From transition to transformation: the story behind Connect to Wellbeing

Hi, I'm Hanin, founder of Connect to Wellbeing.

My story has always been shaped by transition.

Not the kind you plan for. The kind that arrives uninvited and asks you to become someone you've never been before.

Leaving my career and culture when I moved to the United States. Becoming a mother and discovering parts of myself I didn't know existed. Navigating my husband's illness and, eventually, his loss.

Through every phase, the only constant was change.

For a long time, I fought against that. I searched for stability outside myself, in routines, in control, in the illusion of certainty. I thought if I could just get everything in order, I would finally feel grounded.

But life kept asking me to let go of that need. And it was yoga that taught me the most profound lesson of all:

The anchor I was looking for was already within me.

The Early Transitions

When I moved to the U.S., I left behind everything familiar, my career in business and finance, my culture, the identity I'd built. I was starting over in a country where everything felt foreign, even the language of my own emotions.

Then I became a mother. And if you've experienced that transition, you know, it's beautiful and disorienting all at once. You're the same person, but also completely different. Nothing prepares you for how profoundly your sense of self shifts.

I was navigating these changes the way I'd always approached challenges: with logic, planning, and control. But slowly, I began to realize that this approach wasn't working. Because transition doesn't follow a plan. It asks you to learn a different language, the language of feeling, of presence, of being with uncertainty.

Finding Yoga in the Uncertainty

When my husband became ill, the ground beneath me shifted in ways I couldn't have imagined. As a doctor, he'd spent his life healing others. Now, I was watching him struggle, and I felt powerless.

During that time, I discovered yoga, not as exercise, but as a practice of staying present when everything in me wanted to run. At first, it was simple: movement and breath. A way to be in my body when my mind was overwhelmed.

But slowly, practice by practice, something deeper began to happen.

Yoga became the place where I learned to ground myself when life felt uncertain. It taught me that I didn't need life to be stable to find stability, I could create that ground within myself, through breath, through awareness, through the simple act of showing up to the mat.

The Natural Deepening

From yoga, I naturally moved into mindfulness. I wanted to understand why the practice affected me so deeply. What was the connection between movement and peace? Between breath and clarity?

Mindfulness taught me to witness my thoughts without being ruled by them, to create space between what was happening and how I responded. It showed me that I had more choice than I realized, even in the most difficult moments.

Later, I moved into coaching, seeking to understand how transformation actually happens, not just in the body or the mind, but in the whole person. How do we shift our patterns? How do we honor our truth? How do we become who we're meant to be, not who we used to be?

That evolution, grounding the body, awakening the mind, empowering the self, became the foundation of everything I now teach.

What I learned about transition

Here's what living through constant change taught me:

Transition isn't something to survive and move past. It's where transformation happens.

We tell ourselves: "Once things settle down, then I'll take care of myself. Then I'll heal. Then I'll figure things out."

But what if we don't have to wait? What if the ground we're seeking isn't found after the transition, but within it?

This realization changed everything for me. I stopped waiting for life to become certain before I could feel stable. I started practicing presence in the middle of uncertainty. I learned to trust my own resilience, not because everything was fine, but because I was learning to hold myself through whatever came.

Why Connect to Wellbeing exists

Connect to Wellbeing was born from this understanding: you don't need life to settle down before you can heal.

The power to transform is already within you, right now, in the middle of whatever transition you're navigating.

Whether you're dealing with burnout, loss, a major life change, or simply feeling disconnected from yourself, this space exists to help you reconnect. Not by fixing what's broken. But by remembering what's already whole.

Through yoga, mindfulness, and coaching, I guide women through the practice of:

Grounding the body ,  learning to feel safe in your own skin, even when life feels uncertain. Movement becomes a conversation with yourself, a way to inhabit your life fully.

Awakening the mind ,  creating space between what happens and how you respond. Mindfulness teaches you to witness your thoughts, your patterns, your stories, and choose differently.

Empowering the self ,  understanding who you're becoming and making choices aligned with that truth. Not who you used to be. Not who others expect you to be. But who you are, right now, in this transition.

The Practice of Transformation

This isn't about perfection. It's not about having all the answers or never feeling uncertain.

It's about learning to find your ground within yourself, over and over, even as everything around you shifts.

Every class, every coaching session, every breath we take together is part of this practice. It's about awakening to your own strength, not after the storm passes, but right in the middle of it.

Because here's the truth I've learned through my own transitions:

You already carry what you need. The resilience. The wisdom. The ability to transform. It's already there, within you, waiting to be remembered.

An invitation to begin

If you're in transition right now, if you're feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or uncertain about what comes next, I want you to know:

You don't have to have it figured out. You don't have to be "past it" before you can begin healing.

Transformation doesn't wait for perfect conditions. It happens in the mess, in the middle, in the moment you choose to ground into yourself instead of waiting for life to settle.

That's what we practice here at Connect to Wellbeing. And I'd be honored to practice with you.

What if the ground you're seeking isn't out there, but within you?

Breathe. Ground. Transform.

About Hanin Smahta

Hanin is a certified yoga teacher and wellness coach who guides women through transition by helping them ground the body, awaken the mind, and empower the self. Drawing from her own journey through constant change, she creates space for authentic transformation, not after life settles, but within the transition itself.

Ready to begin?