Caleen Chua

Arming Women With Gratitude & Grit At Gorgeous Get-Togethers   From pivoting post-pandemic powerfully like a phoenix rising to embrace her life to the fullest, Caleen Chua continues to encourage and uplift women with her life’s sharing concerning gratitude & living their best lives.   BY YVONNE YOONG

Prolific entrepreneur and high achiever Caleen Caseryn Chua is forging new paths and venturing where others fear to tread simply by recreating the best version of herself to share. It is in having faced the varied challenges life has thrown at her and in overcoming the demons of illness and finding her purpose that she has emerged unscathed from the fires of adversity including the pandemic shut-down to discover her unique calling in life which is —- to lead and inspire a new army of women. Her platform named  “Yoga for Moms” she related, was precisely birthed as a safe haven for women to be uplifted, empowered and encouraged via a series of powerful initiatives including events that include exercise, wellness, beauty while incorporating the power of gratitude as an important gift.

With an ever-growing list of members, becoming the best versions of themselves is made more achievable by creating a safe place for them all to relate to and share on their life’s experiences.

Pivoting Post-Pandemic Powerfully

Pivoting post-pandemic powerfully like a phoenix rising to embrace her new season to the fullest after having faced fear fully in the face, Caleen is now empowering women to do the same while purposeful planting the seeds of gratitude in the soil of their lives.

Finding her in the corner of the holding room before launching her “Enliven Women” sharing on stage, her baby girl Edith is being handled by her family.

“As you can see, it takes a village to raise a child,” she quips grateful for the backbone support surrounding her from members of her family as she finishes her breakfast —- comprising noodles in a jar before taking to stage.

How does she do it all – juggling so many roles —- as mother, daughter, serial entrepreneur and F&B head honco?

In person, she cuts a petite figure and takes to stage like a duck to water. She is engaging on stage and confident and yet sympathetic to the plight women face daily in juggling so many roles.

Standing on the shoulder of giants including her father Datuk Seri Garry Chua, past president of the Malaysian Retail Chain Association (MRCA), she has been featured in prominent tabloids and luxury lifestyle publications, with her lot being that of a privileged empowered woman of the 21st century, as some would attest.

And, the apple as they say, doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to resolve to excel in her initiatives just like her father who is the current president council of MRCA.

Having relinquished her role in overseeing his Chakri Group of Restaurants to focus on her motherly duties and lead her  ” Yoga for Mums” initiative as the path she has chosen was met with blessings from her supportive father.

On the ground, support for Caleen is present in former TV host Belinda Chee lending her full support while the other women members are just as enthusiastic to see her succeed.

Coming up with her personally designed Gratitude Journal to encourage the women to be active participants is just one of the many innovative ways she has chosen to deliver her message.

The beauty of it lies with the level of inclusivity even for B40 women. This is part of her strategy to uplift women from all walks of life.

How It All Started

Ever the dutiful daughter, having been summoned back from a career working as a business analyst in Australia after graduating in Finance and Marketing from The University of Melbourne for two straight years, she came back home to assume the role of CEO of Chakri Palace group of restaurants for the last 10 years which was her lot in life.

Wake-Up Call During The Pandemic

Like everyone else, life threw her a couple of unexpected curveballs —- one being the pandemic followed by a health scare which prompted her to reflect a lot about life.

As the rest of the world would discover, it was not to be business as usual but business unusual when the pandemic unleashed its massive whiplash. As businesses pulled down their shutters — Caleen found herself not only bound by restrictions of the F&B restaurants running operations as usual but to add insult to injury — she also had to face a very personal life-changing battle.

During the very tough time following the lockdown, Caleen discovered that even being in a privileged position doesn’t guarantee she would be cushioned from all of life’s challenges either. In January 2020, when her son was just four months old, she discovered that a 8cm by 5cm cyst had developed on her left ovary, after she underwent a full body check-up.

To her horror — even her cancer marker for her liver and kidney were both elevated. The gynaecologist she was seeing urged her to undergo surgery as soon as possible to arrest the cyst to identify if it was benign or not, and what were the next steps needed.

“It was during this time that I truly contemplated death and what it meant to live. I prayed and set an intention that if I were to come out of this surgery well and healthy — that firstly, I will be a dedicated mother to my child. And secondly, I will dedicate my time and energy to serve others,” she said earnestly.

That big scare was a wake-up call for her. But thankfully, the surgery results revealed that the cyst was benign. Feeling like God had granted her a new lease of life, she told her dad that she would relinquish her role as CEO in the restaurant business but remain as a non-executive director, a decision which he, as a doting dad accepted with an open heart.

Focussing on her son and family, she also decided to start building a women’s community to help mothers positively transform themselves through “yoga and a state of mindfulness” as she was aware that mental and physical well-being were what people struggled with during the pandemic.

