If you have been following me for a while, you may have noticed that I often speak from my own life experiences. Not because my life is more special than anyone else’s, but because through this, I want to reveal something we all have — an inner world — and that we all meet it in different ways.
For me, being a woman has, without a doubt, formed who I am — how I see life, how life has influenced me, and how I interact with everything. Today I see more clearly than ever that my story is also the story of the women before me — my female ancestors — carried in my body, in my DNA. Their stories are intertwined with mine.
When I was younger, I did not care about any of this. Life was more black and white, and I played the role of the rebel in it. I did what I had to do to survive what I was standing in. My stubbornness became my strength. It kept me from falling in the face of life’s harshness — as a young woman, in a country I did not fully belong to, carrying both my personal story and my family’s story at the same time.
But as the years have passed, and with the ripening that comes with them, I find myself in a different place — a new angle. I see how being human is shaped by many layers — our gender, our genes, our DNA, our history, our personal story, and our interaction with the world around us — culture, society, time.
And I am more and more in awe of the depth of it all. I also begin to understand why some never choose to widen their horizon beyond a black-and-white view. It is easier to stay there than to face how layered and wide life really is — and how we are both shaped by it and part of it.
That depth is also what draws me to explore life through other people’s eyes and lenses.
This is probably why I chose to study journalism in my younger years, and later created my own blog and YouTube channel. It also explains why my career path has moved between communication and working with people in different settings and across different ages — often people at crossroads or in periods of change.
So, shortly put, I find myself more drawn to the voices of ordinary people than to celebrities or experts. That is why most of my interviews are with ordinary people.
I believe we are all our own experts if we learn to listen to our inner guidance and build trust in it. By bringing out these voices, I hope we can begin to see what we all have in common, despite our differences. We are one human family, all on a shared human journey — with all that it contains.
With this in mind, I wanted to explore a simple, open question in this interview:
What does it mean to be a woman?
I am fully aware that we live in a time when many say there is no difference between men and women — at least in some parts of the world. At the same time, we are still living in a world shaped by thousands of years of male influence.
With this as a backdrop, I asked this question during my two-month stay in an ashram in India at the beginning of 2025, where I stayed among people from different backgrounds, each carrying their own reflections on life.
As I edited the interview, I found real joy in weaving together their honest and personal answers. What became clear to me is that there is not one definition — but many voices.
And maybe that is where the value lies. I hope you find something in it as well.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out this post! If you haven’t already, be sure to hit subscribe to stay updated whenever I share something new. While you’re here, take a moment to explore the Wise and Shine Zine blogger community—it’s full of inspiration. You can also find me on Instagram for more updates and behind-the-scenes moments. Looking for tunes or movement inspiration? Head over to my Spotify—just search for Movement Coach Parisa and let the playlist fuel your day!
By the way, I also work with 1:1 holistic movement guidance if you feel you need support while walking your path — someone to hold space for your process, exactly where you are, as you build trust in your own inner guidance.
You can book a discovery call, where we set up a short 15-minute WhatsApp chat to explore if this feels like the right fit — for both of us.
In these sessions, we don’t stay in analysis. We meet what is present in your life through movement, for example:
- Creative and physical exploration
- Body awareness
- Voice and expression
- Writing for clarity
People, Life, Politics And Bullshit 