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After finding a way to cope with her own problems, one Shepparton woman wants to help as many women as she can to feel as empowered as she does now.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Three years ago, Melissa Rachele woke up with her head spinning.
She didn’t know it at the time, but it was one of the symptoms she was experiencing of burnout.
The Shepparton mum-of-three visited neurologists, ENTs and doctors, but no-one could give her an answer.
She started to experience ongoing dizziness, migraines, headaches and joint pain, which led to panic attacks and left her housebound.
“It was debilitating,” Melissa said.
“On the outside I looked fine but inside I was like, ‘something’s not right’.”
All her tests came back normal and medication just made her feel worse, so Melissa started her own research.
She said she was amazed by the results she was getting from doing simple things like a body scan meditation every day.
“I started to change the thoughts in my head.
“I was doing my own studying and that’s when I went on to study holistic coaching.
“When I found out about the mind-body connection, I was just amazed at what a difference your thoughts can make, especially with things like joint pain and migraines.
“Even though it was really debilitating, it was a gift in the end because it's led me to this.”
Now, Melissa is helping to empower other women through her business, Soul Mind Body, putting to use an interest she has always had in psychology.
“I specialise in helping women with anxiety and overwhelm — my goal is to provide them with powerful mindset tools they can use every day,” she said.
Melissa Rachele is using her own experiences to empower other women.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“It is a dream of mine to help as many women as I can to feel empowered as I do today.”
Melissa knew she had anxiety growing up but said it didn’t really affect her until she became a mum.
Being a stay-at-home mum for 10 years, Melissa said not asking for support from others had contributed to her feeling overwhelmed and becoming burnt out.
“I think in our society these days we try and do everything ourselves, and it’s just not realistic.”
She said she helped women who don’t feel like their usual selves to experience more peace and calm.
“I think as a mum, sometimes you feel like you lose yourself.
“There’s this misconception that if we're not busy, then we're not doing enough.
“But the reality is, I want to teach women that when we slow down, we can achieve more because our mind is clear.”
During the one-on-one sessions Melissa runs, she asks questions to dig down to the cause before giving women tools to move forward, including breath work and transformational meditations.
Melissa has been running her sessions with women over Zoom, having launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, but is looking to expand to host small group sessions on her Shepparton property.
“I want to create a little community where women can get together and empower each other.”
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