From Sweet Celebrations to Sacred Healing

About Me

Founder | Formulator | Curator | Guide

I’m Mahmooda Hotak—Ayurvedic Practitioner, Certified Aromatherapist, PhD Candidate, and mom to three incredible beings. But before all the titles, I was simply a young woman searching for answers no one seemed have—struggling with PCOS, hormonal chaos, exhaustion, and a deep disconnection from my body.

I was born in Afghanistan, where food was more than nourishment—it was culture. Every gathering, celebration, or family moment centered around what was prepared and shared. But sweet treats? They were rare and precious—reserved only for special occasions like weddings, holidays, or birthdays. That rarity made them meaningful. Sweetness marked a moment of joy.

When we migrated to the U.S., everything changed. Suddenly, sugar was everywhere—abundant, accessible, and unbelievably affordable. What had once been reserved for special occasions now filled every aisle, every checkout counter, every after-school snack.
By the time I was a teenager, I was living off candy bars, soda, and convenience-store snacks. Every day felt like a celebration—except my body didn’t feel like celebrating.

Eventually, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and handed a prescription for hormonal birth control. Doctors warned me that without the pills, I might not be able to conceive in the future. But at 18, motherhood wasn’t yet on my mind—I just wanted to feel like myself again.

And something inside me resisted.
Not out of fear, but out of something older. A memory. A knowing.

I had grown up around my grandparents and elders—people who turned to nature first in times of illness. My grandmothers would make their own herbal teas and poultices; my grandfather blended oils and concoctions rooted in ancient wisdom. They didn’t rush to the clinic at the first sign of discomfort. They paused. They listened. They treated healing as something personal and intuitive, not something outsourced. That ancestral knowing stirred in me as I held that prescription.

At the time, I was a full-time college student working more than 30 hours a week. I didn’t know of any “natural” protocols or alternative paths—I just knew I couldn’t rely on pills to restore something that felt deeply out of balance.
So I made the only decision that made sense: I slowed down.
I reduced my course load. I cut back my work hours. I began walking each evening, listening to soothing music and reconnecting with my breath, my body, and myself. And I cut out the sodas.
Within six months, something shifted. My cycle returned. My energy stabilized. My body softened. I felt like me again. After nearly three years of confusion, discomfort, and quiet struggle—it felt like a quiet miracle.
I thought that chapter had closed.

But Healing Is Never Linear…

Two decades later, as a mother of three, I found myself in another health spiral.
I was constantly exhausted—waking up tired, going to bed tired—and began experiencing debilitating episodes of vertigo that left me bedridden. It was terrifying for my husband, who relied on me to care for our home and children.

So we did what most would do: we sought answers. MRIs, blood tests, endocrinologists, neurologists. The final diagnosis: a possible benign pituitary tumor and underactive thyroid. Once again, I was handed prescriptions and a prognosis:
“This is for life.”

But I had been here before.
And I knew something different was possible.

So, I did what I thought was right: I researched. I read every book I could find on women’s health, hormones, nutrition, thyroid disorders, pituitary tumors, PCOS—you name it. But the more I searched, the more confused I became. The information was fragmented, contradictory, and overwhelming. Every “expert” said something different. Every protocol promised results, but none of it felt cohesive—or truly aligned with what my body was telling me.

That’s when I had an epiphany:
“I’ve been through this before… with PCOS. What helped me then?”

That memory—of healing myself naturally—rekindled a fire within me.
I realized I didn’t need another opinion. I needed to come back to nature.
That’s when I discovered Ayurveda—the ancient science of life that finally brought everything together: the symptoms, the patterns, the deeper meaning behind what my body was trying to say.

I dove in wholeheartedly. I studied. I practiced. I applied it to my life. And with each layer I uncovered, I felt more empowered, more at ease, more whole.

Then a question started to rise in me:
“What if other women are out there—just like me—silently struggling, looking for natural, meaningful ways to feel better... and not finding them?”

There were.
So many.

And that’s when my personal path became a professional mission. I became an Ayurvedic Practitioner, trained as a Certified Professional Aromatherapist, and pursued a PhD in Physiology & Health focusing on alternative medicine for women’s health. So, I could integrate ancient wisdom with clinical research—and offer women the kind of support I once needed and couldn’t find.

That’s how Leela Holistic Wellness and Leela Apothecary were born:
to serve women who are ready to listen to their bodies, return to their rhythm, heal on their own terms, and feel balanced & beautiful from inside out.