Ep38: Trusting Intuition as a Nurse Coach: Neelam Murthi, MS, RN

Ep38: Trusting Intuition as a Nurse Coach: Neelam Murthi, MS, RN Highlights

“How do you tap into your own intuition and listen to your inner guide about your next steps? We don’t need to be stuck in a place because we think the benefits are great, and because the pay is great, or whatever the reason is. Choose what flourishes you.”  ~Neelam Murthi, MSN, RN

  • Follow your intuition. Trust your gut.
  • Manifest your desires. What do you truly want?  Slow down, focus on what makes your heart feel joy and peace and go there.  Follow your intuition.  Find what enlivens you.
  • DESA: Diet, exercise, sleep and awareness, one approach to Nurse health coaching
  • You spend so much time at work, so it is imperative to bring self-care and wellbeing into your day, throughout the day, instead of just waiting until after work. It can take seconds to stop and take 3 deep breaths in and out.
  • How can we meet our own needs to be fully present to care for others with deep meaning?
  • Practice what you preach. Be a role model of what you want to see in the world
  • Travel, network and find what speaks to your heart
  • Try not to stay in a place because you need a paycheck, or because the benefits are good. Instead, find a place where you can flourish!

Fempreneurs

Well Coaches

Integrative Nurse Coach Certificate Program

Barbara Dossey

Susan Luck

Ep38: Trusting Intuition as a Nurse Coach: Neelam Murthi, MS, RN Transcript

Nicole Vienneau  00:00

Welcome, everyone, to Integrative Nurse Coaches in ACTION! My name is Nicole Vienneau. I am your host and I’m also a Board-Certified Integrative Nurse Coach. And today we are welcoming Neelam Murthi.

She is from California. She is an Integrative Nurse Coach, and she does much of her work in employee wellness programs. So, we are so excited to learn more about Neelam and to learn more about how she’s using Nurse Coaching in her practice. So, welcome, Neelam.

Neelam Murthi  00:32

Hi, Nicole. Hello, everybody. Great to be here.

Nicole Vienneau  00:37

We’re so glad to have you here. It’s exciting, actually, we’ve been working on this for over a year to get you on this podcast.

Neelam Murthi  00:44

That’s right. That’s right. We spoke a year or more ago, and we’re making this happen now.

Nicole Vienneau  00:51

I’m so glad. I’m so glad. So, we’d love to take a little trip down history lane and discover why it is you decided to become a Nurse.

Neelam Murthi  01:01

Yeah, that’s a you know, that’s an interesting question. And my story is probably simple. There were three different aspects to it. One, my mom was a Nurse who just retired after 40 plus years in 2020. As I was growing up, there was no mention of: hey, go into Nursing. Become a Nurse.

But when I graduated high school, and I didn’t know specifically where I wanted to go, which direction because there were so many choices, she sort of gave me a little nudge, you know, like: Well, Nursing may be an option.

And I really started off as a psychology major and started at a community college because that was the easiest way, when I was confused. I didn’t know where I wanted to go. And as I went through the program, the psychology prereqs, I realized that I really didn’t want to be in school until I received a PhD.

And for me at that time, what my understanding of being a psychologist was and is, is to get a full PhD. And I really, I knew at that time that I wanted to travel, I wanted to do a lot more. I didn’t want to be in school for that many years of my life. So, I ended up listening to my mom and went that direction.

A lot of the classes I had taken was already towards Nursing. So, it made it really easy to transition. So, that’s what ended up happening. And as I went into Nursing, became a Nurse through the associate’s degree program. Once I started going into– when I was working– went into the bachelors program, realized that there was more to it.

And what I mean by that is my paternal side, there’s a history of heart disease with all of my dad’s brothers. And maternal side, there’s history of diabetes, as well as early onset Alzheimer’s. And so I knew that the work that I had chosen to do was for a purpose, there was a reason there. And so my journey started off in one direction and led to a different path.

Nicole Vienneau  03:24

I love it. It’s interesting, so many of our guests’ moms have been Nurses. Yeah. And then your journey– you know, I do believe, as we’re in high school, and we’re faced with all of these choices, and what in the world are we gonna do? You know, when you first chose psychology, but you had your mom influence, which is a good… always a good thing.

