We recently connected with Beena Patel and have shared our conversation below.
Beena, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Confidence and self-esteem were built over time upon a foundation of nurturing deep self-love. At the core of it, no matter how many times I have leveled up, there were lessons learned along the way and doubts and fears still popped up. The key was to allow myself to expand anyway in spite of those fears and reminding myself that the mind is molded to protect us. However, if we continue to lean into courage and faith in the process, we begin to anchor into our personal power and our radical ability to do great things in the world. That has helped me make career pivots from being a full-time clinician to running my own business and choosing my passion and purpose over a job title. Incremental shifts of positive energy and confidence boosts over time can eventually lead to unleashing more and more of the personal power that is deeply interconnected with self-confidence. The more I allowed myself to see that circumstances in my life could not take away my personal power (unless I allowed them to), I increased my self-trust and my self-esteem grew with that knowing.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a Physician Associate, Shamanic Healer, Women’s Coach, & Speaker. My path has been filled with multiple initiations and rebirths that took me on a unique journey. At 21, I was diagnosed with cancer while I was enrolled in a graduate program to become a Physician Associate (PA). Two months shy of graduation, I was dismissed from the program based on a conflict with a preceptor where I was bullied for being quiet and reserved. I was told I would “never have what it takes” to become a PA.
I watched an old world dissolve and ultimately surrendered to God. I knew there was a reason for all of the recent events but was not sure what. 6 months later, with the courage to try again, I was admitted into another graduate school program to become a PA. I graduated with honors and went on to work at the top academic cancer institutions in New York City, including Columbia University Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Weill Cornell Medical College.
What I learned through those experiences was the power of resilience despite what may be told to us. That time of my life was an initiatory period that taught me the agony, despair, and bliss of moving through life transitions – fear at the beginning as a new invitation sets in, and bliss towards the end as we see light at the end of the tunnel again.
During my time working at the cancer institutions, I began to notice a trend where many patients (and colleagues) came to me for spiritual & energetic support. Many of my conversations revolved around energy work and trusting in a higher power. Through the help of my patients who advised me to pursue my higher calling, I began to invest more time in energy healing and soon went on to become a Yoga Teacher, Reiki Practitioner and Shamanic Healer.
My purpose became clear.
While many of my patients were ruminating about their lives in the final days and learning to let things go, I was surrounded by many unfulfilled women who were not satisfied no matter how much they accumulated (the partner, the money, the lavish lifestyle on instagram).
There needed to be a balance of allowing in and letting go, and understanding what true fulfillment means to each individual.
In 2019, I started The Yoga Movement – a holistic wellness business designed to empower women to take charge of their healing journey while honoring the principles of science, modern medicine, and alternative healing.
My mantra is that an empowered woman empowers all. I believe women have the power to lead our world in a different way – with more compassion, peace, and grace. However, it requires that they know themselves on a deep level first.
Today, I empower and guide high-achieving women to move beyond the status quo and create their dream life on their own terms.
Many women have created a world of external success but often still feel something is lacking on the inside.
Our work together involves navigating life transitions, creating a healthy foundation for intimacy, and assessing what holds true value and importance in their lives. Through shamanic and energy healing, we work together to clear the resistance to a new life and create space for that new life to be birthed. And then watch the magic unfold.
What I love most about my work is that I receive all sorts of “life revelations” that bring women to me, including a newly diagnosed health issue, struggles at toxic jobs, wanting to find a life partner and more; yet the underlying theme for most of these women is building a healthy foundation of self-love. When I work with clients to strip back what is no longer needed on their path, we ultimately discover a pool of self-love within them. It is the deepest work we do and the most fulfilling.
It brings me such joy and pleasure to see these women thrive by learning to honor and accept all of themselves.
I previously walked away from a path that gave me comfort and satisfaction but not the same feeling of bliss and heart bursting alive with radiance that I do now being fully committed to my purpose. It is an honor to walk alongside this path with other women who know they are meant for more in this lifetime and are willing to take the leap in creating a new reality.
Currently, I am launching a new online coaching program called “Ignite Your Queen.” It is a 6-month deep-dive immersion for an intimate group of women who know they have big service to fulfill in this world and want to create impact through their mission. It will be an intimate container for women who are ready to step into their next level of leadership and emerge as better wives, partners, mothers, sisters, colleagues, and humans. The program is designed in a way that helps women up-level in their confidence, health, finances, career, love life, and also receive aligned support from a community of like-minded women. A live in-person retreat in Costa Rica is also included for deeper integration and support.
The big intention of Ignite Your Queen is to help women rise as empowered leaders in their lives and simultaneously build a more beautiful world.
Application for enrollment is open now.
We begin April 2024.
Link to apply: https://mf234uegamm.typeform.com/to/lOBa2Sjr
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
3 qualities that were most impactful in my journey were self-confidence, persistence fueled by passion, and being guided by heart intelligence.
When the naysayers were saying I couldn’t do something, at first, I did feel victimized. I did give into the doubts temporarily; truthfully, many of them were mine to begin with and they were being mirrored back to me. When I started to plug back into my personal power, I saw that if I had the power to create situations I didn’t want, then I also have the power to change my current reality.
I leaned into this power and decided to go back at it again. I applied to other graduate school programs and held space for the highs and lows, which included many rejection letters the second time around. It wasn’t always easy but I knew I could carry myself through it all. And I did until I received the one acceptance letter that ultimately led me to graduate as a PA with honors.
I became persistent which was completely backed up by my passion to empower others along their path. In that moment of feeling kicked down, I saw what it felt like to be swallowed by the fears and doubts. I saw that I could either let them consume me and keep me in the same place that was doing more harm than good, or I could move through it anyway and then come out on the other side now helping other people move through their own transitory period.
I chose the latter and watched it pay off in dividends.
When it comes from that place of passion, the power and charge behind it can be so strong that it transports you into a new reality pretty quickly. So lean into that part of you that desires more for you, that knows there is a better way.
Finally, I have learned that as logical and analytical I can be (especially with my science background), the most profound revelations occurred when I listened to my heart. When I listened to my heart, I got accepted to one PA program that second round of applying and it just so happened to be in my dream city at the time – New York City.
When we listen to our hearts and trust in a higher power, we become unreasonable. We ask for the things that go beyond what we previously thought we could ask for. We let ourselves dream bigger. And open up to receive bigger.
So that moment of “failure” isn’t really a failure.
It is a pivot so that you can receive more than what you previously settled for.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is the overachieving, successful (by societal standards) woman who seems to have it all on paper but still feels dissatisfied with her life.
In her relationships, she finds that she cannot connect to people at the deeper level she desires to. She often attracts in emotionally unavailable people. And even if she has a partner or a highly lucrative job, something is lacking internally.
They may have sudden or chronic health conditions including debilitating anxiety and depression. They feel burnt out and do not know how to create this new life and usually don’t believe it is possible for them.
These women know they are destined for more; they desire intimacy and fulfillment.
They secretly yearn to create a life on their own terms where they feel loved, supported, seen, and in love with the reality they have created. By the time they reach out to me to start the deeper healing and transformative work, they are ready for change and to actively participate in birthing a new future. Anything less than this is a non-negotiable at this point.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theyogamovementnyc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theyogamovement/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/theyogamovement
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theyogamovementnyc/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theyogamovementnyc
- Other: Link to apply for Ignite Your Queen: https://mf234uegamm.typeform.com/to/lOBa2Sjr
