Ep.5 Lavina Mehta, MBE | Exercise for sanity, not vanity.

In this episode, I'm with award-winning Personal Trainer, Wellness Coach and mum of 3, Lavina Mehta. Lavina's recently been awarded an MBE for her services to health and fitness during COVID-19. Pre-COVID, she launched a National press campaign to "Get UK Asians Fit!" and during the first two lockdowns in 2020, Lavina harnessed the power of social media, launching a YouTube and Instagram series for seniors; Joined by her 72-year old mother in law they made national TV and radio! Lavina and I talk about her passion and drive and how she's gotten to where she is today. She explains why she's embarked on this journey and how her 'why' keeps her motivated to keep going, how she seeks to inspire other women to join her journey to 'feel good' and how she uses concepts like 'exercise snacking' for women of all ages to keep them interested in their health. Naturally, with all that she's doing, Lavina lives an extremely busy lifestyle little did I know, this was what inspired exercise snacking and Lavina explains the massive health benefits of something as simple as a 10minute walk after eating to control diseases like diabetes. Being quite a private person, before launching her Instagram, Lavina's journey onto social media has been met with challenges. And while she's impacted so many people we talk about how it's helped bring her family closer together too. At the height of the lockdown, she was doing workouts daily, Lavina shares the challenges of making this possible, especially combined with family life. She shares with me how she self-motivates to continue serving the community day-after-day and even whilst self-isolating when a family member contracted COVID-19. Going into the deeper reasons behind what drives Lavina to help the elderly and inspire younger generations to keep fit and active. We touch on her father-in-law's journey, who sadly passed away within 6-months of being diagnosed with a brain tumour. Losing someone she loved as quickly as she did, she reflects on how exercise helped her and her husband through such a challenging time and what others can take away from it.   Her journey is very much inspired by those around her and her drive to make the world a better place in whatever way she can.  Lavina is so inspirational and I'm delighted to have had this conversation with her. To keep up with her journey, you can find her on Instagram @feelgoodwithlavina.