Kaizen Your Health: The Smartest Way to Sustainable Wellness

Karnica Singh
May 22
4 min read

In my earlier life as a corporate professional—with over a decade spent leading marketing strategies at some of the top firms like Paytm, American Express, and most recently as Director of Marketing at Ecolibrium—I lived and breathed business frameworks. My MBA from IIT Delhi only sharpened that lens further. We studied Six Sigma, Lean, Agile—and nestled somewhere between all these was a powerful Japanese philosophy: Kaizen.

Kaizen means “continuous improvement”—the idea that consistent, incremental changes over time compound into substantial transformation. During my MBA, I even got certified in Green Belt Six Sigma using this very philosophy. Back then, I applied it to marketing funnels, campaign optimizations, and customer acquisition metrics. I didn’t know it would become the cornerstone of my holistic health coaching practice a decade later.

But here we are.

Today, as the founder of Prakriti and a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, I guide individuals through transformative wellness journeys—whether it’s reversing Hashimoto’s, managing PCOS, balancing hormones, or getting off medications for Diabetes and Hypertension. And the secret sauce? It’s Kaizen.

Let me explain how.

Why We Fail at Getting Healthy

Most of us operate from a binary mindset when it comes to our health. It’s all or nothing.“I’ll start after my birthday.”“Let’s begin post-Diwali.”“Once the kids’ exams are over…”Or the classic: “From the 1st of next month, I’m going to completely change my diet, join the gym, sleep by 10 pm, meditate daily, and lose 10 kilos.”

Let’s be honest—we’ve all been there. The problem with this approach is that it makes health feel like a mammoth project. Something that needs time, energy, and a miraculous shift in the universe. Until then? We do nothing.This 0 or 100 mindset is not only unrealistic—it’s unsustainable.

Health is not a New Year resolution. It’s a daily commitment to yourself. And more importantly, it’s a skill you build—one small step at a time.

What Happens When You Apply Kaizen to Your Health?

You stop chasing perfection—and you start making progress.

Big, dramatic changes are rarely sustainable. The initial motivation may push you for a few days, but it quickly fades, and your subconscious mind—your inner protector of comfort—starts resisting.

“I don’t have time for this.”“I’m too exhausted after work.”“This is too much, maybe I’ll try again next month.”

Sound familiar?

The magic of Kaizen is that it silences this resistance. Why? Because you're not asking your mind to leap—you’re simply nudging it forward.

In Hindi, there's a beautiful expression that captures this:“Nyuntam se shuru karo, saralta ka abhyas karo.”- Start from the smallest, practise the easiest.

Whether it’s nutrition, movement, mindset, relationships, spirituality or your career—the path to transformation isn’t through grand gestures. It’s through tiny, intentional improvements.

When I work with clients, I don’t hand out generic advice like “drink warm water” or “walk 10,000 steps.” I design customised health protocols aligned to each individual’s body, history, and lifestyle.

But what stays consistent is this:

👉🏽 We start small.👉🏽 We stay consistent.👉🏽 We work smart—not hard.

We identify the 20% that will create 80% of the impact—whether it’s restoring gut health, balancing hormones, reducing inflammation, or managing energy and mood. And that 20% is not overwhelming—it’s doable, non-disruptive, and deeply effective.

Real Stories, Real Shifts

One of my clients, a 38-year-old working mother diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and insulin resistance, came to me feeling exhausted, overweight, and overwhelmed. She had been on medication for years but saw little progress. We didn’t flip her life upside down—we simply began with what her body needed in that moment, layered in week-by-week shifts, and created an ecosystem of ease around her habits.

Six months later? She was medication-free, sleeping better, feeling lighter—physically and emotionally—and most importantly, in control of her health.

Another client with Type 2 Diabetes saw his sugar levels drop to healthy levels in just 15 weeks. No crash diets. No extreme routines. Just the right 20% effort that brought him 80% of the results.

That’s Kaizen in action.

Why Small Wins Are the Smartest Strategy

Health isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing what matters most—and doing it in a way that your mind, body, and life can accept with ease.

Big changes feel like pressure.Small changes feel like relief.

The smallest step often creates the biggest momentum. And that momentum is what transforms your health—not overnight, but for life.

Let’s Start Small, Together

If you’ve been waiting for the right time to start your health journey, let me tell you: that time is now. And it doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, if it feels hard, you’re probably doing it wrong.

At Prakriti, my programs are designed to fit into your life—not take over it. Whether you're struggling with weight, fatigue, gut issues, hormonal imbalance, autoimmune conditions or just want to feel like you again—we’ll figure out the smallest, smartest way forward.