Self-Care & Mental Wellness: Tara Gangadharan Of THARA SACRA On The Top Five Selfcare Practices That Improve Mental Wellness

An Interview With Maria Angelova

Breathe — Breath is life. Check in with your breathing. It can tell you so much about your mental and physical state in the present moment. Are you breathing deep, fast, slow, short? Once you know, you can adjust to bring you back to center.

Let’s face it. It seems that everyone is under a great deal of stress these days. This takes a toll on our mental wellness. What are some of the best self-care practices that we can use to help improve our mental wellness and mental well-being? In this interview series, we are talking to medical doctors, mental health professionals, health and wellness professionals, and experts about self-care or mental health who can share insights from their experience about How Each Of Us Can Use Self Care To Improve Our Mental Wellness. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Tara Gangadharan.

Tara Gangadharan MBA, CA, is the founder of THARA SACRA, a sacred self-care company out of Detroit, MI that creates products that help to support physical and energetic beauty.

Her realization of the critical importance of tending to the energetic roots of our health and wellness came after experiencing a major health crisis in her late thirties while working in the high paced environments of the Automotive and FMCG industries.

Following this deep calling toward sacred arts healing, she found that through focusing on balancing and healing her energy, she was helping to heal deep wounds within herself. It was from this place that the idea for THARA SACRA was born.

Thank you so much for doing this interview with us. It is a great honor. Our readers would love to learn more about you and your personal background. Can you please share your personal story? What has brought you to this point in your life?

As the daughter of a father who was an immigrant from India and a mother who was first generation Scottish American, I had a very multicultural upbringing. My home was filled with statues the deities of my father’s homeland while my mother faithfully took us to Episcopal church every Sunday and enrolled us in a Baptist Christian School.

I can’t look back and say that I had a clear idea of what I wanted to be when I “grew up.” Education was important in my family, so I followed the route of going to college, but I wasn’t zeroed in on a specific major. When I graduated, I got a job through a family friend and ended up in the Automotive Industry.

I was sharp and had natural business acumen, so I progressed quickly in my career; however, something was missing. When the Automotive Industry took a downturn in 2009, I threw caution to the wind and moved to England, UK without a job or a plan. As fate would have it, I accepted an offer to work at a global FMCG firm in a role that supported cosmetics manufacturing. I didn’t know it at the time, but that sparked a creative energy in me that had been lying dormant.

I returned to Detroit, MI three years later for personal reasons and found myself right back in the Automotive industry. I put that creative energy back in its box, kept my head down, and focused on my “career,” but it wouldn’t be silent for long. Shortly after I arrived back, I suffered a personal health crisis.

This health issue was different than anything I had experienced before. External stress played a major role, and I had to figure out ways to manage both my symptoms and my energy — or I was going to lose the battle. Through necessity, my creative energy and intuition took the helm.

Using the knowledge I gathered along the way, I created ways to support both my physical and energetic wellness. As those techniques started to work for me, the ideas for what would become my future business, THARA SACRA, started to fall into place. Fast forward eight years later, and it’s now a fully formed business aimed at helping and supporting others in the ways I had learned.

When I look back, while I didn’t have my life and career completely charted out, I can see how each step brought me closer to the place I am today.

What is your “WHY” behind what you do? What fuels you?

I’ve had a career where the “WHY” was what I was expected to do, and I never found fulfillment or joy.

Since creating THARA SACRA, that has shifted greatly. When I hear that a product I have made has helped someone work through an energetic or emotional block, I feel a warmth of joy that fills my whole being. Hearing about their experiences fuels my desire to create more products that can help support their wellness journey.

Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake or failure which you now appreciate has taught you a valuable lesson?

One of my biggest and most consistent mistakes is not listening to my intuition and silencing myself. I could tie that one theme to so many repeated failures in life and business.

Early on in my career, I was told I didn’t know or understand things and to just keep quiet. I would keep quiet and watch things occur — exactly as I knew they would. Then, I would have to clean up “the mess.”

That quickly became a repeated pattern in both my personal and professional lives, and it was wreaking havoc in so many areas of my life — fueling inefficiencies and unnecessary stress.

It has taken a lot of work to unwind that unhealthy energy pattern. Now that I listen and speak up, things are so much easier…with less mistakes and rework.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Emotional Intelligence — This is a skillset I worked on and honed in my corporate career that became the foundation of my future business. The ability to understand and manage my own emotions helped me relive stress and have a better understanding of the emotional impact on energy and wellness.
2. Empathy — This has proved to be an important skillset in my life as a team leader but also in my business as it’s helped me to understand the needs of my customers and how / when to adjust, if needed.
3. Resilience — Launching a business or leading an organization comes with a high amount of stress. Things are not always going to go your way, and you must be able to recover quickly and keep going forward.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting new projects you are working on now? How do you think that will help people?

I just recently launched a new essential oil formula called “Blend.” It’s inspired by the polarized feminine and masculine energies that fuel the ebb and flow of the universe.

