Choosing Yourself: A Lesson I Took Home from International Yoga Day

Before I begin, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the World Pulse community for creating a space where women from around the world can share their stories, amplify their voices, and advocate for the causes they care about most.

Through storytelling, World Pulse has become more than a platform—it is a community. It is a place where women learn from one another, encourage one another, and remind each other that our voices matter. For me, it has also been a place of growth. It has strengthened my confidence as a writer and, during some of life's more challenging moments, offered a sense of connection and hope that quietly supported my journey toward healing. For that, I am truly grateful.

Recently, I had the privilege of attending the commemoration of International Yoga Day, hosted by the High Commission of India- Pretoria in collaboration with its partners. The event brought together people from different backgrounds to celebrate something simple yet powerful: the importance of caring for our minds, our bodies, and our overall wellbeing. As someone who advocates for health and wellness, the experience reminded me that self-care is not a luxury. It is an investment in ourselves.

Too often, women are taught to put everyone else's needs before their own. We are expected to keep giving, keep serving, and keep carrying responsibilities without taking time to replenish ourselves. Sometimes we even find ourselves comparing our journeys to those of other women instead of celebrating our own growth.

But what if we chose something different?

What if we decided to celebrate every step forward, no matter how small?

Not every achievement has to be a major milestone. Sometimes success looks like choosing peace over pressure. Sometimes it is deciding to go for a walk, attend a yoga session, ask for help, start saving money, begin a new course, or simply take a moment to breathe after a difficult week. Those moments matter.

One lesson I continue to learn is that we should not wait for life to become perfect before showing ourselves love. There will always be another responsibility, another challenge, or another reason to postpone caring for ourselves. The best time to invest in your wellbeing is now. Whether that investment is physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or financial, every small act of self-care contributes to the person you are becoming.

Growth is rarely dramatic. More often, it is built through the small choices we make consistently. So today, I want to encourage every woman reading this: celebrate your progress. Be kind to yourself. Honour the distance you have already travelled. You deserve to experience joy not only when you reach your destination, but throughout the journey itself. Because loving yourself is not about waiting until everything is perfect. It is about choosing yourself, again and again, every single day.

Yoga has taught me many things, but perhaps the greatest lesson has been discipline. It taught me that growth is not always loud. Sometimes it is choosing to show up for yourself, even when life feels heavy. Sometimes it is taking one more step, one more breath, one more day at a time. Over the years, yoga has become more than a form of exercise. It has become a way of rebuilding myself.

It has taught me resilience. It has reminded me that even in my darkest moments, there was still light within me waiting to be rediscovered. It helped me understand that while I cannot always control what happens to me, I can choose how I respond to it. That realization changed my life. It also taught me to take responsibility for my own growth. Instead of waiting for life to change, I began making choices that aligned with the woman I wanted to become. I stopped allowing excuses to define my future and started believing that small, consistent actions could transform my life.

As I continued on that journey, I found myself drawn to spaces that reflected those values—health, humanitarian work, and community development. Today, I have the privilege of walking alongside others as they navigate their own journeys. There is something deeply meaningful about celebrating not only my own progress but also the courage, healing, and growth of the people I meet through advocacy and community work.

Every time someone chooses hope over fear, asks for support, speaks their truth, or takes one small step toward healing, I celebrate with them. Yoga has also taught me to be kinder to myself. For a long time, I carried experiences that made me question my own worth and my own voice. Healing did not erase those experiences, but it transformed the way I saw myself. Instead of allowing my past to define me, I slowly began reclaiming my voice, my confidence, and my sense of purpose.

I learned to pour back into myself. I learned that choosing myself is not selfish—it is necessary. It also awakened my creativity. It reminded me that imagination is a gift, that dreams are worth pursuing, and that we all have the ability to create a different future for ourselves, one decision at a time. Above all, my faith has been my anchor. It has reminded me that I am never walking alone. I have learned to trust God's guidance, to seek wisdom in every season, and to believe that the right people and the right opportunities will come at the right time.

One of the most freeing lessons I have learned is that I do not need to depend on the approval of many people to feel complete. I am already whole. That understanding has brought me peace. Today, I am proud of my resilience—not because my journey has been easy, but because I chose to keep moving forward. And as I celebrate my own resilience, I celebrate every woman on this platform who continues to rise after disappointment, loss, uncertainty, or pain. Your story matters. Your strength matters. And your journey deserves to be honoured.

If there is one message I hope every woman takes away from this, it is this:

You do not have to wait until everything is perfect to believe in yourself. You do not have to earn your worth. You do not have to become someone else before you deserve love, rest, joy, or peace. You are already enough. To every woman who is carrying the weight of trauma, grief, anxiety, or silent battles that others cannot see, I want to say this:

I am deeply sorry for what those experiences have taken from you. I am sorry for the moments they made you question your worth, your voice, or your dreams. But I also hope, with all my heart, that one day you will discover what healing has taught me—that trauma may shape part of your story, but it does not get to write the ending.

May you find the courage to always choose yourself. May you celebrate every small victory. May you remember that healing is not a destination but a journey. And may you come to see what I now believe with my whole heart: You have always been whole. Sometimes, healing simply helps you remember it.