Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Arnold.

Kelly, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Today, you will find me a dedicated yogi navigating modern-day life with a family and a career. I am a type-A Virgo, with my very own melting pot of DNA coursing through my veins. With an innately fiery disposition and a super analytical (some might say overly critical) mind, maintaining balance is crucial for me as I have found that an out-of-balance Kelly can get pretty gnarly sometimes. I, like many others, have used the ancient system of Yoga to heal my body and mind and to stay balanced during some of life’s most chaotic and trying moments.

I was first introduced to yoga over 20 years ago when my dad gifted me Deepak Chopra’s book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. My mom had been reading it shortly before she died. Her death was devastating, but over time I learned to appreciate that she had left me with spiritual wisdom that would guide me through the rest of my earthly existence without her.

I found myself leaning hard into this thing called Yoga ten years later, after having my only child. The pregnancy and birth left me completely traumatized. How could such a tiny, beautiful soul wreak so much havoc? At the same time, I was in a high-stress job as a corporate investigator, nearly 15 years into my career. As a new, recovering, full-time working mom and wife, I found myself completely imbalanced – physically and emotionally. Desperate to heal my body and mind, I began gradually incorporating Yoga and relaxation techniques into my daily routine, strengthening my practice as the weeks and months went by. Soon enough, my body healed, and a sense of peace and balance was restored.

Deepening my practice further, I studied Yoga and its sister science, Ayurveda, under Deepak Chopra and other great teachers at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. I am a certified Chopra Center instructor specializing in the mantra-based method of Primordial Sound Meditation. Some of my greatest satisfaction has come from teaching mindfulness in the workplace. I am grateful to those employers who have allowed me to share this wisdom in the spirit of mind-body wellness for working professionals. Corporate can be such a grind. Life can be so trying. Balancing the two can seem impossible, especially for women.

Yoga provides us a simple, secular system of techniques and methods to help navigate it all while bringing out one’s best and brightest self. Science has been backing it and more people are doing it. If you are not already, you should be doing it too.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
“Adversity builds character,” and “If you don’t have any scars, you don’t have any good stories,” I often heard growing up. I guess I am proud to say that I have loads of character and many a good tale.

I have been blessed with wonderful things in this life, but good eyesight is not one of them. Being born severely nearsighted presented challenges, concerns and many a joke early on, but once I ditched my ‘coke bottles’ for contacts, there was no stopping me, except for the occasional, or perhaps more frequent trip, fall, or sports-related injury. Confidence, grit and perseverance were instilled early in me as a ‘sight challenged’ young girl. “Stand up tall, chest out and chin up,” my army father would order, poking me in the back. “You can do anything you put your mind to and don’t take crap from anybody,” my psychiatric nurse of a mother would say, waving a finger in my face. They were also sure to instill the love (and fear) of God in me being the good Catholics that they were. All of which seemed to serve me well growing up.

A car accident at age nineteen left me grappling with my own mortality though, something I had never contemplated before. It shifted my entire being, my whole paradigm. How temporally precious this life is! My mother dying a couple of years later would further reinforce at a young age our fragile impermanence here. Both events cracked me open spiritually, letting a light in.

Yoga would provide me a path to health and wellness when I needed it most, and meditation created the space to cultivate a more open, balanced and reflective mindset. For example, I began to see and appreciate that my struggles and setbacks were only temporary and often serving a greater purpose not always readily understood or apparent in the present moment. Like with the birth of my son. It was a harrowing experience as the effects of multiple surgeries left me reeling for a few years. As difficult as it was, I basked in the awesome wonder and beauty of his creation, including my body’s ability to manifest human life and for us both to survive it all.

Or, how a job that has a tendency to test my sanity more often than not, has also given me invaluable professional skills that have provided a good, steady way of living for my family. Or, how watching both my parents die slowly in hospital rooms reinforced the need to contemplate my own death more, and to embrace mindful and joyful living earlier in life in the hopes of mitigating chronic and debilitating illnesses later on. Or, understanding how relationships that have caused me pain and suffering have also taught me much about introspection and self-awareness. Seeing more and more that my outer world is a projection of my inner world and that everyone I see is a reflection of myself. When I began to see myself in others and let my words and actions be guided by the same (treating others as I want to be treated), my world changed for the better.

My advice, especially to young women, is to love yourself first and foremost. Embrace your divinity and personal power. There is beautiful potential in each and every one of us. It just gets buried a little deep sometimes. Seek it out. Nurture it. Bring it to light. Shine brightly.

Please tell us about Medha.
Born a Virgo, my analytical mind is cosmically hardwired. Having always loved puzzles as a kid, a passion for problem-solving has carried through to my adult years serving as part of my purpose in life. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Business, an Associates degree in Accounting and am a Certified Fraud Examiner. My day job for the last 20 years has been helping others navigate a variety of process, risks, and regulations.

I have become adept at sifting through gobs of data and information, distilling the facts to determine what is best to do in a given situation. Most of my career has been spent in roles within finance, internal audit, corporate security, compliance and legal departments in heavily regulated public companies. I am fortunate to have developed a blended financial and legal skillset, which has served me well in the analysis and resolution of complex matters.

My time growing up in corporate America and life that would happen along the way also led me to pursue the study of Yoga. Developing my daily practice was paramount to my health, happiness and success at a certain point. When I became devoted to my self-care, I relished in the success and goodness that would come from being a faithful modern-day yogi. Forever grateful for this wisdom and continuing to reap its benefits, I am committed to helping others to do the same, the Medha Way. Medha is an Indian goddess known for wisdom, intelligence and education. She embodies great power of understanding endowed by consciousness. The system of Yoga can help us to do the same.

In the Medha Way, we cultivate conscious awareness with simple mindfulness and meditation techniques known as ‘Daily MMs.’ Breath exercises, posture checks, regular movement, periods of silence and right diet are staples. Begin gradually, a few minutes here and there. But do them consistently, most every day, as regularity over duration is key in order to feel the benefits. A regular Yoga practice increases your energy, elevating your personal vibration while counteracting life’s stress and negativity. Life is better buzzed (naturally). Let Yoga show you how.

What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
It’s best to have thick skin. Learn not to be too sensitive or protective with your work, especially early on in your career. See and appreciate feedback and criticism as needed insights to grow and to better understand yourself. Don’t take things personally and enjoy the great freedom that comes with that.