We were lucky to catch up with Ramika Toms recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ramika, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
As I was working with youth girls at the time and supporting their needs, I realized if my life is not where I want it to be, how can I help others? So, I started researching the connection of mental and emotional health and how the outcomes of not being in a good emotional space shows up physically in the human body. That led me to going to therapy. Through going to therapy, I started to have breakthroughs, but that also came with something else. I started to have health issues that was affecting my moods. I didn’t know why at times I had trouble focusing on small tasks and irritable often. I was later diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Through that diagnoses, I did more research and found a naturopath doctor. I was given nutrition plans and supplements to take in moderation. I wanted to get to the root causes verses being on medication that masks the diagnoses which I learned in my research. With my therapy sessions I learned that I was not balanced mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. I started to the process to check-in with myself more and journal while also eating balanced meals and going to see a trainer at a gym to stay active. Within the next 6 months checking in with my doctor after getting tests to see where I am, my results were going in the right to reverse my diagnoses. Within the next year, I reversed my pre-diabetes diagnoses.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Growing up in a family that was non-traditional, I was able to be free and expressive. I was exposed to many different experiences which allowed me to accept that one thing that’s constant life which was change. With that, becoming an adult I craved more stability. As I started to look back at my life, I began to realize I was just going through life. I made plans and goals, but nothing stuck. I just could not get in a rhythm. It got to a point in my life when I felt stagnant and I knew I wanted more for myself. I was later diagnosed with pre-diabetes which pushed me to get help. I started therapy and seeing a naturopath doctor to help guide me. I have always been the person that helps others, but therapy helped me realize it’s ok to “get help”. Therapy was not at all what it was made out to be in society. I love learning, so it was easy for me to pick up the tools that I was given and apply them. It was at time that it hit me that I had a rhythm and it was a part of my lifestyle. I did not feel bored or stuck. I felt like I had a purpose and made changes in my life which I always enjoyed growing up, but I am utilizing it in a way where I feel growth versus unproductive movement, Through my years of therapy, I started to create prompts to continue to better help myself through my life experiences and get to know me. I’ve worked in the human services field my whole career around helping community, families and youth. To me, community is invaluable. Through my years of helping others, along the way I stopped taking care of myself and I believe that I went through my health issues to bring me out of helping others before I help myself. Along with me working on myself, in my career I unconsciously created safe spaces in which women started to find a community to get support, resources, and much more. That gave me the idea in May 2020 to take my skills, experiences and research which then I took my prompts and created self-guided journals and my affirmations and created cards to help others. I took what I’ve learned and practiced myself to help others navigate and push through adversity. Helping others has been a huge part of my healing journey. Typically, my customers are wellness driven women who struggle with emotional stability and finding their life’s purpose, I help them navigate their life’s experiences through wellness practices as a way to become intuitive leaders in their healing journey and cultivate and sustain a culture of well-being to overcome behavioral health challenges. I want my customers to know that healing is a life journey and there is not a end, as it is continuous. The name Intuitively HER came from me wanting to be better with my intuition. I am on a journey to deepen my connection to myself and I think others should too. A lot of us have operated from a place of fear when we make choices and decisions in life, so I want to start a movement to deepen our connection and align our body and soul. The thing that I am most proud of is coming out of being pre-diabetic that has got a hold of too many of my family members. My drive and passion is built on my life’s experiences and breaking generational health issues that has plagued my family. I want women, specifically Black & Brown women to take better care of ourselves and that starts with me modeling that for my customers through the 4 pillars; mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Mental self care is about cultivating a healthy mindset, physical self care involves taking care of your body with nutrition and movement, emotional self care is about taking care of your heart/feelings with healthy coping strategies and spiritual self care involves practices or activities that give you a sense of meaning to your life. The foundation of my brand Intuitively HER, is for us to be balanced using the 4 pillars of self care.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
If I could go back, I would have started my business sooner but I believe everything happens for a reason. God’s plan for my life was bigger than just me taking better care of myself. I used to cry often about how I allowed myself to be pre-diabetic. There was a reason I had to go through that, so I can have the lived experience, use my skills from my career in human services and professional help to guide me through my practices. Through self care practices I am able to have a quality lifestyle with trying new things and still have stability with routines. I don’t do the same things everyday, but my routine is including a self care practice in my day that is just for me and fills my cup. It’s not that I would choose the same profession, honestly it’s what I am called to do.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson that I had to unlearn was getting help was not an option. I don’t mean that just when speaking of therapy, but in all aspects of my life. I used to be closed off when it came to love as I started to love myself for real, then love found me and boom I am in a healthy relationship. I didn’t know how to navigate things on my mind, so I started journaling. Through journaling, I started to build a relationship with God instead of how I grew up which was only when I am at church. I needed to exercise but needed guidance, so I got a trainer to teach me. I had to unlearn that I can’t go through life without asking for help. Even when people used to offer, I was too proud to accept. I strongly believe my life’s experiences helped me unlearn the mindset of doing everything myself. Through therapy, I was able to pinpoint my childhood trauma of having to figure things out on my own. I had pain behind that feeling. But to be honest, I put that on myself as a kid because when I dug deeper I always thought that my parents were to busy to help, so I just didn’t ask. When I would hear people say how busy they are and how exhausted they were, I interpreted that and would make the decision on my own to not be a burden and not ask for help. I now have found my voice and reach out when I need help and I don’t have any guilt or shame behind it any longer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://intuitively4her.com/
- Instagram: @intuitively4her
- Facebook: Intuitively HER LLC
- Twitter: @intuitively4her
- Other: linktr.ee/INTUITIVELY4HER