experimented with this body of healing knowledge, Vinod realized that the ailments that took years of medicines were actually treatable by simple shifts in lifestyle, food and intake. Her first natural cure without use of any medicines astonished even her! As she pondered over the success of Naturopathic healing, she reached out to others who had found similar results and this gave her the motivation to expand her breadth of knowledge and know more…
Vinod candidly admits, since 2014, she has managed to overcome any need of medicines for routine illnesses for her complete family…!
One of the early influencers to whom Vinod impacts her Career Pivot and Transition was a veteran Naturopath doctor.
While attending his seminar in Pune, an overwhelming realization dawned on her. There was simply not enough awareness. The Professor, smiling at her inquisitiveness, gave her a reply which set the course of her work going forward…
” If you are so excited about the wonders of Naturopathy, why don’t you start something and tell the world yourself?”
Not one to take this challenge lightly, she made it her mission to promote Well-being and Naturopathy. Along with this decision came huge excitement and full support of friends and family and her first company ‘NatureHealz’ was born.
“I came from a farmer family background and faced a lot of opposition to further my studies as well as financial hurdles at home. However, I received timely help from people around me (friends, teachers and neighbours) and it seemed like the Universe supported me in my pursuit. Ever since then, I made a commitment and long-term goal to work towards a meaningful social initiative. When I experienced the benefits of Naturopathy, I realized this was the way and I would like to contribute to people’s health and well-being.
From 2014 to 2016, she set up operations with an equally-enthusiastic business partner and together they worked towards building Corporate Awareness and Interactive Sessions.
Around 2016, she started her next venture, Wellness Center “Ecolive’ devoted to the practice of Well-being through Naturopathy. The Centre was fully staffed with practicing Naturopath doctors, live consultations and treatment spaces.
Over the years, Ecolive became a successful venture.
However, in year 2020, COVID became the catalyst for monumental changes world-wide. Her entrepreneurial journey was also impacted and she shifted the strategy to create a digital way and broaden her reach.
Equipped with valuable experience and expertise, Vinod’s next goal is to make others self-reliant on the path to well-being. She now describes her life’s mission as “Body and Mind Wellness Coach”.
As she explains further, the foundation of holistic well-being is based on the pillars of yoga: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.
When we amalgamate non-violence and truth in thought and practice, contentment and tapas in our behaviour, practice asana and pranayama, develop self-control, concentration and practice mediation, we progress on the path to healing and well-being of body and soul.
This transformation has taken her back to her love for conducting workshops in Corporates and Institutions, detailing ecological living as part of her agenda. Added to the portfolio of consultations are initiatives like Rain Water Harvesting, Water management, Waste Management, Eco-friendly Lifestyle.
She has brought focus on metrics to highlight the impact in well-being quotient of her customers, thanks once again to her training and corporate experience.
Her new initiative is called “ECHO” or Ecology Consciousness and Happy Organization. The ECHO Quotient reflects the ecology consciousness of an organisation in a quantifiable manner. The ECHO journey is structured systematically to include awareness, sensitisation, solutioning and finally propagation leading to improved ESG scores of organisations.
Vinod’s spouse Sunil Kumar Pachar, co-founder EcoLive is a Sustainability expert and plays an integral role in driving ECHO initiatives for organizations.
As she remarks with pride and confidence, any organisation that has progressed through all the stages of ECHO shall find itself “Ahead of the curve” among the peers.
I ask her to share some learnings as a Wellness entrepreneur.
“A big learning for me has been to manage CAPEX and focus on sustainable organic growth.”
Her extensive Corporate experience has helped understand customers better, she is able to translate their health concerns and manage their goals for well-being and progress in a timely, metrics driven manner.
Lastly, she suggests that defining the core values of one’s wellness venture and reinforcing through ethical communication is the path she chooses to strictly follow.
Towards the end of our interview, I summarise and collate my thoughts and remember a line which I had read recently..
“We draw on our lives to feed our art, and vice versa”
We borrow from our own experiences and then apply that knowledge to build something…which will help somebody else who is working through similar challenges.
As I enjoy Vinod’s beaming wellness energy presence, I am beginning to see the transformation she brings in people when they come in contact with her. Because her story of wellness is so personal, internal and natural, one sees every reason to believe in her journey to well-being.
Best Wishes to the Eco-Wellness entrepreneur Vinod as she designs her own career transition journey and promotes well-being and sustainability in the post-COVID World.
#coachingforprogress #well-being #wellness #careertransition #careergrit #holisticwellness
email: vinod.kumari@ecolive.in
https://www.facebook.com/ecolive.in
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