And then just, you know, and then realized, oh, man, a lot of these courses I’m taking here could lead me in the direction of Nursing. And then, you know, advancing your degree, which so many Nurses have done as well. And then realizing that Nursing has so many directions in which can take you and making it more of a practical choice in your life with your family’s history as well.

Neelam Murthi  04:17

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I have made my own personal, you know, life style choices based on the family history. And so, really being able to, as I coach, I’m able to speak from experience as well, in terms of lifestyle changes to help manage diabetes– or prevent actually, I should say, prevent diabetes and high blood pressure.

Although, I will say in my 20s, in my Nursing career, my blood pressure started to rise up and that’s when I decided to make some changes and switch directions from clinical Nursing to where I am now.

Nicole Vienneau  04:57

Well, that’s a good caveat. Yeah, that’s a good transition to tell us where you are now. And I’m sure that has to do with Nurse Coaching. So, please tell us how you discovered Nurse Coaching. And then let’s evolve into what you’re doing with it today.

Neelam Murthi  05:14

Yeah, I’d love to share that. So, I’ve been a Nurse for– I’m celebrating 20 years this year. I graduated Nursing school in 2002.

Nicole Vienneau  05:23

Yay, congrats!

Neelam Murthi  05:24

I know, I know, such a big year. Yeah. And it’s been an exciting journey, I will have to say, and, you know, everything that I expected was to… you start at a career, and then you keep moving up the ladder. And for me, that did happen. You know, I started as staff Nurse one, staff Nurse two, staff Nurse three.

And as I was doing that, you know, I mentioned bachelor’s, and then after staff Nurse three, I got my master’s. And after getting my master’s degree, I became an Assistant Nurse Manager of a surgical oncology department. Most of my Nursing career had been medical surgical, and then in the Assistant Nurse Manager role was surgical oncology. And then I– let me just go through the journey, and then I’ll talk specifics– and then I also started teaching.

There was a Nursing instructor who brought students into the hospital, and she said, “You know, I think you’d be a great teacher.” And this was when I was a staff Nurse. And so I started doing part-time teaching and part-time as a staff Nurse before I became the Assistant Nurse Manager. And just a little personality story here, when I became an Assistant Nurse Manager, it was a full-time 40 hour position.

And I didn’t want to give up the teaching. So, that first six months– it was a semester long program– for six months, as an Assistant Nurse Manager, I continued to teach. So, I was doing an additional 20 hours, and realized after that first semester, as much joy as it brought me, I just could not do that to my body, and mentally as well, and physically.

So, I did give up the teaching at that time. Worked in the surgical oncology unit with the Nurses. I really, really enjoyed that. But I got to a point where I just felt that I wasn’t making a difference that I wanted to. And what I mean by that is, I started losing my passion for Nursing a little bit. That was one. Secondly, my blood pressure, as I mentioned, started to rise.

And I knew the consequences of that, based on family history, and also seeing the patients in the med surg unit, right? So, after a long time of going back and forth talking to family, friends, colleagues, I made a tough decision to leave. So in 2012, I left the hospital, and I was teaching part-time Public Health Nursing at San Francisco State University.

And in my spare time, I was researching, I was researching what are my next steps? I just left, and I’m making it seem like it was, you know, seamless to make that decision. And maybe we can have another conversation around that topic itself, that transition from leaving the hospital to Nurse Coaching.

But in my research, I started to not only research Nursing and holistic Nursing, integrative healthcare, also just meeting, networking with individuals and not just Nurses, but business partners, public health individuals. I mean, I have a spreadsheet if anyone ever is interested in connecting with me, I have a whole spreadsheet of everybody that I spoke to.

So, lots of just networking, and also with entrepreneurs because I was interested in doing something outside and I wasn’t sure what that would be yet. So, in that process, I think in about 2015– so it took about two or three years later, when I saw coaching. I had gone to a Fempreneur conference, met lots of females who were very driven and transitioning into entrepreneurship. And they were also a lot of coaches.

And that was one place where I met coaches, the other was online where I started to see coaching and Wellcoaches was one of the programs that showed up first for me. And I went ahead and signed up for it after doing a lot of research because it was an interdisciplinary team that was… it was open to anybody.

