I was born and raised in London, by a Turkish father and a Turkish Cypriot mother, who sought refuge in England. Since a young age I have always been passionate about mental health, as it was very close to my heart. As a child I grew up in a co-dependent and toxic environment (as most of us do)... despite my parents being incredible and extremely loving people (who tried their best with what they had available to them, but came from a lineage of generational trauma). I was also bullied in primary school, and later experienced a couple of traumatic events as a teenager, which caused me a lot of grief and anxiety. I therefore experienced many bouts of depression and anxiety throughout my childhood and adult life; and completely lacked confidence and self-love. I struggled with people pleasing and having healthy boundaries and relationships. My own experiences fuelled me to want to help others struggling with their mental health, so I studied A-Level psychology with the intention of becoming a therapist. However, there was something that just didn't align with me about the way that psychology was being taught, so I went on to university to study sociology instead. I spent many years as a political activist, and worked in several organisations and charities supporting vulnerable and marginalised people (mostly refugees, asylum seekers and foreign national prisoners).

After personally having done years of therapy and counselling with a variety of professionals, while I felt it was insightful and helpful at the time, it was not really giving me the lasting changes and healing that I needed. This was another reason why, despite still wanting to become a therapist, something about it just didn't align with me.

When I became a mother in 2016 I was so determined to do things differently and to break the cycles of generational trauma in my family. Yet due to not having done my own shadow work or having a real understanding of my attachment issues, I was also drawn to unhealthy and toxic relationships and environments that mirrored my childhood and felt familiar to me. On one hand I was obsessively educating myself and practicing attachment/conscious parenting... yet on the other hand I was really struggling with postnatal depression and anxiety, and a lack of support and compassion from the people around me. As the saying goes 'it takes a village'... and I definitely did not have my village!

As neither my ex-husband and I had done any work to heal and understand our own attachment styles, the relationship soon became very toxic and we ended up eventually separating. When I hit rock bottom and felt suicidal, I realised I had 3 choices - 1. I either give up, 2. I continue as I am and mess up my son's life too, or 3. I finally get my s**t together and start by looking deep within myself. I went for the latter. I threw myself into the world of self-development and spirituality; and eventually came across a life coach that really resonated with me. I knew I had to work with him, so I took out a credit card and joined his 6 month coaching program. It was absolutely priceless - the best investment I ever made, for myself and my family... and it has completely changed my life!

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After discovering the incredible world of life coaching and experiencing the ripple effects that it has, I immediately knew that becoming a coach was exactly what I was meant to do! So I completed a Life Coaching Diploma and initially started out as a Conscious Parenting Coach ('Innate Parenting'). My mission was to support and empower mothers to heal their childhood traumas, to listen to their instincts as a mother, and provide a secure attachment for future generations. I soon realised however that a holistic approach was necessary, and that I wanted to extend my support to beyond just mothers. Thus 'Innate Living' was born.

Even though I have always preached about the importance of the mind-body connection and a holistic approach, it wasn't until I came across Somatic work and truly understood the role of the Nervous System and how 'The Body Keeps The Score'... that I realised that coaching alone, while life changing, would also only offer temporary fixes and solutions. If I wanted to truly empower my clients and help them reconnect to their innate selves in order to create true healing, then I would need to take a bottom up (Somatic) approach. This was when I completed my Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certification with The Embody Lab.

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I have additionally completed many other courses and continue to be influenced and educated by Gabor Maté, Peter Levine, Deb Dana, Arielle Schwartz, Pat Ogden, Staci K. Haines, Manuela Mischke-Reeds, Fran D. Booth, Richard C. Schwartz, Bessel van der Kolk, Nkem Ndefo, Scott Lyons, Lisa Dion, Adam Lane Smith, Alison Armstrong, Kari Azuma and many other incredible people!