Astha Chandra Inner Power Coach

Happy 40th...

Sharing my personal thoughts...

Milestone birthdays can be overwhelming, emotional and hard. 10 years ago, when I was turning 30, I remember feeling behind and feeling that I had missed many life goals. It was a tough birthday, but I am thankful that my 40th has been much gentler and a breeze. In the week leading upto 40, I could only feel thankful and grateful for all the people who have stood by me and supported me all these years. I believe, it is incredibly lucky to be surrounded by family who would show up at 2 am should the need arise. I wanted to bring in this birthday with some of my closest family— the people who form my strength and my safety net. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank everyone who could physically join in. ☺️✨

Thank you also to everyone who made it a point to call, wish, send love and make me feel special. I cherish all your love and blessings. Thank you for making my 40th memorable. 💖✨

It is said that, "Life begins at 40;" I look forward to all the adventures that are unfolding and new chapters that are being created in my reality. The best is yet to come!

Cheers.
🥂 🥂🥂

Forever happy & hopeful,
Astha.

P.s. - Special thanks to the newly wed couple, my brother and bhabby who made me feel loved and cared for all the way from California. ✨❣️✨

Life begins to love you back when you shed your fears…

Till about the age of 34 or 35, I was s**t scared of dogs and was perhaps the worst guest to have at home for dog-lovers. I would jump at the sight of dogs and felt safe only when dog-lovers would tie-up their adorable pets or shut them in a room. Then one fine day, in my early thirties, I experimented with a process of writing in-depth about the first time I felt scared of a dog and later, burning it. I was learning: how to shed my fears. I somehow selected dogs despite having an intense fear of them and was quite unsure of the results of my experiment. Surprisingly, my trial and error method of “writing and burning” worked pretty well. A few days after the experiment, I found myself drawn to dogs and drawn to lift them. This was quite the change for me. I was prone to jumping onto sofas at the sight of a dog and here I wanted to lift them… My cousins had a lot of dogs and that helped me. Slowly, I found the courage of lifting small dogs and I was pleasantly surprised. These tiny creatures were so adorable and loveable. I loved their fur, I loved their touch, I loved when they wagged their tails and loved when they licked my hands (Yes, I did). I couldn’t get over the fact that I had missed out on so much love in my life. I came to realise that I was born a dog-lover, but that love never surfaced — till the time I shed the fear of dogs that I had acquired early-on in life.

That’s the whole point — we don’t know how our fears hold us back. Our real personalities are stunted by our fears. Learning to let go of our fears gives us so much freedom and joy in life.

I do have to clarify that letting go of any fear is a process and not a one time affair. Recently, I visited a beautiful family with a German Shepherd. The dog was securely tied, but I felt a bit scared and on edge. I could feel the hair on my skin rise and my heart was gripped with fear whenever I heard the dog bark from across the room. I continue to be scared of large dogs and dogs that bark viciously. I have never had a pet too. I do have a long way to heal. Still, I have found love, solace and beauty in smaller dogs and enjoy playing with them.

This year, post-midnight on 31st Dec, I held a 10 day old pup for the first time. To be entrusted with a life so delicate and fragile, even if momentarily was such a beautiful and indescribable feeling. Had I not begun to shed my fear of dogs a few years back, I would never have got to experience this precious moment.

So much of our life goes by without realising — what we are missing just because of our fears.

In 2026, I wish that bit by bit, you learn to release your fears and that life fills you up with joy and embraces you wholeheartedly.

Happy 2026 everyone!

🌷✨
Warmly,
Astha.

In the pics: Bringing in 2026 while playing with my cousin’s pet dogs at her beautiful home. 🙂💫

What are breakdowns?

A few years ago, while I was studying to become a Life Coach, one of my colleagues turned up to class extremely distressed and upset. He said that everything had been progressing beautifully in his personal space and relationships because he had been working on his anger and had calmed himself. He believed that he had become a much better person. However, that day, he had lost his cool and had taken out his anger on all the people that were near and dear to him. During class, he expressed regret over his actions and shared that he felt as if nothing had changed in his life, as if he had gone back to square one.

That’s when our senior coach and mentor introduced us to the concept of ‘breakdowns.’

Breakdowns are moments when your negative emotions unravel quickly, generally in the nastiest way possible. They are the moments when you lose control, feel unhinged or have too much rage. Breakdowns constitute your worst moments where you feel guilty about your behaviour and sometimes may end up hating yourself for your behaviour. But, here’s the truth— no journey of growth is without breakdowns. Growth is not a straight line where you say, “Hey from today onwards, I will never have anger and I will be a walking Buddha.”
No. Cultivating calmness is going to take time. Changing your internal beliefs will take some time. While you may grow into a more patient person, while you may be calm on most days; there are going to be many days where you feel like you have lost is all, where you feel like you have gone back to your old-self, where you feel like you have not progressed at all. But that’s the farthest from the truth. You have grown immensely and being gentle with yourself during breakdowns is essential. You need to know that you cannot be perfect all the time and learning to love yourself during your worst moments is imperative. You have to see how is it that you can own up to your mistake, what are the lessons that you can draw from this breakdown and what action can you take — to do better next time. Even in your worst moments, you have to pick yourself up and carry on with utmost faith because growth doesn’t happen overnight, nor does change happen overnight. Change requires consistent patience, commitment and forgiveness towards yourself.

So, next time if you have a breakdown, remember to be gentle with yourself and remind yourself — you are worthy of love even with all your flaws. 🌷✨

~ Astha.

Pic credit: AI generated on Pixabay.

What’s your ‘word’ or ‘mantra’ for the year?

Which ‘one word’ have tried to incorporate in all that you do?

My mantra for this year and past few years has been — Simplicity.

On a personal note, I try to simplify my life by organising my wardrobes, by de-cluttering and throwing away excess, by commiting to fewer things and by having less elaborate get-togethers that are filled with love and warmth but not necessarily an over-abundance or wasteful display of food. Coming from a foodie family that loves to host well, I still have a long long way to go on the last part.

On the work front, I simplify by simplifying communication. I do not believe in using jargon or heavy terms that create an understanding barrier. I like to strip down technical terms and explain them in layman’s words. I wish for everyone to receive and resonate with my message rather than getting lost in dense language. To connect better with primarily a North-Indian audience, I use a healthy mix of Hindi and English (Hinglish). If you were to approach me a few years ago, you would have found me speaking purely in English or Hindi and with a few fancy words added for a ‘hallowed effect.’ However, over the years, I have realised that the less embellished my language is, the better it is to reach a diverse and wider group of people. Also, I have realised that plain communication can be equally if not more effective and powerful. Even in my workshops, I try to do simple activities that everyone can participate and indulge in. I am sometimes asked by my team members and colleagues — Should it not be more complex; to which I always respond — The simpler it is, the better it is.

Going forward, my mantra will be — Simple, Powerful and Effective.

In 2025 and beyond, I hope to be able to deliver complex messages in the simplest and most impactful manner possible.

What is one mantra that you would like to build on and carry forward in 2025?

~ Astha.

Joyful moments that make my day beautiful! 🌟🌟🌟

Each one of us must fill our day with little moments of joy that make our life fuller and happier.

Warmly,
Astha.

Inner glow is a function of letting go of your past and making peace with your past.

Forgive, forget and let go: Beginning today.

✨Astha✨

~ Regular Day ~ Being myself