I mean, anyone from yoga instructors to physicians to therapists to Nurses. So, I really enjoyed that aspect of it. And then as soon as I signed up, I will tell you, I found INCA. International Nurse Coach Association. And when I found that, I just thought: Wow, there’s a coaching program for Nurses out there. And I thought: Okay, let me find out more about this.

So, I reached out and ended up speaking to Susan Luck, who, honestly, just… yeah, she’s… and I’m just gonna pause because she really was someone who spoke to me about Nurse Coaching in that moment. And I won’t go into it, but she’s the reason… she was one of the reasons why I joined INCA. And I’m so grateful that I did. I was in California, and the program was in New York, and I ended up doing the program.

And what connected me to that, again, as I mentioned, it was during my transition, I felt very lonely, and lonely in a sense that I didn’t, locally anyway, I wasn’t meeting Nurses– and maybe I wasn’t looking in the right places– I wasn’t meeting Nurses who were in the same transition, same mindset of, you know, wanting to innovate healthcare and Nursing in a way that was moving forward.

And so when I did go to the program, I was so grateful to meet like-minded Nurses. I mean, the two things that INCA did for me in that training– one was it affirmed that my journey was valid, and that I was on the right path for myself, really listening to my intuition and going in the direction that I wanted.

So, it really validated that. And secondly, like I said, it created a community of Nurses that I met, that were here nationally within the United States. And then also, there were Nurses who came out from other countries as well. And so it was wonderful to be in this community of Nurses. And we still have a Facebook group of Cohort 13. Hello, fellow Nurses! So, we’re still connected. I mean, we don’t connect all the time, but every now and then, you know, pick up a phone call and talk to Nurses.

Nicole Vienneau  12:13

I love that about our community.

Neelam Murthi  12:15

Yeah.

Nicole Vienneau  12:16

Yeah, we could just pick up the phone and say, “Hey!” You know, and that’s kind of how we met.

Neelam Murthi  12:23

Yes.

Nicole Vienneau  12:23

Was you were doing… you had done, I think it was a meditation, and recorded a meditation. And I listened to it, and I was so excited for you. So, I just pick up the phone and say, “Congratulations, on doing that!” Or, you know, it starts with those connections and the realization that we are so connected, yet we still have to reach out as well, you know.

And sometimes someone will reach out to me, and I’ll be like: “Yeah! I’m so glad you reached out to me!” So, it’s just, you know, trying to stay connected. But our community allows us and wants us to do that, and encourages us to stay connected.

Neelam Murthi  13:04

Yeah, that’s what I love about INCA. I mean, you know, it’s everywhere now. Instagram, you see posts, and Facebook, LinkedIn. Those are usually the social media places I’m at, so that’s where I see a lot of the different posts. So yeah, I mean, I love that. I think the more… that community piece is what will help this Nurse Coaching grow even more.

Nicole Vienneau  13:28

Absolutely. Yes. So, and I do want to just circle back to Susan. Susan Luck. And, you know, may she rest easy.

Neelam Murthi  13:39

Yes.

Nicole Vienneau  13:39

And peacefully. I know she’s watching all of us from heaven, from above. And she is just radiating joy all over us, and good health, and manifesting abundance in all of us. And I too was so blessed to know her and spend time with her and learn with her and from her and just be absorbed in her goodness.

Neelam Murthi  14:06

Yeah, definitely. And I will mention Barbara Dossey. She was also…

Nicole Vienneau  14:12

Of course Barbara Dossey!

Neelam Murthi  14:18

So grateful to have learned. And stay connected.

Nicole Vienneau  14:23

Yes, absolutely.

So, we’ve heard a little bit of your journey to discover Nurse Coaching in the community surrounding it. And now I know we would all love to know how you are using Nurse Coaching in your world and what that looks like.

Neelam Murthi  14:40

Yeah, yeah. So, I’m gonna just circle back to that… in 2013, when I went to this Fempreneur conference.

Nicole Vienneau  14:49

Okay, great.

Neelam Murthi  14:50

One of the things that came up, you know, with this 200 plus women, we had the opportunity, if we wanted, to just stand up and speak. What are we hoping for? And the thing that came up for me was, I knew that when I was in the hospital, stress was what a lot of what brought people into the hospital.

