My name’s Heena Modi. I was a primary school teacher for eighteen years. Now, I coach people to help them go vegan, stay vegan or shift from following a vegan diet to living a vegan lifestyle.
On this site, I write about topics which I am passionate about. Previous posts include articles about amazing holidays, money-saving tips, education, spirituality and recycling effortlessly.
If you think that I should write about something which will serve those who visit this site, please do get in touch and share your ideas with me.
How I got into blogging
So how did I get into blogging? This website was gifted to me. At that point, I didn’t really know about blogging then, so I didn’t know what it was for or what I needed to do with it! One night, we got talking about something that I was feeling passionate about, and he said, “You know you can write about that on your website.” That was it! I started and haven’t stopped since! 🙂
What else can I tell you about me?
- I feel enriched by the sun!
- I like wearing bright colours.
- I follow a vegan lifestyle and feel SO much better for it!
- I love wearing saris!
- I like sharing things that I’ve found out, e.g. how to stop getting junk mail in your name OR anyone else’s, via the post, text, fax or phone.
My journey
What can I tell you? I guess they can be summed up in these posts:
The loss of my father
My father passed away soon after we sold the family business and moved home. I wrote a poem exploring my feelings about my father’s death and how life changed afterwards. I did a lot of that then. Writing poems helped me understand myself better, clarify my thoughts and gain a sense of closure, which enabled me to move on.
As I got closer to the tenth anniversary of my father’s passing away, I wrote a post about how the last decade had been. This made me realise how ‘full’ those years had been!
Inspired by how well mum coped
Death can be difficult in any circumstance. However, I think it was particularly hard on my mum for a number of reasons. One of these reasons was that my dad managed the money in every way! He signed cheques, went to the bank, dealt with the accounts, savings, etc.
Mum had never done any of that stuff, and she had to learn all these things, as well as manage everything else that went with losing your partner, becoming a single parent and more. She was surrounded by friends and family who were extremely supportive. Still…I’m proud of her for managing so well. 🙂
Taking steps to start the professional training that I discussed with my dad before he passed away.
My career in Education began at the Sybil Elgar School where I was a learning assistant for children and young adults with Autism. After a couple of years, I decided to sign up for a PGCE and become a teacher.
Dad and I spoke about it, but he passed away before I began the course. I was determined to start it as soon as possible. I did the PGCE at the University of East London.
My love for animals
I have always loved animals. I adopted my first pet, Brutus, when I was about 26 years old. He was a ‘wild’ cat.
There’s a huge void in rescuing ‘older’ cats. They often get left behind!
After Brutus passed away, I was devastated, but after a year or, so, I rescued a pair of cats. They were mother and daughter. Unfortunately, Small (the mother) became unwell and we had to have her put down. I cherished the daughter, Biggie. However, I re-homed her just before we took a long holiday, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
I still think of her, and I do miss her. However, I know that she was happy with us and, better still, she was looked after in a way we couldn’t have managed during her final days. 🙂
Going vegan
I attended an event to celebrate Mahavir Janma Kalyanak in April 2008. At this event, I saw a video about the inhumane treatment of cows in the dairy industry. This was a huge turning point for me. I went dairy-free overnight, and I’ve not looked back! I feel physically healthier, and it’s had a positive effect on my mind and conscience, which is hugely important to me. 🙂
Work-life balance
I began to question whether working full-time, which was the culture I’d been brought up with, was something that I wanted to continue! For many reasons, including a few whiplash injuries, I started working 4 days a week. In this post, I discuss my thoughts about working part-time. My quality of life is better. I feel less stressed, and the sick leave that I was taking due to my back health has reduced dramatically.
On the path to quenching my thirst for spirituality
For some years, I had craved going to events in which I could receive spiritual guidance to make daily living smoother, more harmonious & more peaceful. During the early part of 2009, I saw the key to my spiritual progress, and I accepted it! Here are some details about what followed.
Previous extracurricular activities! 🙂
I’ve been a committee member of some sort every year for the last 10 years or so. Here are some of the committees that I’ve been involved with:
- Editor of the National Council of Vanik Association’s (NCVA) newsletter from 2006 to 2011
- Trustee of Navnat Youth Association (NYA) from March 1998 to March 1999
- On the Young Jains (YJ) Newsletter team from October 2007 to November 2009
- Part of the Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) from June 2008 to October 2009
- Secretary of the Grove Estate Residents Association (GERA) from January 2008 (since its creation) to October 2009
- Member of the Leaseholder Support Group (LSG) from November 2006 (since its creation) to October 2010
- Member of the Waste Group team from 2008 to August 2010
How to get in touch
To contact me, please fill out the form below, email me at heena [at] heenamodi [dot] com, or message me on X using this link – @heenamodi.
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