To be an ambassador is to understand how powerful our resolve in being part of something much bigger than ourselves expands our lives. Within the Wellness Ambassador Program, I became aware and illuminated more parts of that awareness through understanding what “well” meant for me. The brilliance of the program is not in its prescription of practices and supplements; the brilliance of the program is in making each of us, as individuals, the compass for our own wellness.
I came to the program trying to digest the recommendations of several philosophies, diets, lifestyles, hoping that at least one would allow me to finally declare myself as “well.” Being healthy felt like the only value I could control in my life, and thus I did everything I could to define myself as that, however, everything was not enough. In theory, nothing was enough, because in trying to be nutritious, I was not nourishing myself. I was not giving to my body and my soul what I needed to feel whole, to see myself as the whole I already am.
Thus, when I was blessed with the container of the Wellness Ambassador program, I was also given a space to see myself, as I am, and listen to my needs. The conversations and connections never required anything of me, never prescribed anything to me, never defined me as something. It is through the safety and freedom that colored the intention of the problem that I was able to speak to myself, to declare my wholeness, and to really invite wellness into my life. I began to see my body as my vessel, a vessel that was so strong and resilient and compassionate, all of which I did not believe I could have without following every recommendation of every healthcare and wellness professional.
Nourishment began to empower my mind to believe in myself as everything that I am. The questions no longer asked “Will this be healthy?” “Is this nutritious?” “Will I be better for doing this?”. They evolved into an invitation to quiet me, listen, deciding that my health, my wholeness, my spirit is connected to a soul that writes poetry through life. As I allowed myself to be the poet of my experience, I relaxed, restored, and rejuvenated the tissues, both literally and figuratively, that make up my body.
By learning through Ananta, I was reminded over and over again that my agency is my first blessing. Though most people will give me a prescription, my body is not a problem to be solved. My health is not something to be fixed, but instead to be understood and honored.
Ananta asked me who I wanted to be and how I could be her. She encouraged me to understand my dimensions, to understand how big my being could be. She saw within me a light I had dulled. She reached out to that light. She comforted that light. She empowered that light to shine. I began to speak. I began to write. I began to share. I declared myself the artist, the poet, the storyteller that I am, with the clarity of who I want to be in this life. She continues to hold that light for me, reminding me of who I know myself to be. She continues to see the goddess within me that I am still learning to adorn with love and acceptance.
Ananta’s heart and vision are supplemented through the team of people and the intention through which she connects us all. This team, this program is a community, it is a garden. The fragrance of each person mesmerizes alone but surrenders itself to the much greater melody of the garden as a whole. Ananta and her team redefine love, wholeheartedly seeing each individual and holding the stories of each sacred.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SHWETA BHATT is an artist, former consultant, and graduate of The Ancient Way’s 2021 Wellness Ambassador Program.