After suffering burnout from pursuing a political science career in Sweden, a young Swedish transplant to Guadalajara, Kadri Jukham, has found her passion in Kundalini yoga and a related Internet health consulting effort — and compassion in rescuing street dogs.
“They are related,” Kadri Jukham explains over coffee. “I sometimes recommend that people live in a way that focuses on compassion and giving, since that often leads to a happier and healthier life.” She says she has fostered seven street dogs and works with organizations for rescuing them.
For Jukham, the bow on this package is Mexico, where she has found a different and agreeable way of life. “In Sweden, time is chasing you. Social status and career are the focus. I thought sleep was a waste of time.” Here, symptoms of the burnout, such as allergies, have lessened and she finds a stronger connection with nature. “Studies show that in a more natural environment, brain cells regenerate.”
Even though she is living in Mexico, Jukham retains ties to a health program at a Swedish university, which she chose because of its quality. “I think my concern for quality assurance comes out of my political science background,” she says.
In contrast, one way she is rooted to Mexico comes with the yoga classes that she gives in Guadalajara through DIF, the government family agency, to older adults.
Jukham can even tie the coffee she is delicately sipping to her knowledge of yoga and Ayurvedic medicine.
“I love coffee,” she explains, “But by getting to know my mind and body through Kundalini, I could tell coffee isn’t good for me. Of course research shows that it interferes with sleep.”
Her solution has been to drink coffee just once in awhile. “That’s why I like the approach in Kundalini and Ayurveda. It’s flexible and takes into account your likes and dislikes.”
She hastens to add that she prepares her own yogi tea as a satisfying coffee substitute, using ingredients that can be found “for a good price in the Abastos market — ginger, cloves, green cardamon pods, peppercorns and cinnamon.
On her Web site (www.loveyourhealth.se), Jukham gets into a lot more than coffee and tea. “It’s 100 percent a custom designed site and perhaps the main characteristic is its flexibility. With the site, I can reach people wherever they are and whatever their schedule, so it’s very individualized.”
Her English is excellent and she notes that she speaks four languages well. In addition to her DIF yoga group, she is also starting a local Kundalini yoga group in English for people over 50. (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)