Untether Your Life

One of the most rewarding parts of hosting this podcast is connecting with brilliant, compassionate polymaths, whose knowledge and experience extend across numerous realms. Dr. Tanmeet Sethi, MD is a prime example. She is an Integrative and Psychedelic Medicine Physician, activist, TEDx speaker , and author of the incredibly powerful book Joy Is My Justice . She’s also been featured on Oprah Daily...

Two years since our first guest interview episode of Untether Your Life with clinical psychologist Dr. Jyothsna Bhat , many strides have been made in mental health in the South Asian diaspora. This is due to the work of groups like South Asian Americans for Change (SAAFC) , co-founded by Rupal Joshi , Keerthi Channarasappa , and this week’s guest - Sumit Shukla . In addition to this role, Sumit is...

This podcast takes aim squarely at the templates that many of us in the South Asian diaspora grew up with – around the ideal career path, marriage, and managing our mental health. It’s therefore gratifying to connect with others in the community who question the norms and fight against the status quo that has caused us great turmoil over the years. One of these iconoclasts is Tracy Vadakumchery ,...

Mental Health is a mixed bag in 2024. I'm thrilled about the community that has blossomed since I launched this podcast two years ago - especially within the Asian diaspora. However, I'm disheartened by the assembly line approach that has evolved as a by-product of the skyrocketing demand for psychiatrists, therapists, and other providers. In this environment, Dr. Elizabeth Nguyen - a high...

And that's a wrap! 2023 was such a transformational year, thanks in large part to the more than 20 epic souls I spoke with on the Untether Your Life podcast. In recognition of their contributions to the raising of our collective consciousness, I've published a highlight reel recapping the most impactful moments of our conversations. I've provided their information below, in case you&#3...

As a member of the South Asian diaspora, I'm humbled by the vast wisdom in our DNA and at our fingertips as evidenced by traditions such as Ayurveda - literally the "science or wisdom of life." I also have great respect for others in our culture who have embraced these holistic modalities to own their health, and have pursued their true dharma or calling in lieu of the limited "...

One of the mantras of this podcast is to "Own Your Health;" while conventional modalities such as surgery are very helpful for addressing trauma, optimizing one's health requires a rigorous exploration of alternative approaches. This week's guest, Kyle Peche , demonstrates the benefits of "ripping up templates" in charting one's health journey, when the tried-and-tr...

This week's guest, Chris McDonald , is a breath of fresh air in a world beset by false dichotomies between "traditional" and "holistic" approaches to mental health. Chris is a holistic therapist, yogi, meditation teacher, author, and host of The Holistic Counseling Podcast . She owns a group online practice called Path to Hope Counseling . Chris is a 200 hour Registered Yog...

As a podcaster, I love connecting with like-minded hosts such as Benoit Kim, given our shared interests in mental health, mindfulness / mediation, the cultural implications of the Asian-American “model minority” myth, and much more. My wife Shelly Sood and I appeared on his show - Discover More - in early 2023, shortly after the devastating loss of her father / my father-in-law. We found great com...

One of the most rewarding aspects of hosting Untether Your Life is having conversations with folks who have attained great success by overcoming adversity, fighting the status quo / ripping up templates, and staying true to themselves. This week's guest, LeRon Barton, typifies these values. LeRon L. Barton is a a 3x TEDx speaker, writer, and information technology professional originally from...

Freeman Fung is an international speaker, best-selling author and certified life coach, who has advocated new global citizenship at TEDx, Mindvalley and world tourism forums. He left his native Hong Kong at 19 to begin a journey to travel and experience life in over 35 countries. Freeman's book Travel to Transform teaches readers how to use traveling as a holistic personal growth tool and the...

Laura Carney is the author of My Father's List: How Living My Dad's Dreams Set Me Free. It's the story of how the author found the courage to go after her own dreams after tackling an ambitious 50+ item "bucket list" compiled by her late father Mick Carney, who had been killed by a distracted driver more than a decade prior. Host Nikhil Torsekar deeply enjoyed speaking with L...

South Asians often encounter limitations in corporate America in adhering to the model minority myth, a collectivist mindset and many other "unqiue" nuances of the culture. This week’s guest, Neelu Kaur helps clients tackle these challenges head on. Neelu is an expert in leadership, wellness, and diversity, who has worked with Google, RBC, and many other top firms over her 15-year career...

Niraj Naik has a highly effective prescription to optimize the health of your mind, body, and spirit. He is a certified UK pharmacist, turned holistic wellness, brain training and breath work expert who launched SOMA Breath. Through SOMA, Niraj has trained thousands of coaches in the powerful, scientifically-backed benefits of breathwork, music, dance, and community. Niraj developed a course calle...

Julian Guderley is a legacy coach for founders, with a mission to help clients unlock their full potential to become more effective leaders who create positive impact with heart. Originally hailing from Germany, Julian "untethered his life" from a successful corporate career at blue chip firms like Nike and BMW. He pursued the road less travelled, launch a studio space in Canada and jour...

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 wor...

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...

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 n...

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 Sel...

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 ment...

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 forev...

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...

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...

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 profes...

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 tire...