Tanushri Pal Chowdhury, a 43-year-old living in Amsterdam, discovered her true purpose beyond the corporate world in helping others achieve inner peace. After a period where she felt an internal emptiness despite external security, she established BalanceWorks, an institution dedicated to holistic healing through coaching, breathwork, and energy work. Right now, with conducting classes online and offline, she wishes to do more group sessions and expand it over to corporate world from where she comes from.
Her transition was spurred by two pivotal events: the regretful passing of a best friend due to COVID- 19, and later, the revelation of an insensitive workplace culture. Despite a high-paying job, these prompted her to seek therapy, overcoming cultural stigma to begin a journey of self-awareness and emotional connection.
In an interview with Asian Voice, she talks about energy works and how it reflects within the lives of his clients.
How do you explain the science behind spinal energetics to someone who is unfamiliar with the concept?
Energy work isn't mystical; it's grounded in the nervous system and the body's electrical signals. The body constantly assesses environmental cues for safety or danger, shifting into a sympathetic ‘survival mode’ when perceiving deadlines or emotional stress; i.e., it runs on electrical impulses, and chronic stress or trauma can dysregulate these signals, causing tension and shallow breathing. This prolonged state negatively impacts focus, digestion, sleep, mood, and posture. Energy work, like breathwork, stimulates the vagus nerve to shift the nervous system from stress to a calm parasympathetic state, reducing cortisol and improving emotional regulation. Spinal energetics helps release stored tension, facilitating the body's innate ability to regulate and heal by remembering safety and flow.
Balance Works uniquely integrates coaching, breathwork, and Spinal Energetics. What's the core philosophy behind this fusion?
We are beings, we can transform and we can heal when we look at the mind and the body and the energy collectively, and that's why it's not only coaching, breath work or energy work. One of my principles in business is that I want to meet the client at where they are at and I’ll support them according to their needs. I see beautiful results, with clients who combine coaching with spinal energetics. Coaching is always forward looking. The philosophy is that we all have the ability to transform and heal. A, we have to allow it and B, we have to work. We have to honour the entire system.
Healing is a word related to a human’s physical injuries and the process of cure. So why do you think people are coming back to you and how does healing works in your method?
A: Healing extends beyond physical injuries to emotional wounds, burnout, and feeling lost. These non-physical issues profoundly affect well-being. In my practice, healing involves releasing the pressure of constantly proving oneself, feeling safe to express emotions without guilt, and letting go of conditions like anxiety or self-doubt. It's about responding from presence rather than fear. Energy work doesn't ‘fix’ people; it helps their system return to a state of safety, flow, and vitality, which is a profound form of healing, even without bandages or medication.
Trauma is very subjective as it can differ in case of genders as well. How does men’s trauma differ according to you from women’s trauma? And do you have more men or women clients, and why so?
Trauma isn't merely the event, but its internal impact: the meaning attached to it, how the body holds it, and its lasting influence on behaviour. Different individuals experience the same environment, like an emotionally unavailable parent, with varied internal responses. I've observed distinct patterns in how trauma manifests in men and women. Men often bear the pressure to be strong, leading to emotional shutdown, overworking, or anger due to suppressed vulnerability, often stemming from unprocessed grief or fear of failure. Women are frequently conditioned to prioritise others, leading to anxiety, people-pleasing, or guilt over personal needs and success, often feeling invisible or pushing through burnout. Both sexes can experience disconnection from their bodies and a nervous system perpetually in survival mode, often unknowingly. While more women traditionally seek support, men are increasingly finding their way to energy work due to performance burnout or acute physical symptoms. The profound shift occurs when individuals feel safe enough to explore underlying issues, leading to deep freedom. My diverse clientele demonstrates that energy work is not ‘woo-woo’ but a widely beneficial practice for both men and women across various backgrounds.
