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By Nikhil Torsekar & Shelly Sood
5
2929 ratings
The podcast currently has 93 episodes available.
This episode was released on the heels of perhaps the most dramatic election of our time—one that will have a serious impact on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and leadership initiatives in corporations throughout the United States. So I felt very fortunate to speak to one of the most compelling and dynamic authorities in this space—Dr. Priya Nalkur.
Priya Nalkur, Ed.D. is the President of The RoundTable Institute, where she leads a global group of coaches and facilitators to help companies build more inclusive leaders and workplaces. She is a professional speaker, coach and facilitator and has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Heller School for Social Policy and has several courses on Udemy for Business. She is the author of the book Stumbling Towards Inclusion: Finding Grace in Imperfect Leadership.
We touched on so many topics in this discussion, including:
To connect with Priya and learn more about JEDI, The Roundtable Institute, and her many other initiatives, visit priyanalkur.com or theroundtableinstitute.com. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn or Instagram.
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Since moving to Southern California last year, I've been blessed to cross paths with many souls on a similar journey of spirituality and wellness. I had one of these folks on the podcast a year ago, Kyle Peche, and am now delighted to welcome his wife Sundarri Rodriguez as a guest.
Sundarri is an award-winning actress, musician, and philanthropist. You may have seen her appear in shows on Hulu, indie films, or even local theater. Sundarri is passionate about healing others with sound. She is a performing artist, and plays shows around the Southern California area, with music on Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms. In 2023 she founded a non-profit organization called Soma Wellness.
Soma is a Christ-Consciousness based non-profit formed to build community and to serve those in recovery with holistic modalities, such as sound-healing, breathwork, and yoga. Please note that Soma Wellness is entirely separate from SOMA Breath, a breathwork modality which we've discussed on the show previously.
NOTE: Soma Wellness is entirely separate from SOMA Breath, a breathwork modality which we've discussed on the show previously.
Sundarri and I discussed many topics, including:
To find out more about Soma Wellness and connect with Sundarri / learn about her journey, please visit healwithsoma.com, or connect with her on Instagram at @ayoitssundarri or @healwithsoma.
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To comemorate the 90(ish)th episode of Untether Your Life, I'm rebroadcasting my appearance on the Happy and Human podcast.
I always walk away from my exchanges with the hosts - my friends Dinesh Melwani and Dr. Seema Desai - with some new insight, an expansion of my network, and at the very least, a good chuckle. This conversation was no exception. It's full of light-hearted banter, mixed with discussion of weightier topics such as breathwork, epigenetics, and the triumphs and tribulations of life in the South Asian diaspora.
In this far ranging conversation, we touch on the following:
Interested in checking out other episodes of the Happy and Human podcast? Visit the Instagram page or check them out on Buzzsprout. I highly recommend following these dynamic changemakers on Instagram as well (@dineshmelwani / @dr.seemadesai).
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This episode gives credence to the saying that "there are no coincidences in life."
It's being released on the eve of World Mental Health Day, October 10th. Every year on this date, I marvel at the mental health journey I've been blessed to embark on thanks to this podcast.
Further, this episode was recorded on September 20th. Eight years ago on this date, I'd hit rock bottom in a psychiatric hospital in Chicago - divorce, unemployment, complete detachment from my kids, and the nadir of my mental and physical health.
I'm thankfully in a better place now. This is in part because I "did the work," but also because of my incredible wife Shelly. She pushed for me to get an accurate clinical diagnosis, pursue an effective treatment regimen, and many other factors that helped me get to where I am today.
I'm living proof of the pivotal importance of caregivers in the journey of adults with bipolar disorder and other forms of serious mental illness (SMI). On this World Mental Health day, I dedicate this episode to my wife and the millions of caregivers out there. Your hard work does not go unnoticed, and as beneficiaries we're eternally grateful for your perseverance and determination. Hopefully this episode gives you some comfort in the storm.
This week's guest, Mitul Desai, has emerged as a champion and voice for these unsung heroes and, given my own lived experience, I was thrilled to cross paths with him through organizations such as Indiaspora and South Asian Americans for Change (SAAFC).
Mitul has been helping care for his brother, who lives with schizophrenia, for the past two decades. Mitul began his career working in healthcare law and finance, and he's held leadership roles in product development and data services. He also served in the Obama Administration. Mitul serves on the Board of NAMI-NYC and has written about his family’s experience in Forbes and USA Today. Mitul created The Care Hack with Dr. Eli Shalenberg to ensure that no other family has to suffer in isolation the way his did.
To connect with Mitul, visit thecarehack.com, or follow @thecarehack on Instagram.
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As busy, hard-working professionals with families, demanding jobs, and multiple other obligations, we often go into auto-pilot. We mindlessly follow scripts and templates that were passed onto us about what success looks like. We rarely stop to ask "why?" and fail to see that saying yes to too much may in the end lead us on to the people-pleasing road to ruin.
This week's guest, Amy Green Smith, has successfully navigated this dance, and has helped many clients get out of this trap.
Amy is a certified and credentialed life coach and hypnotherapist, masterful speaker, and personal empowerment expert. Amy uses her roles as coach, writer, podcaster, and speaker to move individuals to a place of radical personal empowerment and self-worth.
