Meet Dr. Suparna

Dr. Suparna, Miss California Tourism USA 2024, is a recent survivor of human trafficking and prior survivor of domestic violence. In 2021, She was kidnapped from a Hilton Hotel in her hometown in northern California and taken under the influence of scopolamine, delivered to her through a water bottle, to a bordering city named Union City where she was sex trafficked and sexually tortured sustaining electrocution injuries rendering her mentally and physically incapacitated for nearly a year after her escape. She made a harrowing escape during a point of transfer exchange to another location where the intention was to kill her, after which she was chased and hunted overnight. Having hid herself in a nearby park in a hole underground covered in branches and leaves, and not having her cellphone, she prayed to God for a sign. She managed to escape in the morning when God sent a hummingbird down through the foliage and into the hole which beckoned her to follow it. The hummingbird led her through the trees and serendipitously intersected her path with a jogger passing by, the only person anywhere to be seen on a long stretch of road at that early hour, who called 911 resulting in her rescue. 

For nearly a year after she was rescued, she was mentally and physically incapacitated. Having sustained several fractures and muscle liquefaction from the electric shock of the car battery charger, she was bedridden for a time with open sores on her body, after which she walked with a cane for several months trying to slowly rebuild muscle mass to her legs as she learned to walk again. Mentally, she struggled with PTSD, social anxiety, depression, anger issues, nervous system dysregulation, and victim mentality. During her healing journey, she explored a diverse array of therapeutic modalities to overcome the trauma, and has now become a kundalini yoga instructor, fashion designer, empowerment coach, mentor, Kathak Dancer, and Sophia Circle Leader. 

Her healing journey provided her the opportunity for personal development, shadow work, and the study of human psychology. To keep her mind occupied in this acute post-traumatic period while she was bedridden, she developed the resource 50ShadesOfDV.com for survivors of trauma and domestic violence which is a culmination of the material she read and researched to help her understand how to navigate her own post-traumatic mental challenges. 

Prior to trafficking, Dr. Suparna Saha was working in the corporate sector. She studied Molecular Cell Biology at Carnegie Mellon and graduated from USC Medical School. She completed her internship in General Surgery from Harbor-UCLA and went on to train in Anesthesia at Baylor. She then worked in corporate for nearly 10 years in as a Physical Advisor to United Healthcare, Personal Injury Physician, Expert Witness, and Medical Director of a MedSpa. She has attained Board Certification in Disability and Impairment Medicine and Integrative Medicine, and she always served as a patient advocate. During 2016-2018, she became involved in domestic violence, after which she transitioned into non-clinical practice as the CMO to Apelex World, an organic pharmaceutical company. During her healing journey, she has lived at the Sivanada Yoga Ashram, participated in a 200 yoga teacher training course with YogaSource Los Gatos, attained certification as a Kundalini Yoga Instructor through Yogamu, attained Certification in Introductory Jyotish through the Sivananda Ashram, is now a founding member of The Global Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda (GYTA) organization, and completed her certification as a Sophia Circle Journey Facilitator. 

Currently, she is representing as Miss California Tourism USA 2024 in the Miss Tourism Pageant, an organization founded on spreading awareness for human rights and domestic violence and encourages women to advocate for social issues. Her advocacy is spreading awareness about human trafficking as a recent survivor, and calling attention to the mental health challenges faced by survivors in the post-traumatic period as they reintegrate back into society. She was also recognized as a Human Rights Ambassador by Youth for Human Rights at the Human Rights Summit this year.   

While she is still healing, now that she is further along the arc of her healing journey, she is grateful that the trauma empowered her to develop a deeper connection with her true authentic self, with God, and that the experience brought to light the strength and resilience that she had always had inside. Pursuing a spiritual path through the Sophia Code Movement allowed her to release the pain and resentment that trauma often brings and to once again approach life and humanity with a loving and compassionate heart. She hopes to inspire other survivors to overcome victim mentality and finds fulfillment in helping others with similar experiences to heal with her story and by her example. She is excited to be collaborating with the nonprofit organization Eyes Open International to help other survivors to heal by sharing some of the tools and techniques that helped her to navigate trauma during her own healing journey.