“Success is about being whole in one’s skin, no matter the circumstances. Being positively neutral. Unshaken by sorrow, unfettered by chances of happiness.”
She travels at least once every two months, and believes that learning can happen anywhere, even in transit. You might bump into her on your next trip, sitting beside you with a book. That’s another thing about her—an appetite for books. Last year she went through 46 of ‘em, and swears by annual re-reads of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.
She values her peace of mind above everything else, except, perhaps, her seven-year-old labrador, Coco. Gratitude lists and journaling are as much a part of her life as spending time with friends.
But building this life was anything but easy.
Sharayu had the kind of life almost every adult wants.
A well paying job. A happy marriage. Coco, then just a fur baby.
A settled life.
Until one day, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, she lost her husband to a sudden heart attack.
Her world had shattered, and she wasn’t sure if she had the strength to pick up the broken pieces.
Sometimes, the very thought “What next?” becomes too overwhelming, terrifying even. And so it was for her.
She focused on the immediate things on her plate: A co-loan which now fell on her. The formalities and legalities of losing a family member. Attending to relatives.
Coping with the unspoken stigma of being a young widow in India. The side glances. The doubts. The subtle taunts. Boundaries often crossed with good-intentioned advice.
She had a lot on her plate, but time to grieve wasn’t one of them.
Life seemed to move faster. But grief is like hunger, one can’t wish it away. The hurt demands recognition.
It began affecting her life.
Sharayu went to a therapist. Then another. And another.
The experience seemed like going on blind dates.
Clinical atmosphere, sombre rooms, an unknown person with a solemn look, jotting away something on a notepad.
The entire setting spoke to a person: there’s something wrong with you, and we’re going to diagnose the heck out of you.
There may have been competence and knowledge, but she felt something far more essential was missing: empathy.
Her office had full-time life and performance coaches to support any employee in their professional and personal lives. Though initially hesitant, she gave it a shot.
The safe space, care, and compassion she experienced from her coach encouraged Sharayu to continue the sessions. Progress was slow but steady.
Sharayu applied the exercises, frameworks, and tools that her coach suggested. It had a grounding effect on her.
She gained the wisdom and the strength to look grief in the eye and decide that it wasn’t going to dictate her life anymore.
Her emotions were her own to regulate. Her decisions own to make. This was it—life. And it was up to her to make of it what she will.
She began to live—perhaps for the first time—for herself.
Found reasons to love and cherish the new Sharayu, to honor and own her journey.
That year she got promoted. Doubled her salary. And built a team from the ground up.
Having a life coach empowered her. But she didn’t realize to what extent until a few years later when her cousin’s husband died.
They were close, but the tragedy brought them closer than ever before, and in a profound way.
She tried to be there for her and share what she could from her experience.
But she wasn’t a coach yet. And she realized the stark difference in how she had dealt with her grief and the way her cousin tried to deal with hers.
The support of a coach gave her two crucial powers: structure and resilience.
Since her epiphany, Sharayu has made it her life’s purpose to make life coaching more accessible to people from all walks of life, without requiring clinical diagnosis.
In her experience, every person wanting to improve their life quality can strongly benefit from having a structured safe space.
And that’s what you can expect from working with her: a judgement-free, safe space.
You can work with her as long as you:
If you’re looking for something clinical or transactional, you may want to look elsewhere. Because she will take the time to see the world through your eyes. And always ensure a warm, grounded space where you feel heard and understood first.
She is clear about two things, though: growth is holistic, and it demands personal action.
So if you want to create a holistically balanced life, her compassionate yet “tough love” approach could be just what you need.
She wants you to outgrow her (you read that right). As quickly as possible.
Her ultimate goal is for you to not need her support for strength or direction.
She works towards helping you achieve a state of internal stability: where you’re not overwhelmed by life’s challenges nor attached to happiness (but enjoy it to the fullest).
Like Querencia’s other coaches, Sharayu balances a full-time career so that money doesn’t become their North Star in company decisions. They devote personal time to this vision: creating a deeply supportive space where people can heal and grow as a community.
One day, that vision includes a physical space offering expressive pathways to self-discovery: somatic movements, therapies using dance, art, sound, improv, and more. The goal is to empower people through activities that make their hearts sing.
Growth doesn’t have to be a drab affair, at least not here at Querencia.
When you learn to love yourself, you learn to love life.