With acute focus on helping people “find their voice”, she is highly sought after for her uncommon style of irreverence, wisdom, and humor and has been a featured expert in Inspired Coach Magazine and on Fox 5 San Diego.
We touched on many fascinating topics during our discussion including:
Do you want to feel more worthy? Get a better handle on your inner critic (or...intuition)? Reach out to Amy Green Smith today on Instagram or LinkedIn, check out her podcast, or visit her at amygreensmith.com.
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Always love connecting with folks who share my passion for everything from breathwork to podcasting to cold plunges to the iconic So Cal rock group Sublime. So it was a sincere treat to host this week's guest Sam Kabert.
Sam is a Serial Entrepreneur turned Certified Breathwork Practitioner and TEDx speaker. He is the Author of the #1 Bestselling book, SOUL/Life Balance, and host of the Soul Seekr Podcast. In the past 5 years, he has courageously embraced a transformative path of self-discovery, centering his focus on prioritizing mental health. Sam is on a mission to offer tools to overcome overwhelm and encourage the rise of compassionate leadership to eradicate the glorification of “hustle culture.”
You won’t want to miss this episode, as we tease apart all the things, including:
If anything from our discussion resonated with you, and you’d like to speak further with Sam please visit him at samkabert.com, check out the Soul Seekr podcast, or connect with him on LinkedIn or Instagram.
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In line with the mantra of this show - to "own your health" - this week we speak with gastroenterologist Dr. Supriya Rao, whose Gutsy Girl MD platform has evolved into the go-to resource for all things gut health, nutrition, and lifestyle-related.
Supriya is quadruple board certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology, obesity medicine, and lifestyle medicine. She received her undergrad degree from MIT, followed by graduation from Duke University School of Medicine.
In addition to her role as managing partner at Integrated Gastroenterology Consultants in 2014, she serves as Director for Medical Weight Loss at Lowell General Hospital. Supriya is passionate about empowering people to improve their health through sustainable lifestyle changes, and enjoys traveling, running, yoga and spending time with family and friends.
We touched on numerous topics, including:
Want to learn more about all things gut health from Gutsy Girl MD? Connect with Supriya on Instagram at @gutsygirlmd, or visit her at gustygirlmd.com or myigic.com.
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My time at one of the prestigious “Big 4” consulting firms sharpened my analytical skills and built my professional network immensely. It also contributed to me bottoming out physically and mentally. This rock bottom forced me to embrace meditation and go within, while working to shed my dependency on external validation and traditional symbols of "making it."
I'm always fascinated, therefore, to cross paths with Big 4 alums who have also gone on a journey of spirituality and self-realization – such as this week's guest, Camilia Berrada.
Camilia Berrada is a vehicle for change, who spent 8 years professionally mentoring and coaching top-level execs, using Deloitte London as her primary vehicle.
She’s also devoted over 13 years of her life consciously exploring and expanding human consciousness at individual, collective, and systemic levels.
From “shamans to boardrooms,” Camilia is continuously tuning herself to become the instrument she needs to be for the people she meets and elevates. When leaders are open to change, she is their vehicle.
We touched on so many topics in our conversation, including:
To learn more about Camilia, and potentially collaborate with her, please visit her on Instagram or LinkedIn.
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There's a concept in Eastern wisdom tradition called sangha, which centers on the power of community. When I launched Untether Your Life two years ago, I had no idea what an incredible sangha awaited me with the podcasting ecosystem.
Connecting with fellow storytellers and content creators has led to impactful collaborations. It's exposed me to life-changing frameworks, and it's given me many a good chuckle. One of these podcasters is this week's guest, Dr. Seema Desai.
Seema is a transformational success coach and speaker, who helps high-achieving leaders go from stressed and overwhelmed to productive and fulfilled.
She's the author of the book Connected: Discovering Your Inner Guides and co-host of the Happy and Human podcast. Seema recently served as Co-President of the Austin chapter of the influential non-profit Pratham USA, which aims to create learning equity for underserved children in India and globally. In a former life, she was also a dentist.
We touched on so many incredible topics in this discussion, including:
To learn more about Seema, please visit her at drseemadesai.com, check out the Happy and Human podcast, or connect with her on Instagram or LinkedIn.
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Since launching this podcast two years ago, I continually marvel at the power of synchronicity, and the amazing wise souls that it's put in my path. Their books, online videos, and friendship have deepened my understanding of the wisdom traditions I've become so passionate about. This week's guest - Mas Vidal Maheshananda - is a prime example.
Mas Vidal is considered a global ambassador for Yoga, Ayurveda, Vedanta, and the wisdom of the Indian culture. Through his many programs, lectures and private counseling, Mas has become one of the most influential voices for evolutionary living based on the principles of these wisdom traditions.
He is the founder and director of the Dancing Shiva School and he developed MoreLifeMarket.com, an online Ayurvedic Superfoods company. As an Ayurvedic practitioner, he maintains an active international counseling practice that also integrates medical astrology.
He is also the author of two books on Yoga and Ayurveda – Sun, Moon & Earth, and The Evolution Revolution.
I thoroughly enjoyed my discussion with Mas, in which we touched on:
Intrigued? Learn more about Dancing Shiva, and tap into Mas Vidal Maheshanda's wealth of spiritual knowledge by visiting the Dancing Shiva Website. You can also connect with him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
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The podcast currently has 93 episodes available.