Exploring Life & Business with Anji Kat

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anji Kat.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been active, vivacious and out-going. Fortunate enough to grow up in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, there wasn’t a weekend during the year that you couldn’t find me hiking through pine forests, bouldering up to the expansive vistas of nature all around me. It’s no wonder that I became enamored with Colorado and chose to make this state my new home. My parents always encouraged us kids to be active and to explore nature regularly and since my mother was a career nurse, I became immersed in medicine and healthcare, interested in how healing works.

I obtained a Master’s degree in Health Promotion and Wellness Management in 2000, because I was passionate about helping others eat well, stay fit and lose weight and achieve optimal heart health. I regularly rode my bike wherever I could, ran 5K races and stretched my lungs hiking in Mother Nature’s gym. I loved my early career in worksite health and wellness! I got to preach my favorite gospel of the holy trinity – eat right, exercise, maintain a healthy weight – and I was making a difference in people’s lives!

I continued my learning and training and became a Certified Wellness Coach in 2007, and as I went through the rigorous training, learning about coaching psychology and how people change behavior, something started to shift in my understanding of wellness.

I discovered through the hundreds of people that I coached every month that there were SO many factors that influenced behavior change and whether we adopted healthy habits or not. I discovered that wellness was not necessarily based on MY definition! I then started guiding my clients to define for themselves what their path to wellness looked like – and totally ignoring the warning signs that my own path was leading toward disaster.

I had a great job managing a worksite fitness center and teaching both fitness classes and wellness classes. I LOVED it and lots of folks were totally engaged! I was getting up at 5 am EVERY morning to run my three miles and finish with 30 minutes of yoga and meditation, then I taught Boot Camp or some other high intensity fitness class for employees, I was an eating a robust vegan diet, and also taught yoga in my studio three nights a week. I was the fittest and strongest I had ever been! I was wearing size 2 jeans!! I had a flat stomach that every woman craved!

And yet, my body was starting to speak to me – and they say if you don’t listen when it whispers, you’ll be forced to hear it when it’s screams. I started to notice that I was overheated and exhausted after my workouts. I developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot and I started having aches and pains all over my body that would last the whole day. It was like I had arthritis and I felt like I was 80 years old despite being only 40! I started gaining weight and the final straw was the onset of the most epic insomnia I had ever experienced. Wide awake every. single. Night until 3 am and desperately trying to wake up and get to work by 7 am.

It took a year of feeling miserable before I finally discovered through a routine blood test what was happening – I was terribly malnourished and suffered the consequences of Overtraining Syndrome. And what was the only treatment option for me? Rest and eating more. Now for most, this seems like a dream prescription, but for someone who lived and breathed “health and wellness”, I had deep fears about gaining weight, losing my tone, becoming tired, weak and lazy, and worst of all, I was terrified of how I would look and how others would see me – especially since I was a “model of health” for my job and my community! Who am I and what value do I have if I don’t look the part of a physically fit wellness expert?? I couldn’t ignore the fact that, spin-class-be-damned, I needed to take a break. A LONG break. To rest, recover… and revitalize.

And what an IMMENSE gift from the Universe that was!! That forced stillness allowed me to stop and take a long look at my life – what was working, what wasn’t, and what I had missed out on because I was SO focused on an outdated vision of what I thought health and well-being looked like. Yes, I gained weight – and ironically friends and family came out of the woodwork to tell me that they were GLAD because I was now glowing with health! I stepped up my spiritual studies, learned how to make emotional and mental wellness the cornerstone of my path, became certified as an Integrative Nutrition Coach and Mindfulness Instructor, and started to not only heal myself but my clients started achieving even greater well-being through a more spiritual, energetic, true mind-body approach. Through my deeply personal experience, which continues as I enter my 50th decade, I’m even more convinced that diet and exercise are NOT the cornerstones of health & wellness – there is something deeper and truer for each person that defines their experience of a soulful life full of vitality.

Now, I’m in the best health of my life and feel so much more passion and vitality and true contentment, living a life I designed using these same principles I share with my clients.

I believe that it’s time for a new era of health and wellness and I believe 100% that with the right tools and guidance, that everyone can find the keys to their personal expression of health, wellbeing, and soulful living. That’s why I started Soulful Living with Anji – I wanted to help clients get out of the dizzying maze of rules and restrictions that our diet culture has ingrained in us. I love helping people step into their own personal power and manifest true wellbeing of their own design. Sometimes we do still work on healthy movement and nourishment for our bodies, but more often we work together on finding where they need more joy, more self-care, greater spiritual and social connection, and even crafting their career and life purpose. This new approach to wellness has been so rewarding for me and my clients – I get to guide them and watch in awe as they fall in love with their body, their wellness, their life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Soulful Living with Anji is the name of my spiritual and life coaching practice. I often tell prospective clients that I am a “soul whisperer”, as I have a unique talent for listening and drawing out their innate wisdom, guiding them to a life of more soulful living. I also incorporate meditation, yoga asana & pranayama, mindfulness, energy work and my empathic intuition with traditional coaching methodology in my sessions. While my background is in health and wellness, and clients may come to me seeking guidance in nutrition and weight loss, most often we end up spending time on addressing other areas of their life that contribute to their current lifestyle choices. Addressing whole person wellness in this way with my Soulful Living Assessment ensures that we get to the heart of the matter and create long-term transformation. I firmly believe that health is not about diet and exercise, I believe it is about a deeper connection to the soulfulness of life that creates the space and inspiration for us to make healthy lifestyle changes that last.

What does success mean to you?
When it comes to defining success, my favorite quote from Maya Angelou comes to mind: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” The key for me is that definitions of success – or wellness, for that matter – are fluid. What may have been success for you in your 20’s may look totally different in your 40’s and beyond. I think it’s important to give ourselves the space and grace to redefine success in our lives as needed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.soulfullivingwithanji.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soufullivingwithanji

Image Credits
Amy Rose Photography, LLC (Mt. Vernon, Iowa)