When we’re stressed, we don’t have the time to eat right or make these healthier choices. We’re constantly working or staying in this busyness. Right? So, I knew… so my mind went to– as I did my research– was, okay, where do people spend most of their time, besides sleeping at night? It’s at work. And a lot of people, our world, the culture, has just become more stressful.

And so, what I got up and said is, I want to bring Nurse… I wanted to bring coaching into into Nursing, and specifically, to Nurses. This was back then. Once I completed my Nurse Coaching certifications, both with Wellcoaches and with INCA, I was very fortunate, in 2016, whatever I had manifested showed up in a different way.

And it was an employer wellness program, employee wellness program, that contacted me to be a health educator. And in that health educator role, health coaching was one of the things that I would be doing in this program. And then other jobs started showing up. RN health coach with UC Davis. RN health coach with this other organization that was around.

And I felt like, wow, I’ve opened this world up, and now I get to choose where I want to go. And so I ended up choosing this employee health promotion program, because that’s what really called to me. It was going to be working with a diverse population of over 7,000+ employees. So, my career began in the employee wellness arena.

And what was my manifestation in 2013, was that the workplace is this place where we spend a lot of time, so how can we incorporate some of these healthy lifestyle behaviors during our day, rather than saying, “Okay, I’ll work out at the end of my day, or I’ll eat healthy, you know, tomorrow.” Right? And so that program is where I started my Nurse Coaching career. I’ll say coaching career because it wasn’t the RN health coach just yet.

So, that was in 2016. And then I was very fortunate to find a another health coach program with the university, locally here, and just love that program. Again, it was an employee wellness program where I was coaching, and I continue to do that job on Saturdays, because I love that job so much. So, I do about two to three hours with the university. And this, again, is a diverse population.

And what I love about this position is a lot of people are coming in really wanting to focus on purpose and value. And that’s where right now because I think the transition from the pandemic to where we are now.

And then the last thing I’ll say is, I found a position earlier this year, and I’ve been in this position about four months. I finished INCA in 2016, so seven years until I found an RN health coach role that was right for me. So, why I’m telling this story is because it’s taught me patience. And so, really, when we follow our intuition, we follow our gut, and we’re clear in what we want, that thing will show up. Somewhere, somehow, it will show up.

And as I said, it’s taken that many years, but I’m in a position that I, you know, number one: I’m financially being compensated adequately as an RN, because in my other positions I wasn’t. But I took it because coaching is what I wanted to do. And then how I’m using my coaching skills– I’ll go into that. I think that was the original question, Nicole. I went all over the place!

Nicole Vienneau  19:16

But this is so good because it really paints a picture of the patience, yes, the work that you have to do to really get to the places where you really want to go. They don’t just show up. Yes, we manifest. Yes, we can manifest. But the journey to receiving is also really important to talk about, and it’s not just easy. You just don’t jump into the role and voila, everything is perfect, right?

Neelam Murthi  19:45

Yeah, yeah. And, you know, I didn’t mention the fear, the courage, the anxiety, all of that that comes along with it, as well. And so, I just want to mention that all of those emotions– I mean, every emotion that you can imagine comes up in the transition period. Yeah, like I said, I’ve learned to be patient.

And in my transition period, one of the things that I… a few things that I did was travel, network, and I did a yoga teacher training. And I use a lot of what I learned from my yoga practice— is that slowing down, and that’s what I’ve incorporated into my life now.

Because what I felt like in the past was, I had this very go, go, go, go go, you just move from one to the next to the next to the next, whether it was my career, whether it was a weekend where it was just packed with planned events.

Fun, yet there was never downtime to relax. And so, really bringing in some of that into what I do now, and I’ll talk a little bit about, I think your original question was how I’m using my Nursing Coaching skills, yeah? Now?

Nicole Vienneau  21:03

Yes, what is it that you’re doing? What’s a day in the life of Neelam look like?

Neelam Murthi  21:11

Yeah, I’m very fortunate. One of the other things that I really wanted to do is be able to work remotely. So, my dream is to be able to work remotely from anywhere I want. And unfortunately, it was the pandemic that, you know, led us to work remote, but it was also… it was a blessing for a lot of us.

And I really enjoy working remotely. So with this position, I do work remotely a few days a week, and I do go on site twice a week. I have back to back appointments. 50 minute slot appointments.

