Dr Bhavi Is Driving Women’s Health Revolution One Post At A Time

Today I am taking you to meet Dr Bhavi Dhaval Mody. The 45-year-old is a SHEROES Champion, but for her patients as well as social media admirers, she is a real-life hero who has taken the Care For Women Health to newer heights through her venture Vrudhi Homeopathic and Wellness Centre, based in Mumbai. It deals not just in medicinal treatment but Holistic healing through lifestyle changes as well.

So let’s talk to Dr Bhavi Mody and know more about her journey as a doctor, as a woman and also as a mother to twin daughters! And let's start the conversations with her journey at SHEROES as a champion where she takes a deep interest in women-health care.

"I joined SHEROES, when I came to know about their pitch competition. We had a school app Edukonnect then. My first interaction with Sairee was over a phone call for Edukonnect. Edukonnect was featured on SHEROES, but unfortunately, that event got cancelled, but my journey with SHEROES began. I actively started following SHEROES and communicating on the platform. I would share health tips regularly and that’s when I was invited to associate as a Champion. Currently, as a Champion, I share useful health tips and answer to health queries. I have Immense respect for Sairee and her work," states Dr Mody.

"As a champion on SHEROES, with 4,000 followers, the experience has been great. Answering Health queries and guiding women to make informed decisions has been a quite fulfilling one. Sometimes personal queries that you would not ask anyone are shared on the platform. That's the trust SHEROES has built. It's a powerful tool that you have to connect, share, bond, discuss, learn and even sell your stuff. Each community has so much to learn from. It's like a strong community of women, out there to uplift and support each other."

She begins opening up detailing how she established VRUDHI, "We started with our own clinic in 1998, the year my twins were born. It was named Vrudhi Homeopathic and Wellness Centre – Vrudhi means progress and it is named after my daughters- Vrushti and Vidhi. Eventually, with our practice growing well, we both pursued our Post Graduation when our twin daughters were 5 years of age, as we believed that upgrading yourself is always the way ahead. He pursued his M.D with – Psychiatry and My subject were Organon, known as the Bible of Homeopathy. He then trained in the US and we started with Vrudhi Research Foundation- addressing Academic, Behavioral, Career and Developmental issues in children. We provide umbrella care with experts– psychiatrist, psychologist, remedial teacher, speech therapist, occupational therapists."

Not just this, since mental health is the most neglected one across the world, she has also set up Edupsyche, a mental health company in the past. And later on, she moved to establish Vrudhi. And it takes a special interest in women health care. Dr Mody explains why.

"Women, I believe are True Health Ambassadors. One woman empowered is not just an individual but a family and community empowered, as most of the kitchen and health decisions lie in her domain. Their functioning is like that of a Home Minister, who takes charge of the internal affairs! I specialize in mainly treating Women and Children. Children are givers and they reciprocate all the love. They are actually my stress busters at work. A happy and healthy child is every mom’s dream. Again to do that one has to educate the mom."

So what's the general mantra to good health according to Dr Mody? She smiles and begins detailing, "Mahima, I believe in Equilibrium and equip you with strategies for the same, along with Homeopathy and Lifestyle modifications. Working in the mental health domain for a decade and more has given me a deeper understanding of the Psychosomatic aspect of illness. A Humane Approach to Holistic Healing is our vision. My website- Dr Bhavi Mody – Vrudhi Holistic Health Care is a complete online portal to seek treatment in just 5 steps with home delivery of medicine."

Champ Dr Mody! But nothing comes easy and Dr Mody had her own share of struggles. Be it balancing time between work and raising her twins, who are twenty now, to shuttling between various aspects of work, she says she has been through everything. And each struggle has only made her stronger.

"Mahima, life has been a roller coaster ride, literally. It takes time to build trust. It’s all about word of mouth. Secondly, pursuing higher studies with twins again was not very easy. You need a lot of self-commitment and support from family. As my husband specialized in Psychiatry, we entered a domain that was not accepted so well by people.

Setting up the centre was an uphill task. We even dealt with the issue of funds getting exhausted and zero marketing budget! Not many know that our first venture was MENTAGRAM, an App towards mental health care. It is no longer available since we lost out all funds. In fact, I had to take care of marketing our venture, with no business background. But I accept that we could not sustain it. But I am happy that despite the App not being there, we are doing much more in the arena of mental health now, through VRUDHI," she recalls. And to add to this, her daughters were growing.

"Juggling the roles is not so difficult, but the responsibility it brings along often is demanding and taxing. Being a mother is not difficult, but the responsibility of becoming a better mother every day sometimes is.

Thankfully I have a very supportive husband, in-laws and parents who would help me with my little ones when I needed it the most. I can say, I am truly blessed on that side of life," she gives me the brightest smile of the day. And I really wish that more and more women get such support from their families. After all, we all have dreams, isn't it?

Dr Mody isn't just a doctor, she is a BLOGGER and SPEAKER as well. And she has taken online healthcare to a new level altogether.

“You are being too kind. Social media is the biggest revolution bringing the farthest corner of the world closest to you, so why not utilise it for the benefit of mankind?"

She details what all needs to be done to take online consultations: All you need to do is fill a form, choose your plan and make a payment, schedule a phone/skype/WhatsApp video call consultation.

We analyse the case and courier the medicines to you. Follow-ups are scheduled. No waiting at the doctor’s office, convenient and time-saving. She informs me that through healthy eating habits, adequate sleep, exercise and homoeopathy her panel of doctors has been able to tackle the most tricky conditions effectively namely PCOS, HypoThyroidism, Allergies and Obesity. "We are putting back Your Health in Your Hands!” she asserts with a strong voice.

And this is not it, now that her daughters are doing engineering and busy in their own career, she is going extra miles: Conducting health camps, workshops, seminars; conducting offline activities like #LetsWalk.

"Not a superwoman, rather you can call me a Health Evangelist. As I have motivated even a busy journalist like you to get back to where you belonged, right? The Marathon Track, right?" She laughs again. She is right, this year despite topsyturvy health, I am back to where I belonged, as I had keenly been following her #LetsWalk motivational posts on social media since over a year.

A mother of two youngsters who live in a world ruled by junk-food and bad health. How does she manage that aspect at her own house?

"Mahima, providing too much of protection does not help them grow as individuals. They love foods that are not so healthy, but they are mindful of what they are eating. They exercise at least 5 days a week and are very sorted. Even as kids we would have a day to eat chocolates. Saturday was chocolate day and we would give it to them. Not feeling deprived is important to make them mindful," asserts Dr Mody who has umpteen calls lined up for the day, where she has to share the same tips and more with women who need to be in good mental and physical health. So, for now, this SHEROES champion leaves us with some very inspiring words. Take a read.

"The Good that you do always comes back to you and in ways that you never expected. My learning from life is expectations are the root cause of conflicts. Cut the string of expectations, do your bit and try to change yourself and not others. This is I believe the key to happiness."

So that was Dr Bhavi Dhaval Mody in an exclusive chat with me on our ongoing #MeetTheSheores Series. Don't forget to leave any health queries that you have for Dr Mody, in the comments column. She will personally answer them all. You can also follow Dr Bhavi Dhaval Mody on SHEROES.