If you had told me a few years ago that I would be the proud owner of a wellness center that has transformed the lives of thousands,the creator of a non-profit organization, an author with a book in the #1 spot on Amazon, and a generally joyful person whose life is filled with peace, tranquility, and gratitude, I probably would have laughed in your face. Despite being a Harvard-trained cardiologist who helped heal people on a daily basis, there was a point when I felt as though my own life were spinning out of control. It took me much hard work and many transformations to get to where I am today. Yet now that I’m here, I feel that it is my divine purpose to inspire others to take control of their own health and well-being.
My earliest exposure to medicine came from my Eastern roots. I have vivid memories of accompanying my mother to her clinic in my home country, Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, when I was five years old. There, I saw patients with ailments ranging from minor cuts to serious infections coming to my mother for advice and healing. These images stuck with me, and years later I also made the decision to become a doctor. I was always fascinated with the human heart and how it can give the gift of life or take it away, and thus my career in cardiology was born.
At first I relished the opportunity to intersect with and impact so many lives. But over time, things began to change. My excitement for cardiology was replaced by the mundaneness of daily practice. A frustration began to grow in me—one that came from watching people fail to treasure the gift of life day in and day out.
By my fourteenth year working as a cardiologist, I had reached a crisis point. Frustrations were mounting not just at work, but also at home and in my relationships with others. I knew I needed outside help, so I started seeing a therapist, and after many long months she helped me to see the truth. I realized that for years I had been following other people’s rules, neglecting my own physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Although I was a heart doctor, I had become drastically out of touch with my own heart.
Once I saw things clearly, I made the choice to start leading a life full of mindfulness and personal responsibility. I started practicing yoga and meditation, I slowed down the pace and I committed myself to new habits of good nutrition and exercise. I also learned how to create my vision to manifest my authenticity, spirit and joy. The positive changes I was seeing exceeded my wildest expectations and encouraged me to open my wellness center. There, for the first time, I began talking to people not about their diseases, but about their health.
Professionally, I listened to my inner guide and began to practice a more holistic approach to health. Within the first two years of launching my wellness center, I orchestrated more beneficial outcomes for my patients than I had in all the preceding twenty years of practicing solely conventional medicine. In essence, I became a true heart doctor: one who practiced with her heart, and one who valued life to its purest core.
By reconnecting to my Eastern roots and heading down this path of personal transformation, I now believe that it is my life mission to put the power back in the hands of the patient and to inspire people to take responsibility for their own well-being. Learning to develop mindfulness, connecting the body and mind and listening your inner guide are the keys to healing. As a physician who has experienced this journey firsthand, I give my patients a glimpse of the possibilities available to them, and I expand their knowledge as well as their realities.
© 2014. Dr. Cynthia Thaik. An excerpt from Your Vibrant Heart: Restoring Health, Strength, and Spirit from the Body’s Core