And I see patients who are– patients, clients, whatever we want to call them– we have an employee wellness center, and sometimes I get patients that are referrals from physicians, so I work with individuals– so this is where the RN role comes in– and that’s working with people with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, fatty livers– a big one that I’ve been working with lately– pre-diabetes, diabetes, PCOS.

There’s a lot that’s also coming in now with mental health. And so bringing in mindfulness practices, as well as stress management skills.

So with the RN piece, it’s really all of the physiology and pathophysiology that I had learned is all coming back, because I’m able to explain the disease process to the individual and really help them understand it, although, you know, the physician may have done it already. And then there’s also medication management.

There’s our role with patients– the compassion, the empathy, all of those come in. That comfort level with individuals. And then the coaching piece is really around motivational interviewing, appreciative inquiry, empathy reflections. Really being able to reflect and be fully present and listening to the individual.

Mindfulness– I bring in a lot of the work that I’ve done with yoga into my coaching as well. So, I was very blessed in 2020. In 2019, I signed up for a 300 hour training. So, I had completed a 200 hour training in San Francisco in 2012, and then in 2020, I did a 300 hour training. When we signed up, we did not know that the pandemic would be happening.

And it was such a blessing in a sense that it really kept me grounded. You know, the trainings were on weekends, and we did some of it in person outdoors, some of it was on Zoom. It ended up being that way. And it kept me grounded in a sense that I was still able to do the work with coaching when I spoke to individuals.

What I noticed during that time, and I know I’m digressing a little bit, but what I noticed during the pandemic, you know, the beginning of it was people were really looking for structure.

Now I can’t go to the gym anymore. What do I do for exercise? How do I eat healthy? And so, really helping individuals create that structure. And then it went into now where I mentioned a lot of people are looking for the purpose and meaning of life. What do I value? What do I want to do in life?

And I really enjoy all the different aspects of coaching from, you know, medication management to talking about how do we lower cholesterol through lifestyle changes. The acronym I use is DESA: diet, exercise, sleep, and awareness.

So, again, diet, exercise, sleep, and awareness. And the awareness piece really is awareness of the self, what comes up for us just on a daily basis, whether we’re around people, the environment, and then how do we respond or react?

This mindfulness piece is where that comes in. And so, what I’m talking about here is stress again, right? A lot of times when we’re working with individuals, whether it’s that energy we pick up from other people, or in groups, or you know, our own minds– that monkey mind that just keeps going.

So really bringing in that awareness, the mindfulness tools and practices in your life throughout your day, not just, again, not just in the morning, or in the evening, but throughout your day. An example is, you know, for me, how stress shows up is my heart rate starts to increase. If it gets to the neck and shoulders being tight, that’s a little late for me.

So as soon as my heart rate starts to increase, I need to just take in three deep breaths in that moment. So, just simple tools like that to help individuals throughout their day, with the coaching piece. I’m gonna stop there because I feel like I just talked and talked and talked.

Nicole Vienneau  26:08

It’s so good. It’s so wonderful. I mean, the awareness, you know, I’m listening to your story and I’m connecting with you on so many different levels. And I recall my own Nursing journey, and working in Intensive Care, and thinking: Oh, well, tonight I’ll just go to the gym after. But yet, I’m in that stressful, high performance, protocol driven, high stakes environment for 12 hours.

And not only that, but the thoughts I had before coming to work, and then what I take home with me after work. And had someone really encouraged this awareness and self-reflection, and yes, I can actually incorporate some of these tools within my day. It takes seconds to pause and take three deep breaths. And the other thing I never really realized is that my patients, they would have wanted me to do that.

They would, you know, they want me to take care of myself, they want me to be my best so that I can offer the best care possible. And if I’m on the go, go go, which you mentioned, and never taking a second for myself, then I certainly am not my best. I can try to be my best, but I know that I’m not. And so thank you for reminding us of the importance of self-reflection, self-awareness, taking a moment for ourselves during the day, and not just once a day, but multiple times in the day.

Neelam Murthi  27:49

One of the things I always say is “wellness from within”. So, how can we care for ourselves, meet our own needs in order to be fully present for others? That’s hard to do, as you mentioned, in that Nursing world, when we’re constantly running and don’t have time to go to the bathroom.

