Meet Nikita Gupta | Resilience Educator, Coach, Trainer, Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nikita Gupta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikita, what principle do you value most?

I value love, generosity, authenticity, creativity, equity and connection. Values are aspirations that help orient me to my every day. They guide how I run my business, and the ways in which I offer my services. I suppose freedom is at the core of these values, as I desired this ever since I was a kid. I wanted to feel free in the movement of my body, in experiencing my identity; freedom to speak using my voice, and through my creativity. I believe that freedom and joy are our human birthright. Everything that I teach about is centered in arriving at a greater ability to be free and find moments of joy in each day.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business is LIITE, INC, with the goal of helping individuals and organizations bring light to the shadows of our times. More specifically I work with institutions (like colleges, schools, corporations and service-based organizations) and individuals (like moms, administrators, actors, etc.) to integrate somatic healing and resilience infrastructures into daily moments so that we can heal, thrive and experience micro-joys every day!

I’m so proud of the work that I get to do, and how it fills my being. I love witnessing the people that I work with find aha! moments, helping them discover new ways of being in their bodies, showing up for their lives, and facilitating the precious process of transformation. I’m proud of myself for my dedication to this work and to the dream of full time entrepreneurship, as it took me 25 years of building, finding confidence and trusting that this can be my reality.

Since I was a child, I dreamed of doing the work of “teaching” and “healing”. I didn’t know what that meant or how I would get there, but that’s what resonated in my heart and mind. I started to explore healing practices as a teenager through my thirties, because I struggled with a lot of physical, emotional and spiritual pain. I began my healing journey by practicing yoga and meditation. I deepened my understanding of healing processes when I began teaching yoga classes at the YMCA (where I taught for 17 years from Pacific Palisades to Culver City).

I was inspired by the elements that make transformation occur and wondered how these could be made more accessible to people. I combined my education in Public Health with the intention of bringing healing practices and frameworks to various contexts, including institutions and organizations.

I took years and years of workshops and trainings on healing modalities that helped me grow while giving me insight on how to teach this work to others. I started a weekly yoga class at the health care company I worked for, and facilitated meditations at my staff meetings at the next organization. I taught classes at the local farmer’s market and created programs that served thousands of people who were facing stress, trauma and overwhelm. All the while I was working on my own inner healing and strengthening. I had to re-write my money mindsets so that I could do this work sustainably, gain confidence as a first-generation woman of color by working through self-doubt, and build the infrastructures that could ultimately support my lifestyle as an entrepreneur. It was not easy, but I kept in mind the stories of other healers and entrepreneurs who had come before me. If they could do it, so could I, with dedication and effort over time.

I’ve learned many lessons along the way — about myself, my capabilities, my limits and what really lights me up in my work. I’ve had to learn how to balance work, caring for others, and caring for myself. For many years, I worked my full-time job while building my training and coaching business. I was exhausted. It took me a while to recover from overwork, and I’m still getting familiar with what it means to actually slow down, take extended breaks and unhook my nervous system’s dance with (false) urgency.

I like to think I have lived multiple lifetimes in this one life! I started off as a shy, awkward, curious girl with lots of unspoken desires for success and freedom of expression. I was part of a yoga community for 6 years that allowed me to heal, teach and learn how to run a small business. I was an educator at UCLA for 10 years where I worked with thousands of students and professionals to bring healing practices to institutional spaces, and now I run my own business. My business is fully an expression of who I am and the journey that it took me to get here. My journey is reinforced in the work that I do with others, and it is a beautiful, reciprocal process. I used to wonder if I could do all the things that bubbled inside of me — art, writing, teaching, movement, laughter, and nurturing. The answer is YES! We can be fully expressed in the time that we have to enjoy this journey. My mission is to remind us of how to experience the joys we were born to have.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love this city and all that it has to offer! It is cities within a large city and I’m always finding new places to discover. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so I love to introduce my guests to restaurants like Bloom Cafe or Metro Cafe, both westside breakfast treats.

For indoor activities, the museums here are great. The Museum of Jurassic Technology is my most favorite museum, full of unique and unexpected displays! We’d end that excursion with cookies and tea on the rooftop of the museum. The Broad is another amazing museum that doesn’t take a lot of time to go through that gives a modern flavor from many artists. Another favorite is the Getty, where you get stunning views of the city while moving through a profoundly beautiful museum structure made of limestone.

You can get any type of food in LA that you want! Food trends are born here — avocado toast anyone? I love going to Little Ethopia’s Messob restaurant. There’s also a delicious contemporary take on Mexican food with Petty Cash Taqueria on Melrose — great tacos and drinks. Indian food for lunch at Samosa House is fun. They have an excellent vegetarian buffet with an attached Indian grocery store. And Urth Cafe is an LA classic, with excellent coffee, tea, desserts and food where you can overhear aspiring actors, writers, entrepreneurs talking about their dreams.

I love nature. I would definitely show off Griffith Park which offers perspective and gorgeous views of the City. Moving toward the ocean, Venice Beach — the part right between the Marina and Venice Boardwalk — offers wide sandy beaches with fewer crowds. Here, I’d put down a blanket and fly a kite that goes out 500 feet into the air. A true meditation! I’d want to venture out of the city to Joshua Tree National Park for a day trip, drive a few hours through the park, stop and hike, and enjoy the native plants and giant rocks! And finally a gem that I discovered during the pandemic is the LA Arboretum. There are wild peacocks that live there among many diverse garden types. There is an awesome tree that you can climb into and rest on, cooling off under its canopy while hearing the buzz of the birds and bugs.

And finally, LA is the place where I have done my deepest spiritual work. I’d want to introduce folks to spaces that offer soulful reflection. The Agape Spiritual Center at the Saban Theater offers spiritual services that are heart-opening and evocative. The Self-Realization Fellowship on PCH offers a beautiful meditation walk around a lake. Here you will discover monuments and reflections from the world’s religions, reminding us of universal truths and human connection.

I think we’d have an amazing time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have been lucky to have had many teachers along the way who helped me get to this point in my journey… They have come in many forms — books, TED talks, mentors and femtors, and random moments with strangers. I learned from broadly known teachers like Abraham Hicks, Krishnamurti, and many of the speakers on HayHouse Radio. I have learned from people in my immediate community – my parents who instilled in me a strong work ethic and drive for holistic success. My sister for teaching me to slow down. Grace Caitlin, my coach for many years, whose guidance and insights completely transformed my life and became a foundation for my work. I have been blessed with many friends and loved ones along the way who consistently remind me of my capability, especially on days when doubt and fear cloud my joy. For this and so much more, a huge shout out to my love, Charles.

I also shout out the many healers that I have learned from, who have helped my body, mind and spirit to restore. And I thank Los Angeles, unceded territory of the Gabrieliño Tongva, Chumash, Kizh peoples, for anchoring me, all these years, in a journey of discovery, spirituality, adventure and learning.

Website: www.nikitagupta.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikita_gupta_healing/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikitagupta108/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0lcmePS1g_fzyKvWkCJCFQ/videos

Other: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ngupta TEDx Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/nikita_gupta_helping_the_helper_how_to_support_others_without_burning_out

Image Credits
Charles Taylor, Maribel Farina