Untether Your Life

Vasavi Kumar is often described as the "Queen of Saying It Out Loud." A first-generation Indian immigrant raised on Long Island, NY, Vasavi has relentlessly searched to find her own voice, access the freedom of her creative spirit, and help others along the way...out loud.

When diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 19, she made it her life’s purpose to understand how her mind works, starting with making room to hear herself think. Her mission is to share everything—the good, bad, and ugly—in order to teach a more mindful, practical, and simple way of running every aspect of your life.

Through her Say It Out Loud platform, Vasavi has taught thousands of entrepreneurs, creatives, and artists from all walks of life how to move through any situation — by saying it out loud.

In this episode, host Nikhil Torsekar speaks with Vasavi on many topics, including:

To work with Vasavi and get a copy of Say It Out Loud, visit vasavikumar.com or connect with her at

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Gratitude is a topic that gets a great deal of attention in the personal growth space. However, an area that is less discussed is compassion - a subject that this week's guest (Dr. Nilesh Satguru) is very knowledgeable and passionate about.

Dr. Nilesh Satguru is a self-mastery coach, compassion expert and medical doctor. After over a decade practicing medicine, Nilesh now coaches entrepreneurs with powerful missions. His client list includes 7 figure serial entrepreneurs, ex-athletes, authors, executive coaches and award-winning charity founders. He was recently named by LA Weekly as one of "10 Leading Coaches to watch in 2023."

This episode explores a wide range of topics including:

To work with Nilesh, please visit drsatguru.com, or connect with him at

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Of the many issues impacting the South Asian diaspora, one topic we haven't discussed on this show is relations with other minority groups. So I was very excited to connect on this week's episode with Tanya Mitra, one of the most prominent voices on the topic of Blindian (Black and South Asian) relationships. She is a perfect illustration of a life untethered, as she's broken free of numerous templates in the South Asian diaspora - in her choices of career, romantic partner, and strategies for managing her mental health.

Tanya is an Indian-Canadian-American former luxury fashion executive turned Conscious Change Life Coach who works with Women of Color + Women of Immigrant Descent to break the cycles of limitation by unpacking toxic cultural and societal conditioning.

Tanya is also the creator of The Remixed Relationship (formerly known as Blindian Bliss), a group coaching program and community that supports South Asian women in a relationship with a Black partner who are struggling to navigate familial and cultural disapproval by learning to courageously and confidently live in their truth.

We touched on many topics, including:

To learn more about Tanya's story or find out how to work with her, please visit tanya-mitra.com, or connect with her at @the.remixed.relationship on Instagram.

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One of the most exciting parts of hosting Untether Your Life is connecting with folks with whom I "vibe" on numerous fronts, such as Neal Bakshi. Like me, Neal's parents came to the US from India, he worked for years in the very stressful financial services industry, and he developed a strong affinity for Eastern wellness modalities of a traditional (i.e., Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship) and modern (i.e., Niraj Naik's SOMA Breath) variety.

We touched on numerous topics on this week's episode, including:

, and how it can help readers achieve a sustainable meditation practice, attain higher states of consciousness, and appreciate the power of synchronicities in life

by David Hawkins, Einstein's maxim that "everything is energy" and the Soul Audit, as developed by Jean-Francois Brau

If any of these concepts resonate with you, please reach out to Neal on Instagram, visit his website at nealbakshi.com, or check out his book Banking on Angels.

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Are you looking to improve your mental health and overall sense of wellbeing? Focusing on deep breathing and gentle poses through the practice of yoga may help!

On this podcast, we love to go beyond medication and cognitive behavioral therapy and other traditional modalities in exploring approaches to managing mental wellness.

In this encore episode of Untether Your Life, we discuss yoga as a mental health management tool. To help educate us and our audience, we have invited one of the practice’s preeminent voices, Dylan Bernstein. Nikhil and Dylan met in middle school at Maumee Valley Country Day School in Toledo, Ohio in 1989. This is where Dylan was introduced to yoga and meditation at age 14, from their favorite teacher Jenny Barthold. Since then, he has called upon these practices to engage the body, still the mind, and seek more subtle expressions of self.

He has gone on to teach classes, workshops, retreats, and teacher training in Hong Kong, Istanbul, Bali, and other locations worldwide.

While all physical exercise plays a role in improving your mental health, yoga is particularly helpful as it incorporates breathwork and meditation to help quiet the mind.

Tuning in today, you’ll learn more about Ashtanga yoga, the self-directed practice of Mysore, and some of the ​​benefits of yoga and meditation for not only your physical health but your mental and emotional wellbeing too!

Ultimately, Dylan believes that yoga is for everyone, not just Instagram models in designer yoga pants or devout yogis who can twist themselves into seemingly impossible poses. It’s all about owning your health and doing what works for you, and we hope that this episode will inspire you to do just that.

Topics discussed in this episode:

You can stay up to date with Dylan by following him on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Facebook⁠! You can also check out his ⁠website⁠ or reach out to him directly at ⁠[email protected]⁠

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This week's episode features my thoughts on The Life Shift Podcast as well as a trailer for the show, which launched a year ago.