Founding her new company called Yoga for Mums in 2020, she created a nine- week Mind and Body Transformation programme for women incorporating the practice of “gratitude through a weekly mindfulness sharing”.

Not only was her programme successful — she also started attracting students via word of mouth who in turn shared how their lives were transformed via her input plus all the mindfulness sharing and especially from the practice of gratitude.

Phenomenal Growth of A New Dream

And, just like that — within two years, she was able to impact well over 250 women’s lives in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia through her programme.

“I felt truly blessed and privileged to be in a position of influence and pledged to continue to do my best for others,” she vowed to herself.

Since then, there has been no stopping her as she continues to inspire women to join her “Yoga for Mums” platform culminating in this year’s second annual retreat for the women which also benefitted the B40 women group.

Having obtained her father’s blessings, and his support for the new direction in her life, her razor-sharp focus saw her building upon a community where women can support each other via organising the annual retreat for women.

Caleen’s planned women’s transformation event first launched in November 2023 named “Enliven Women” continues to gain traction as reflected in the ongoing women’s event curated to help uplift women by helping them discover their inner potential while building and empowering mindset and personal growth.

“We have collaborated with ‘Thrive Well’ to impact B40 women through this as well. Every ticket sold for ‘Enliven Women’ was contributed to B40 women who attended the event,” she shared about the success of the annual event which aims to be all-inclusive to empower women from all walks of life to cope with modern-day demands.

Spoken like a true women empowerer who has made inclusivity a key pillar in her ambitious quest to empower women to come together.

“In Western countries, there’s a lot of talk about women’s equality. But in Southeast Asia, the traditional concept is still that the mother stays at home or that the mother has to make sacrifices for the child… But who will take care of the mother?” she reasoned.

Spoken like a true champion for women.

As the rest of the world would discover, it was not to be business as usual but business unusual when the pandemic unleashed its massive whiplash. As businesses pulled down their shutters — Caleen found herself not only bound by restrictions of the F&B restaurants running operations as usual but to add insult to injury — she also had to face a very personal life-changing battle.

During the very tough time following the lockdown, Caleen discovered that even being in a privileged position doesn’t guarantee she would be cushioned from all of life’s challenges either. In January 2020, when her son was just four months old, she discovered that a 8cm by 5cm cyst had developed on her left ovary, after she underwent a full body check-up.

To her horror — even her cancer marker for her liver and kidney were both elevated. The gynaecologist she was seeing urged her to undergo surgery as soon as possible to arrest the cyst to identify if it was benign or not, and what were the next steps needed.

“It was during this time that I truly contemplated death and what it meant to live. I prayed and set an intention that if I were to come out of this surgery well and healthy — that firstly, I will be a dedicated mother to my child. And secondly, I will dedicate my time and energy to serve others,” she said earnestly.

That big scare was a wake-up call for her. But thankfully, the surgery results revealed that the cyst was benign. Feeling like God had granted her a new lease of life, she told her dad that she would relinquish her role as CEO in the restaurant business but remain as a non-executive director, a decision which he, as a doting dad accepted with an open heart.

Focussing on her son and family, she also decided to start building a women’s community to help mothers positively transform themselves through “yoga and a state of mindfulness” as she was aware that mental and physical well-being were what people struggled with during the pandemic.

Founding her new company called Yoga for Mums in 2020, she created a nine- week Mind and Body Transformation programme for women incorporating the practice of “gratitude through a weekly mindfulness sharing”. Not only was her programme successful — she also started attracting students via word of mouth who in turn shared how their lives were transformed via her input plus all the mindfulness sharing and especially from the practice of gratitude.

And, just like that — within two years, she was able to impact well over 250 women’s lives in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia through her programme. In April 2022, her success snowballed into her being selected as Adidas yoga creator.

“I felt truly blessed and privileged to be in a position of influence and pledged to continue to do my best for others,” she vowed to herself. Since then, there has been no stopping her as she continues to inspire women to join her Yoga for Mums platform culminating in an annual retreat for the women.

Having obtained her father’s blessings, and his support for the new direction in her life, her razor-sharp focus saw her building upon a community where women can support each other via organising an annual retreat for women.

Caleen has also planned a women’s transformation event which will be launched in November 2023 named “Enliven Women” – the first ever women’s event curated to help uplift women by helping them discover their inner potential while building and empowering mindset and personal growth.

“We are also collaborating with Thrive Well to impact B40 women through this as well. Every ticket sold for Enliven Women will contribute to B40 women attending the event,” she said in an attempt to be all-inclusive to empower women from all walks of life.

“In Western countries, there’s a lot of talk about women’s equality. But in Southeast Asia, the traditional concept is still that the mother stays at home or that the mother has to make sacrifices for the child… But who will take care of the mother?” she reasoned.

Spoken like a true champion for women.

