Previous episode link: Single mom by choice - Journey

We continue our conversation with Shilpa on her "single mom by choice" journey. If you have not yet heard the previous episode, I highly recommend you listen to that one first before going over this, her journey of decision making is pretty interesting.

In this episode Shilpa shares her journey knowing about donors and the choosing process. Little bit about sperm donor, who is always an adult male. A sperm donor is a person who donates their sperm for use in assisted reproduction, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) or artificial insemination. Sperm donation can be anonymous or known, depending on the preferences of the donor and the intended recipient(s).

We have a special guest to talk about her becoming mother journey. This is very different from normal motherhood journey that I have heard about in my life. We will hear from Shilpa Dhawan from Jersey City, USA. She is a single mother by choice. We will learn more on that soon. She is working in a high flying corporate job in the financial industry. She considers herself very fortunate to be blessed with an adorable baby girl who is currently 3 years old. Currently, Shilpa is a very busy mom answering her daughters "WHYs" :)

A single mom by choice is a woman who decides to become a mother without being in a committed relationship or without the support of a partner. This may involve using assisted reproductive technologies such as sperm donation, or adoption.

Choosing to become a single mom is a deeply personal decision and can be influenced by a variety of factors, such as a desire for motherhood, the lack of a suitable partner, or a need to take control of one's life and future.

While it may present some unique challenges, being a single mom by choice can also be rewarding. It requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, but it can also provide a strong sense of fulfillment and joy. It's important to have a support system of family and friends, as well as access to resources such as childcare and financial assistance, to help navigate the challenges that come with raising a child alone.

Background on the intention to create this podcast: My journey to create this specific podcast episode started when I attend a panel discussion with Rajita on Bharatanatyam and Salsa. Rajita was opened up my curious mind to learn about the relationship between Bharatanatyam or any type of dance and physical therapy. In this 3 part series we discuss about mother hood, journey with learning dance and marrying art with medical care.

Physical therapy and dance can be closely intertwined. Physical therapy involves the use of various techniques to improve movement, reduce pain, and restore function in people who have experienced injuries, illnesses, or disabilities. On the other hand, dance is a form of movement that can be used as a therapeutic tool to improve physical and mental health.

Dance can be used as a form of exercise to improve physical fitness, flexibility, balance, coordination, and endurance. It can also be used to improve mood, reduce stress, and enhance social interaction. In addition, dance therapy is a specialized form of therapy that uses dance as a way to express emotions, enhance communication, and improve body awareness.

Physical therapists can use dance as a form of therapy to help patients recover from injuries, illnesses, or disabilities. For example, dance can be used to help patients regain strength and mobility after surgery or an injury. It can also be used to improve balance and coordination in patients with neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.

In addition, physical therapists may use specific dance techniques, such as the Alexander Technique or the Feldenkrais Method, to help patients improve their posture and body mechanics. These techniques can be especially helpful for patients with chronic pain or movement disorders.

Overall, physical therapy and dance can complement each other to help individuals improve their physical and mental well-being. Physical therapists can use dance as a tool to enhance their treatment plans, while dance therapists can work with physical therapists to develop a comprehensive plan for their patients.

Rajita also talks about taking care of our body bringing her Physical Therapy expertise in this panel discussion here

In this episode, Rajita and I continue our conversation about being mom, discovering our interests that aligns with our kids and feeling satisfaction with one's work which is key for happiness. We delve more into discovering teaching Bharatanatyam through her son. Now along with her son, she has more boys, girls and adults who are learning this form of art. Raji and I also talk about comparing one with others vs absorbing one's energy to go deeper inside our own learning.

A bit about Rajita - Rajitha Bharatan is a Bharatanatyam dancer and Physical Therapist by Profession.

She was introduced into the art form of Bharatanatyam under the guidance of her teacher, Smt Suganda Iyer and later with Manjula Ramamoorthy from Hyderabad, India. During her learning years in India, she performed in various dance festivals and also for national television.

Her love to learn and excel the art form, led her to complete various dance exams, take up variety of workshops and volunteer in community events to propagate the dance form.

While she pursued her career in Physical therapy in India, Canada, UK and US, she also continued to perform as a solo artist to represent her art and culture.

Rajitha lives in Phoenix, AZ with her 3 boys and husband, where she continues to actively learn, perform ,teach. Rajita also collaborates with local artists while pursuing her career as a Physical Therapist.

Rajita also talks about taking care of our body bringing her Physical Therapy expertise in this panel discussion here

Rajitha Bharatan is a Bharatanatyam dancer and Physical Therapist by Profession.

She was introduced into the art form of Bharatanatyam under the guidance of her teacher, Smt Suganda Iyer and later with Manjula Ramamoorthy from hyderabad, India. During her learning years in India, she performed in various dance festivals and also for national television.

Her love to learn and excel the art form, led her to complete various dance exams, take up variety of workshops and volunteer in community events to propagate the dance form.

While she pursued her career in Physical therapy in India, Canada, UK and US, she also continued to perform as a solo artist to represent her art and culture.

Rajitha lives in Phoenix, AZ with her 3 boys and husband, where she continues to actively learn, perform ,teach. Rajita also collaborates with local artists while  pursuing her career as a Physical Therapist.

Rajita also talks about taking care of our body bringing her Physical Therapy expertise in this panel discussion: https://youtu.be/7QRPKBzAH4M

Happy earth month my dear listeners. In this season, I will take you all through a journey of the space where the policies that our dear leaders create or change in order to support our planet, discuss climate change topics, especially research area, including COP27 event that happened in 2022 with my dear friend and a climate change researcher Snighda Nautiyal.

We continue talking to Snigdha about her research today and learn about her process of applying the research on capacity building within sustainability.

Final episode, it was a great pleasure to discuss about research with Snigdha. If you have not listened to previous episodes, go back and check it out. they are less than 10 mins long. In this episode we talk about improving COP, leveraging COP as a voice for climate change leadership and the possibility of bringing changes.

Happy earth month my dear listeners. In this season, I will take you all through a journey of the space where the policies that our dear leaders create or change in order to support our planet, discuss climate change topics, especially research area, including COP27 event that happened in 2022 with my dear friend and a climate change researcher Snighda Nautiyal.

We continue talking to Snigdha about her research today and learn about her process of applying the research on capacity building within sustainability.

Happy earth month my dear listeners. In this season, I will take you all through a journey of the space where the policies that our dear leaders create or change in order to support our planet, discuss climate change topics, especially research area, including COP27 event that happened in 2022 with my dear friend and a climate change researcher Snighda Nautiyal.

In this episode, we discuss the many angles to looking at climate change. Who has the voice to bring climate change conversations? The social part of it, psychological part of it. Bringing art based form to help bring people together through, performances, story telling, visual arts.

Happy earth month my dear listeners.

In this season, we will go through the journey together to explore the policies that our dear leaders create or change in order to support our planet. Go deeper into climate change topics, especially research area, including COP27 event that happened in 2022 with my dear friend and a climate change researcher Snighda Nautiyal persuing her PhD at Arizona State University.

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Snigdha about politics of climate change. Discuss the influences in this space, and capacity building.

Happy earth month my dear listeners. In this season, I will take you all through a journey of the space where the policies that our dear leaders create or change in order to support our planet, discuss climate change topics, especially research area, including COP27 event that happened in 2022 with my dear friend and a climate change researcher Snighda Nautiyal

We will talk about what is COP 27 in detail. COP27 was the 27th conference happened in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

There are also panels, pavilions, activities going on and these are done by