One of the things I've loved most about my journey in podcasting is connecting with amazing fellow podcasters such as the show's host, Matt Gilhooly. The Life Shift Podcast features candid conversations with people about the pivotal moments that changed their lives forever.

We all have our stories, but through these conversations, we discover communities. We learn that there are commonalities through the ups and downs that we all face. But most importantly, we learn that we are not alone. The Life Shift podcast highlights life-altering moments and humanizes the struggles and triumphs through them all.

Please follow/subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and listen to new episodes every Tuesday morning.

If you enjoy The Life Shift Podcast, please take a moment to rate the show 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In honor of the one-year anniversary of The Life Shift, here's a quick bit from Matt discussing the show, along with a "highlight reel" featuring some incredible guests.

This trailer features moments from episodes, including:

Music: Spark of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://silvermansound.com

Ad-free episodes released two days early, and bonus episodes with past guests available through Patreon. https://patreon.com/thelifeshiftpodcast

Connect with The Life Shift:

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The central theme of Untether Your Life is going beyond traditional modalities for managing your mental and physical wellness. What does that actually mean though? It’s a very broad statement, but intuition, inner child work, and energy healing are some of the essential elements of this holistic approach. 

This week’s guest, Natasha Levinger, is well versed in all of this, and then some. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, she is a professional intuitive reader, energy healer and inner child healing expert. Through her practice Highest Light Healing, she teaches classes and workshops, delivers meditations, and much more. Natasha writes a monthly column called The Energy Report, for the leading wellness lifestyle site Mind Body Green, is the co-host of the podcast Getting to Know Woo and her book, Healing Your Inner Child comes out in April 2023.

Host Nikhil Torsekar had a very enlightening discussion with Natasha on numerous topics, including:

Find out more about Natasha by visiting her Website - highestlighthealing.com, checking out her podcast Getting to Know Woo, or preordering her book on Amazon. You can also connect with her on Instagram.

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Robert Pardi is the founder of Possibility in Action™, "a powerful personal growth philosophy that can help unlock a world of limitless possibilities and potential."

Robert embodies the tenets of Untether Your Life: after his young wife passed away of metastatic breast cancer, Robert re-imagined his life and left his comfort zone to achieve new dreams. He now shares the many life lessons he’s learned through his work and fashioned his life as an example of Possibility in Action™.

Prior to his dramatic life change, the New York City native had spent several years in the Middle East, as Senior Portfolio Manager in Abu Dhabi, and Co-Founder of the Dubai-based Private Equity firm Evolvence Capital. He now spends the majority of his time in Abruzzo, Italy.

Outside of traditional coaching, Robert hosts personal growth retreats and workshops in Italy, creates micro video mindset modules and hosts the Possibility in Action podcast. In this week's episode host Nikhil Torsekar and Robert touch on many topics, including:

To learn more about Robert and Possibility in Action, please visit his Website - robertpardi.com, or reach out to him on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook.

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The term “polymath” gets thrown around quite a bit these days, with many people positioning themselves as experts in X, Y, or Z. However, a lot of times it's, as they say, "all hat, no cattle." And then there's Erwin B. Valencia who despite wearing many hats - both literally and figuratively, truly embodies the term. 

Erwin – (aka “E,” or the “Godfather of Gratitude”) is a professional polymath: Wellness Expert/High-Performance Sports Clinician/ Life Coach / Community Nurturer / Non-Profit Founder / Mentor / Dance Ninja. 

He is the Team Physical Therapist & Wellness Lead for the New York Knicks, the first Filipino to be hired on medical staff of any major US sports team (both the NBA and MLB), founder of Grasshopper Project and Gratitude Gang, and has emerged as a Web3 thought leader on a mission to inspire 1 million Filipinos in the next 5 years. He was recently named one of the 75 Most Influential Filipino Americans, alongside celebrities such as comedian Jo Koy and singer Olivia Rodrigo

Join Untether Your Life host Nikhil Torsekar as he sits down with Erwin to discuss numerous topics, including:

, the world’s leading personal growth platform, along with The Silva Method, which he’d learned about in the Philippines as a 14-year old

To connect with E and learn more about Grasshopper Project, Gratitude Gang, his work with the Knicks, and his thoughts on gratitude (and much more), follow him on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. 

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Jenny Thrasher is on a mission to "shift the mental health narrative from a fear-based, crisis mentality to one of wellness and empowerment." Through her companies All That We Are and Growing Out of Darkness, as well as her writings, she was able to untether herself from the traditionally dire and hopeless approach to navigating the gut-wrenching journey of loss. This is a topic the tireless mental health advocate is all too familiar with, as her father died by suicide, her own daughter nearly took her life, and she herself struggled with suicidal ideation following pregnancy.

In this episode of Untether Your Life, host Nikhil Torsekar and Jenny touch on many topics, including:

To learn more about Jenny and request a copy of her book, please visit All That We Are or Growing Out of Darkness, or connect with her on Instagram at jennythrasher.allthatweare.

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