Wake-Up Call During The Pandemic

Up, Close & Personal Takes with Caleen Chua

What are your goals and aims in life?

To live life with love and sincerity. I feel that no matter what we do, if we do so with love and sincerity…eventually, others will feel it too.

My students and the women in my community are the ones who inspire me every day and keep me going. Whenever they share with me how our programme and retreats have transformed their lives for the better, it motivates me to keep doing what I do which is to impact one life at a time.

Who are your women role models you look up to?

Oprah Winfrey, Mother Teresa and Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh. They have all overcome adversity, dedicated their time and used their voices and influence to uplift others.

Any parting words on how your dad has inspired you to be the person you are today?

My father and I have a very close relationship. In many ways, I am who I am because of him. He has always been a visionary and serial entrepreneur.

I truly admire his ability to connect with anyone and make others feel his sincerity and friendship. Some of his core values which he inculcated in me since I was a child is gratitude, respect and empathy for others. That to me, is one of his greatest gifts that he has given me.

Sisters In Yoga Motherhood:
Caleen Chua and Belinda Chee

Looking like twin sisters, Belinda Chee, former TV and radio host and now full-time mother of two made a surprisingly rare appearance as the emcee for Caleen’s Yoga for Mums event.

But to the 60 attendees that evening, she was a familiar face as she too is one of Caleen’s devoted “Yoga for Moms” followers.

Retiring from the public eye and being highly selective even in undertaking emceeing jobs after she settled down years ago, it was good to see Belinda all charged up at Caleen’s event — emceeing and then sportingly joining in the stretching exercises two years ago.

Having embarked on this journey of introspection, reflection and appreciation, here are candid responses from the celebrity host herself.

_____________

Up, close & personal with Belinda Chee

How life has life  changed for you after tying the knot and becoming a mother to your two children since you are not in the public eye as much as you used to, being on TV.

I was actually pretty busy with various hosting and acting projects up until I had my second child, who is now nine. With two kids and a husband who works outstation most of the time, I have to give my full attention to taking care of the family.

But I’ve been in the industry since my early 20s and I feel like I’ve done and experienced all that I could have in the entertainment industry and have enjoyed it tremendously when I was at my peak, as a single woman.

How have you changed as a person?

I have no regrets and when people ask me, I just tell them, I’m retired from that life. At the moment, I’m doing mostly voiceovers for commercials which gives me the flexibility to schedule my day around school pickups and my kids’ extra-curricular activities and it’s something I think I can do pretty well.

As I grow older, I’ve sort of figured out who I am and what I like and dislike. And what I’m good at and what I’m not. That’s why I’m more selective with work now and will only take up jobs that will add value to my life.

When did you join Caleen’s Yoga For Mums event? How did this come about? Did you know Caleen before this? And how has this platform benefitted you and what has been the greatest takeaway for you?

I joined Caleen’s Yoga for Mum: Mind and Body Transformation Programme in Jan 2021. Believe it or not, Caleen was one of the last few people I interviewed while I was still working as the Breakfast Show announcer on Lite.FM in 2020.

She invited me to join her online yoga programme and after speaking to her, I told myself to give it a shot. And, I’m glad I did because in 9 short weeks, although I did not lose any weight, I toned up a lot and gained more than just physical health. Her yoga programme incorporates mindfulness and nutrition which helps you literally transform in mind and body.

I think the biggest takeaway for me after being with Yoga for Mums for the past two years is to be present in mind, body and spirit. I’ve learnt that the reason why we get worried, anxious and stressed is because we either dwell too much in the past or think too much into the future. The only way to be happy is to be present in everything you do and live in the moment, day by day.

What do you like most about the programme and how involved are you? What do you see as the greatest advantage in being part of this group?

I would like to say that I’m the “Yoga for Mums “media manager, since I help Caleen post about “Yoga for Mums” on my social media and I also help shoot and edit some of her videos.

She’s also pulled me in as one of her board members for the “Yoga for Mums Community and I’m trying to help as much as I can so that more women can benefit from being part of the community.

I think the greatest advantage to being part of this community is that I am constantly learning something new from Caleen and all the other women in the community. And, I believe that can help me grow into my best self.

Caleen mentioned “Yoga for Mums” as being a safe haven for women. Is this an outlet where women can come together to share their motherhood struggles, joys and pains along the way? Please share on the women empowerment aspect of the programme.

What started out as just an online yoga programme has grown into a community of like-minded women/mothers who share similar life experiences and therefore, can relate better to one another.

At the end of the day, it’s to let other women know that they’re never alone in their struggles, their worries and their insecurities. When women feel contented and supported, they can change not only their own fate and that of their families, – they can [in fact] change the world!

And through our Yoga for Mums community events, we hope to be able to learn, share and grow together so that all of us can be the best versions of ourselves.