"Keep going, don't lose hope" – How a 41-year-old conquered perimenopause and her bucket list

At 41, Dipti was living her best life – an active woman who embraced all kinds of workouts and exercises. She ate home-cooked food and took pride in looking after herself. Then, a year and a half ago, everything changed. "It was quite hard for me to accept," she recalls. The diagnosis? Perimenopause. And with it came a cascade of symptoms that threatened to derail her vibrant lifestyle.

The hot flashes struck without warning, leaving her flustered and uncomfortable. Weight began creeping on despite her active routine. Sleep – once restful and restorative – became fragmented and disturbed. Stress and occasional depression crept in, along with acid reflux that made mealtimes unpredictable. For a woman who had always been in control of her body, this felt like a betrayal. And perhaps most heartbreaking of all – Dipti had a dream on her bucket list that now seemed impossibly out of reach.

She wanted to go skydiving.

Dipti's transformation wasn't about quick fixes. It was about understanding her body during this significant life transition.

Nutrition Overhaul: Already eating home-cooked food and having reduced gluten since 2018, Dipti had a good foundation. But perimenopause required fine-tuning. Her diet of smoothies with fruits and seeds, eggs, oats for breakfast, chapati with dal and sabzi for lunch, and rice with dal and salad for dinner was optimised for hormonal balance. Her sweet tooth – satisfied by dates and figs – was channelled into healthier choices.

Sleep Restoration: Her disturbed sleep was addressed through yoga practices and lifestyle modifications that helped regulate her circadian rhythm and calm her nervous system.

Hot Flash Management: Through targeted interventions, the hot flashes that once struck unpredictably began to diminish, giving Dipti back her sense of control.

Weight Management: The stubborn weight gain that had accompanied perimenopause was tackled through a combination of continued exercise, nutritional adjustments, and stress management.

Six months ago, Dipti joined the Nirva family. What she found wasn't just a programme – it was a transformation in how she understood her own body. "Ever since I joined Nirva family and got associated with Aura and yoga," she shares, "my understanding towards nutrition and well-being has immensely widened."

Two people stood out in her journey: her health coach Dr Fatima and her yoga coach Dr Nandini. "They have succeeded immensely to change my perspective and thought process," Dipti explains. "They have given me clarity on my goals – not to run after it to achieve them, but to understand from within and work patiently towards it."

This shift in mindset proved to be everything.

As Dipti prepared for her holiday, she still harboured that dream – skydiving. But there was a problem. The strict guidelines meant she was technically unfit to jump. "I was unfit as per the strict guidelines," she admits. "I had lost total hopes."

But before she left, her health coach Dr Fatima gave her words that would stay with her forever: "Keep going and don't lose hope. The way you have worked hard, some miracle will happen and you will be allowed to jump."

Armed with those words, Dipti went on holiday and tried her luck – with no fear of rejection.

And the miracle happened.

"Check out my video – I managed to take one of my goals from my list," she says with evident joy. "I was literally on top of the world!"

**"So ladies, if any of your health concerns is a hindrance for your goals, try out with this team Nirva who can be a helping hand to achieve your goals as you wish."** Coming from a woman who arrived struggling to accept her perimenopause diagnosis, who was dealing with hot flashes, weight gain, disturbed sleep, and fading hopes – this recommendation carries weight.

Dipti knows what it's like to feel like your body has turned against you. She knows the frustration of gaining weight despite staying active. She knows the exhaustion of sleepless nights and the heartbreak of watching dreams slip away. But she also knows what it's like to soar – quite literally – on the other side.