Nicole Vienneau  28:06

And I still think, to this day, that I had opportunities to care for self. Like, no one’s going to save me, right? I need to save myself. And so I love the work that our Nurse Coaches are doing and your intention of bringing coaching into Nursing, specifically to Nurses.

But yet, there’s all this whole world of all these… Nurses are humans. Wherever we’re inserting Nurse Coaching is just helping fellow humans, because those humans that you’re working with on a daily basis, have humans at home.

You know, so we’re all connected on so many levels. So, as you have had this incredible journey through your life, your life story, discovering Nursing, moving into Nursing, then discovering Nurse Coaching, now using Nurse Coaching since 2016, what are some of the key takeaways that you have incorporated in your own life that help you do this work?

Neelam Murthi  29:10

So, a few different things here. So really incorporating DESA into my own life is number one. So diet, you know, and I say diet, it’s nutrition. Really feeding myself the nourishment that my body needs. Getting in movement throughout my day.

I mean, I will, you know, while my cup of tea is warming up, I will do jumping jacks just to get my heart rate up, right? Movement is very important. And then the sleep. Sleep, and then awareness.

So, I will say my day– I’ll just kind of share what my day looks like. I’ll start off– as soon as I wake up is a meditation, and then I’ll do some sort of movement, whether that’s yoga or getting a walk outside, getting some sunshine, which is very important to me as well.

And then I’ll listen to something that is really stimulating my brain. And that could be… that could be the INCA podcast. That could be any other podcast out there.

And just for a short, short time, if I have time, I’ll journal or I will, mentally, in my mind, set a tone for the day. You know, what do I want to accomplish in my day? What is my intention for the day? After my work day, what I do is a few things. I’ll have another sort of movement practice, usually a yoga practice. I also teach yoga now, and it’s open to the community. And it’s via Zoom for now.

And that really helps me stay connected to a community. And I realized community is very important to me, no matter what type of community it is. It could be a dancing community, could be a yoga community, could be a Nursing community. So, really, DESA, community, family, are all things that keep me grounded to do the work that I want to do, and really paying attention to myself.

Because what I find in coaching– and this is true in Nursing, as well– in coaching, there’s energy exchange. And I have identified myself as an empath.

And so, having those practices throughout the day really helps maintain my energy for myself. And then the next person I work with, it’s a full new session. And in between sessions, taking those three deep breaths, doing a quick stretch, drinking your water, whatever it is. So, really incorporating some of those things.

Nicole Vienneau  32:19

Thank you. Thank you for sharing. Yes. Yeah, we have to give to ourselves before we can be fully present to give to others.

Neelam Murthi  32:28

Yes, yes. Yeah. And my mission is really to empower individuals to live each moment to their fullest potential by being present to themselves mentally and physically before giving to others.

Nicole Vienneau  32:45

Beautiful. So, I’d love to ask one more question before we tie things up. And I would love, and I know our listeners love this part, too. So, tapping into your own heart, your own intuition, what is on your heart that you would love to share with our Nursing community?

Neelam Murthi  33:08

I love that question. And the first thing that came to mind is really follow your intuition, your inner guide. For me, I found Nurse Coaching and that is work that just livens me up. You know, I’ve incorporated the yoga and the meditation in the work that I do as well, and I find that to just bring me so much joy.

So, whatever it is that you choose to do, whether it’s being an ICU Nurse, being an Oncology Nurse, a GI Nurse, or a Nurse Coach, how do you tap into your own intuition and listen to your inner guide about your next steps? And it doesn’t, you know, we don’t need to be stuck in a place because we think the benefits are great, and because, you know, the pay is great, or whatever the reason is.

Choose what flourishes you.

Nicole Vienneau  34:11

Choose what flourishes you. Definitely words of wisdom there. Thank you for those.

Neelam Murthi  34:20

And that doesn’t… that’s not only career. It’s like your daily choices. Movement for you may be dance, movement for you may be going to the gym, right? It’s whatever in your life flourishes you. It’s different for every single person.

Nicole Vienneau  34:34

Yeah. And that takes tapping into self, to understand yourself, and to really listen to that inner wisdom that is telling you. It tells us, tells me– my inner wisdom is talking to me all the time. Sometimes I ignore it.

