Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma

Anuradha Varma
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Biweekly

Listen in to conversations that "swish" or shift your perspective! Journalist and Mindset Coach Anuradha Varma interviews a diverse cast of people who share their expertise and experiences on a range of themes, across spirituality, inclusivity, entrepreneurship, mythology, and popular culture. Follow and share to stay updated and grow the conversation. Anuradha is a journalist with nearly three decades of experience, having worked for media houses such as The Indian Express, The Times of India, and The Pioneer. She is also an internationally certified Mindset Coach with expertise in Mindfulness, EFT and NLP. Follow her on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Email: swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

  1. Jun 23

    Ep 75: Jason Lange, embodiment coach: Why all men need a men’s group

    In this episode, Jason Lange — a US-based men's embodiment coach, group facilitator, and evolutionary guide — talks about why so many men live "from the neck up," disconnected from their bodies and emotions. Sharing his own breakthrough moment in a men's group that changed the course of his life and work, Jason unpacks the cultural conditioning behind the "man box" that teaches young boys that vulnerability is weakness, and how this shows up later as rumination, burnout, strained relationships, and even health crises. He explains how a men's group actually looks like in practice, why loneliness persists even among men with friends, the "provider trap", and his couples' programme designed to help partners reconnect. Listen in! Follow Jason: LinkedIn | Instagram | Website | Book a Call  Timestamps: 00:25 – What is an "evolutionary guide" and "embodiment coaching"? 03:37 – The "man box": cultural conditioning and the rules of masculinity 04:22 – Research on what marks "boy to man" vs. "girl to woman" 06:34 – Schooling, boys' energy, and the "ADHD" mislabeling 08:14 – Adolescence, locker-room culture, and hiding vulnerability 08:53 – Workplace culture and the cost of overwork on men's health 09:42 – "Emotional robot": how disembodiment shows up in relationships 10:21 – Reaching outward (alcohol, porn, overwork) to regulate inner states 11:44 – Cross-cultural parallel: changing norms in India around boys/emotions 12:43 – What disembodiment actually feels/looks like 13:38 – Rumination, anxiety, and the toll of living "in the head" 14:43 – Emotions as physical sensations; the cost of not feeling 24:34 – Jason's personal story: therapy, men's group, and his breakthrough 26:04 – Working with men on past trauma and physical/emotional abuse 28:36 – Healthy sexuality, shame, and childhood conditioning 29:09 – The "snuffed candle" — boys' curiosity shut down young 30:03 – Power of group work: normalization and accelerated healing 31:44 – How a men's group actually works (structure, format) 32:14 – Why men join: pain, loneliness, and "triangulated" friendships 33:58 – Story: feeling lonely even surrounded by friends 34:08 – Teaching men to share what's "under the surface" 36:15 – Suicide statistics and the cost of emotional suppression 36:33 – Group accountability — calling out avoidance with compassion 41:50 – The circle format and its power (vs. side-by-side bonding) 43:19 – Men's groups aren't just heavy — celebrating wins too 43:47 – Couples work and "12 Epic Dates" program 45:34 – The "provider trap" and neglecting the marriage 46:31 – