From Ireland to India

A Life of Sacred Choices, Creativity, Inner Integrity, and Awakening Body's Intelligence 

In today's fast-paced society, where we are mostly ensnared by the convenience culture, it has become critical to understand our choices and their repercussions. Urbanisation, dietary changes, tobacco use, and sedentary lifestyles all have a significant impact on India's high mortality rates, affecting almost 77 million individuals. According to the research, tackling this rise in lifestyle diseases requires immediate and comprehensive action at the personal, social, and policy levels. 

As J. Krishnamurti stated, hope does not lie in society, systems, or organized religions—it lies in you and me. To be a light unto oneself is not philosophy; it is personal responsibility. Gandhi echoed this truth: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” 

We may not control everything, but passivity is not an option. Awareness demands action, not excuses or dependence on external forces. The first item on life’s checklist is health and well-being. Without physical and mental strength, ambition, purpose, and ideals collapse. If you are exhausted or sick, what else truly matters?  

 Living Clean, Living Conscious: Path to Embodied Vitality 

My body adapted to the practice of fasting, transitioning from unconscious programming of childhood to a conscious choice of my lifestyle today. I spoke in length about it in my last article “My journey into Autophagy aligned with Jain Wisdom”. 

On days when I’m not fasting, my diet consists of homemade meals with fresh local grown fruits, vegetables, proteins and nutrients combined with walking, exercise and yoga. I am a vegetarian by both birth and choice and my lifestyle is intentionally clean—no alcohol, no smoking, nothing that disrupts the natural intelligence of the body. I discovered, once your body’s intelligence awakens, you cannot unsee it.  

It detest heavy foods, burnout and anything that numbs or overstimulate the senses. My body and I have developed a loud and clear a way to communicate. At my best, I feel nourished, joyous, well rested and at home. It just provides me with the vitality, energy, and presence essential for living fullest and my work as a therapist to be profoundly attuned in order to help others. 

Quiet Integrity, Deep Alignment 

I still remember my time in Ireland during my higher studies, a chapter shaped by rain-washed streets, warm conversations, and the easy rhythm of Irish social life. Most evenings naturally flowed into pubs—places where friendships were built over pints and shared laughter. 

In the midst of that culture, I would meet my friends with nothing more than a glass of juice or a cup of hot chocolate. It wasn’t a statement or an act of resistance; it was simply who I was. I never felt the need to compromise my health or my values to belong. Somehow, even in a foreign land, my inner compass stayed steady.   

Looking back, those moments feel like quiet affirmations—evidence that integrity doesn’t need to be loud. It can sit lightly at a table full of noise, still choosing what feels true. 

At home in India, except when I’m traveling, I make sure to finish my dinner by sunset. This simple practice has a strong scientific basis. Eating with the sun supports the body’s circadian rhythm, the internal clock that regulates digestion, immunity, and hormonal balance and quality sleep. When meals are aligned with daylight, the body produces optimal digestive enzymes, insulin sensitivity is higher, and the inflammatory load remains low. 

Late meals, by contrast, interfere with the circadian clock in the gut, causing slower digestion, blood sugar spikes, poor sleep quality, and low-grade inflammation. By shifting my last meal to before sunset, I’ve naturally supported better gut health, steadier metabolism, and improved overall immunity. 

This discipline has evolved gradually over the past few years, inspired deeply by my mother, whose way of living has always been in sync with nature. And I’ve experienced profound benefits from it—reduced inflammation, clearer energy, better digestion, and a level of physical and emotional stability that feels like my true baseline. 

Art, Wellbeing  and Self-Discovery 

 I have long appeared to others as self-assured and self-contained, and over time I’ve grown into a deep acceptance of that truth. I carry many gifts, and my ability to create is the one that keeps me alive and engaged. Since childhood, art has been my way of staying true to my inner self. Whenever my expression finds an outlet, something in me becomes lighter—freer. On the other hand, it would be a betrayal of self to suppress my inner truth or push things under the rug as though everything is alright. This is one of the major reasons of mental and physical disorders in women and men today. To express yourself through art is vital; to be witnessed with care and safe presence is transformative. 

My art practice is my sanctuary—a space where clarity, flow, and insight emerge, offering a sense of sacred safety amid the chaos of the world. Trained at the esteemed Sir J. J. School of Applied Art, Mumbai, and with a Master’s in Art therapy from Crawford College of Art and Design, Ireland, my journey with art has been both disciplined and intuitive. 

My creative expression unfolds across painting, pottery, writing, jewellery-making, and the healing process of Art therapy. One presence—moving intuitively, revealing itself through different mediums. Each practice is both a process and a prayer, an exploration of inner landscapes and embodied wisdom.

 Art therapy is a body-based psychotherapy, bridging mind and body for healing. Neuroscience demonstrates that art helps by engaging brain regions for emotion, focus, and problem-solving, reducing stress, improving cognitive functions like attention and impulse control, and fostering neuroplasticity for healing, making it a powerful tool for mental health, trauma processing, and overall well-being.  

I believe every human being has enough within themselves to discover and you can find fulfilment in yourselves.  

Jainism as a Living Science 

Jainism has had a significant impact on me, not just because I was born into a Jain household, but also because its philosophy is rooted in science-that emphasises nonviolence, balance, simplicity, charity and respect for natural living. Today, wellness is frequently promoted as something "new," "modern," or “scientific.” But what truly sustained me was not a trend, but the wisdom of my own lineage, understood through a contemporary lens. Jain living is inherently scientific. It’s rhythms, rituals, food choices and regard for all living beings are meant to foster clarity and consciousness. My mother embodied this quietly. Her strength and vitality at 60 today is evidence of the sustainability of this way of life. And I know of many women who had been living healthier and disease free.  

“We borrowed this body from nature. And nature does not ask anything in return.  

Whether we abuse it, treat it like a temple, or a conscious co-creator/vehicle for this life. It is up to us what we do with it” - Rutika  

The Body Keeps The Score 

I became interested in somatics through my own lived experience—by listening intuitively, working with my body, and engaging in deep self-inquiry. Rooted in the Greek word for “body,” somatics honors bodily sensations, movement, and internal signals as vital pathways to healing and recovery. 

I watched how many girls and women in India are disconnected with their bodies and were raised in a way that was similar to mine yet different: they were taught to disregard sensations, ignore fatigue, silence discomfort, and prioritise expectations over embodiment. Many women, both young and elderly, deal with many psychosomatic symptoms like chronic pain, gastrointestinal issues, cardiovascular and respiratory issues, skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis all linked to years of mental stress and trauma. Know that whatever you suppress, is revealed through your body: it keeps the score.  

Without identifying the main source of their conditions, many women seek treatments based on symptoms, with little hope of gaining authority over their bodies or addressing the root cause.  

I discovered many untold stories of women their body communicated through inflammatory symptoms and autoimmune disorders such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, cancer and respiratory issues like asthma etc. In India, these cases are increasing at an exponential rate. 

The Seed of Sacred Space 

How an unexpected conversation led the journey for a wider vision 

I'd gone to see a pulmonologist for a family member. In our conversation, I mentioned my career and my recent move to Nasik from Ireland. After learning that, he immediately shared the case of a 29-year-old woman in his distant family who was struggling in a deeply painful marriage. She had attempted suicide twice and had been hospitalised. By the time I met her, she was under psychiatric and psychological care, taking high doses of antidepressants and sleeping medication, and attending talk therapy sessions. Despite every effort, nothing seemed to help her.  

When the doctor asked if I could do anything, I said yes—guided not by certainty, but by trust in the body’s innate intelligence. 

In our first meeting, her exhaustion was palpable. Trauma had shut her system down completely. She told me, quietly, “If medication hasn’t worked, nothing will.” Years of suppressed pain and prolonged treatment had left her disconnected from her body—and from any sense of possibility. 

Rather than revisiting traumatic memories, we began with the body. In holistic and somatic healing, safety comes first. When the nervous system is overwhelmed, insight alone cannot heal. So we focused on gentle practices that restored regulation—breath, awareness, and small experiences of ease. The goal was not to “fix” her, but to help her body remember that it was safe to feel again. 

The turning point came during our third session. It was subtle, but profound. Her body responded. Something softened. Hope quietly returned. She said to me, "I want to be that happy girl I was before all this hell broke through." 

Over the next two months, healing unfolded steadily. There were tears—not only of grief for what she and her family had endured, but also of clarity. She began to recognise how long she had been searching for relief in places that could not reach the source of her pain. As her body regained strength and presence, her sense of agency returned. 

That journey stayed with me. 

It affirmed a truth often overlooked in modern wellness: healing is not always about doing more or analysing harder. Sometimes, it begins by listening—deeply—to the body. Body and mind are one not separate. True wellbeing requires spaces where people are met gently, without urgency, and where the nervous system is given time to settle before the mind is asked to make meaning. 

Her successful recovery became the seed for Sacred Space, a sanctuary I later founded to support women and children in reconnecting with their bodies, voices, and inner resilience and help them equip with valuable lifeskills. What began as one woman’s journey back to herself became foundation for sacred offerings—rooted in compassion, presence, and the quiet wisdom of the body-mind.  

My path has led me to the right places, people, and moments to offer my expertise, such as writing this piece. I was guided to offer my signature program, Art and Wellbeing, which combines somatic practices with other vital life skills. This course is offered exclusively to those few who have undertaken their own journey, value creativity, and feel called to be a beacon of light—supporting others in finding their way to healing and discovery. As Pablo Picasso said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”   

A Sacred Path, Lived and Earned 

 I became an expert not just through certificates or degrees, but through experience through surviving what once felt overwhelming. Looking back, I feel a deep sense of pride in having carved my own sacred path—one that remains true, intuitive, and untouched by outside influences.  

Lastly, because we all love our loved ones. 

Here’s an important question to ponder on 

“Can anything anything in this life truly surpass the gift of your healthy presence to those you love?” 

~Rutika Ostwal 

Rutika founded Sacred Space, a centre for creative arts therapy and somatic healing. She is a qualified Art therapist and somatic practitioner trained in Ireland and Yoga in India, with a focus on body-based psychotherapy for trauma recovery. Trained in both CBT and AT, she offers a rare blend of counselling aligned with CAT to help children, parents, and young women with emotional or personal challenges such as behavioural issues, attachment and developmental issues, emotional regulation, social media addiction, anxiety, confidence building, depression, stress reduction and so on. Currently based in Nasik, she works both in person and online with individuals and group.  

Rutika is member of TATAI’s research and publication committee. 

She worked at Bon Secours Hospital, Marymount Hospice, Colaiste Eamann Ris School, and Faranlea Nursing Home in Ireland between 2019 and 2022.