STRUGGLING WITH YOURSELF?
HI, I’M MINA…
I’ve been there too & know exactly what it feels like…
My childhood was a happy time, then I suddenly had to grow up almost overnight. Throughout my married life, I learnt to adapt and adjust to fit with different people, but in the process, I lost myself as a person. I became someone I didn’t recognise, detached from my inner child and without any self confidence.
My working life has been dedicated to wanting the best for people and helping them see and fulfil their potential. For 25 years that took the form of coaching my staff during my career as a Bank Manager, and more latterly as a trained and certified Body Confidence Coach with styling and colouring experience to complete the picture.
Sadly, recently widowed after 35 years of being happily married to my husband since age 18.
Life has had it’s up’s and downs like everyone’s so I’m certainly not unique there. I’ve embraced everything life has thrown at me and found the courage to make the most of any situation I’ve been in.
Now I am a woman in her 50’s and a mother to 2 incredible young ladies in their 30’s. I’m loving living life to the max, making the most of any opportunities to dance and being that 5 year old child. I have a zest for life and love meeting new people from all walks of life, no longer afraid to travel on my own!
Once you get to understand the real you, you can live your best life, with all the pressures surrounding you, as they never go away.
I’ve learnt how to value myself and be the authentic me and I want to help you do the same.
Snap shots of my journey…
Born in Uganda and came to the UK in 1972, age 4. Forever curious, I loved being around people from a very young age. Being part of a very large extended family helps and grounds you.
Began working and around people & in sales from the age of 13, ( something my dad thought would help me in my future) This taught me resilience and how to get on with all age groups and people from all walks of life.
Engaged at the age of 17 & married the following year. I had to grow up pretty fast, as all of a sudden I was faced with different labels & titles, wife, daughter in law & very quickly a mother! I learnt a lot of life lessons from this, some good some bad & then came the very ugly.
Postnatal depression (a subject that was never talked about) struck then self harming. I didn’t know how to cope and coupled with grief of losing all my loved ones. Living in a Western world from an Eastern background and how to merge them together was a challenge that most of us of a certain generation can relate to.
Life progressed and my weight fluctuated with each stage. I’ve had a love hate relationship with my body for years, from yoyo dieting, physically abusing my body.
2016 presented the amazing opportunity to move to Singapore, that really bought the Real Mina back! As my husband would say, I was me. No longer did I have to compete for a place in the family or even crave acceptance.
Images: Michelle Elman & Linda Blacker
As a child my parents called me Minakumari, “Kumari”, meaning princess. This is what we all need to be in our own lives. We need to recapture that 5 year old self for whom life held no limitations…
The turning point
This new chapter taught me that wherever you go in the world, size really does matter!
It seems you have to be a certain way and size to be accepted. This is where my love of Plus size fashion colour came about, I studied this as soon as I was back to the Uk, but never really fulfilled me.
I see women look amazing on the outside, but still missing that twinkle, so I studied and qualified as a BODY CONFIDENCE COACH.
This is where the magic happened and all the pieces came together and this is where Mina Kumari was born to help support so many wonderful clients to discover and connect positively with themselves.
In my world ONE SIZE does not fit all.