A lot of my clients have used my blends to help support coming into and understanding their own identity. While listening to and learning their stories, I saw parallels to my own life.

I began my career in an environment that encouraged tapping into masculine energies in order to succeed. I suppressed much of my feminine energies to get ahead, and I was miserable. When I shed those narratives, my creative energy was allowed to flow, and I was much more confident, successful, and happy in my life and career.

I wanted this blend to not only help people with balancing and nurturing these energies, but also to be a conduit to understanding each other and how those energies move in our universe. We love to put things into little boxes and concrete definitions, but energy isn’t binary. It’s fluid.

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview, about the interface between self-care and mental health. From where you stand personally or professionally, why are you so passionate about mental well-being?

So many people in our society are burnt out and unable to operate at their highest potential. It’s toxic to us as a society and as a planet.

I know first-hand how much our mental well-being can impact our personal and professional lives. We cannot be our best if we aren’t taking care of that aspect of our wellness.

I want everyone to have simple ways on their tool kit to make self-care and mental well-being a natural part of their day.

Based on your research or experience, how exactly does self-care impact our mental wellness?

I’ve noticed that when I’m not caring for myself, the biggest impact to my mental wellness is that I lose self-awareness. I missed every sign of my illness because I was focusing on external things like work and personal commitments.

During my illness I never took off work or social commitments, I was managing extreme levels of pain while completely ignoring my needs. I used to think having a high threshold for pain was something to wear like a badge of honor. As kids we’d even joke that we’d only go to an emergency room if we lost a limb. Self-care was the least important thing on my list, I had to push through and “be strong”.

Eventually my mind started to give out, I was depressed, angry, frustrated and incapable of managing my emotions. My mind, in an effort to survive, could only manage one thing, and that was the root cause of the pain I was ignoring.

Since stress is a major trigger for my illness, I have learned to catch the signs when I’ve slipped back into old patterns and I immediately pull back and tend to my needs. I now view self-awareness and self-care as an act of strength and intelligence and encourage others to do the same.

Here is our primary question. Can you please share your “Top Five Selfcare Practices That Each Of Us Can Use To Improve Our Mental Wellness”?

1. Get Grounded — In today’s modern life we are so UN-grounded. We are constantly “plugged in” — driving around in metal boxes, and sitting in rooms at desks cut off from the earth. If you are not operating from a strong base, you cannot fly.
2. Breathe — Breath is life. Check in with your breathing. It can tell you so much about your mental and physical state in the present moment. Are you breathing deep, fast, slow, short? Once you know, you can adjust to bring you back to center.
3. Set boundaries, and keep them — What are your boundaries? Write them down. It can be as simple as “I will not work during lunch” Remember, that last part is key, whatever your boundary is, you set it for a reason. Be your own advocate and honor yourself by keeping it.
4. Rest — Get a good night’s rest, and check in with your rest status during the day. We sometimes get so busy that we go many hours without taking the breaks our mind and bodies need. Ask yourself, “when is the last time I rested today?” If you can’t remember, take a break.
5. Prioritize your health and well-being — Eating right, grooming, movement/exercise, setting up regular health check-ups. Make these things a priority.

Can you please share a few of the main roadblocks that prevent people from making better self-care choices? What would you suggest can be done to overcome those roadblocks?

There are so many things, but what immediately came to my mind was fear. Fear you don’t have time. Fear you will be judged. Fear of guilt. Fear of not being perfect. Fear of loving yourself.

I learned the hard way that those fears are nothing compared to the consequences of ignoring your self-care. So, I recommend instead you start small.

Start by just checking in with yourself for 1–5 minutes a day. Ask yourself a series of questions:

How do I feel right now?

What is my emotional state?

How does my body feel?

Am I holding stress anywhere?

Do I need anything? (Water, food, the restroom etc.)

Questions like these bring you into the present moment and into a state of self-awareness. Once you notice something, you can adjust it. I often hold stress in my shoulders, so pausing to ask myself these questions always lets me know if I’m in a state of stress. If I am, I can go for a walk or do a few rounds of breathwork to recalibrate.

In one sentence, what would you say to someone who doesn’t prioritize their mental well-being?

I know it can be hard, but we are only at our best when we take care of ourselves; try little things and work up to more.

Thank you for all that great insight! Let’s start wrapping up. Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does this quote resonate with you so much?

“To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul” — Simone Weil

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? They might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

Lizzo. She embodies the energy I was tapping into when I created my Radiate Essential Oil blend. Someone who radiates their truest essence with joy and vibrance. I would love to hear her journey and how she uses self- love and self-awareness to be her best and most authentic self.

I truly appreciate your time and valuable contribution. One last question. How can our readers best reach or follow you?

Thank you so much for the opportunity. The best way to follow me and get in touch is on my Instagram @tharasacra. I still manage the account personally and I share tips and prompts that encourage self-care. Alternatively, you can follow me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/taraganga

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.

About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.