Neelam Murthi  34:49

Yeah.

Nicole Vienneau  34:50

And when I really listened to it, those are the times that I feel most joy and most authentic and most real and most alive and flourishing.

Okay, Neelam, our time is drawing to a close. We so enjoyed… I’ve enjoyed having you on the podcast. I know our listeners are soaking up all of your wisdom and beautiful positive energy. And I know that you are working on a project that you would love to share with our audience. So please give us a little picture of what you’re working on.

Neelam Murthi  35:28

Yeah. So, in January… January or February… one of the things that I do with coaching is creating a vision. And so in January or February, I will have it up on my website. It is wellnesswithneelam.com. I will have the information there. It’ll be via Zoom. And it’ll be a workshop, either anywhere around maybe two hours or so.

It’ll include some movement, and you’ll leave with creating a vision of what you want, whether that’s a year from now, or five years from now, leaving with a sentence or a paragraph. Something that you really connected with. So, we’ll start with some body work, with some meditation, and then the vision.

Nicole Vienneau  36:14

I love it. So, a whole few hours dedicated to yourself, to focus on creating a vision for what you want, by tapping into your inner wisdom through meditation, through movement. Sign us up.

Neelam Murthi  36:33

It’ll be at no cost!

Nicole Vienneau  36:35

Wow! Wow.

Neelam Murthi  36:37

A one time workshop.

Nicole Vienneau  36:39

That’s so… that’s so gracious of you to do that. Well, we’ll definitely be sharing the links to your website and to your social media.

Neelam Murthi  36:50

Neelam’s Journey is my Instagram. So that’s where you’d find my Instagram. Neelam’s Journey.

Nicole Vienneau  36:56

Yes. And we’ll definitely have your links there. And as we tie things up, is there anything else that comes to mind, or on your heart, that you’d like to just drop in to our podcast?

Neelam Murthi  37:08

The thing that’s coming to mind is what we mentioned already, is bringing in this coaching to our Nurses. So, really, if you’re listening, if you’re interested, if you’re interested in being coached, if you’re a Nurse, feel free to contact me via my webpage.

If you are a healthcare leader listening and are interested in having this conversation around how do we keep our Nurses healthy at the bedside so they can be at the bedside for as long as they wish and still maintain that compassion and empathy with patients and really enjoy their work. So, I’ll leave with that.

Nicole Vienneau  37:56

Thank you. Thank you. So, thank you so much for spending your precious time with us. We just soaked up so much love and energy with you.

Neelam Murthi  38:08

Oh, it’s been a pleasure, Nicole. I would love to interview you one day.

Nicole Vienneau  38:16

Maybe someday! Who knows!

Neelam Murthi  38:20

Thank you so much for your kindness. It’s been such an honor to have this conversation and just create this… continue to create this Nurse Coach community.

Neelam Murthi, MS, RN

Neelam was born in Fiji Islands and identifies as an Indo-Fijian (Indian ancestry, born in Fiji Islands).  She was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in California .

 

Neelam is an advocate for health promotion and disease prevention.

 

Her journey towards coaching started with her own experience and familial history of preventable chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, early onset Alzheimer’s disease, mental health, substance abuse.

 

As a registered nurse, she understands the physiological impacts of mental, physical, and emotional stress on the body and mind. As a health coach, she partners with individuals to explore innovative strategies and designs sustainable behavior change.

 

She focuses on topics such as nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress management.  As a yoga/meditation teacher and practitioner, she believes in an integrative approach to overall well-being.

 

She blends evidence-based science with holistic health practices in coaching sessions to guide individuals in their journey towards optimal well-being using mindfulness and self-compassion practices.

 

Neelam’s coaching career has been mostly in the employee wellness sector. She currently works as a RN Health coach with an employer wellness program in the bay area.

 

She also works part time at a university employee wellness program. She works with a diverse demographic from age, socio-economic status and a wide variety of topics from mental/physical/emotional health to purpose/meaning and values.

 

“I believe that when we are self-aware and present for our own well-being, we can live our best lives in this fast-paced culture.

My mission is to empower individuals to live each moment to their fullest potential by being more aware and present mentally and physically.”

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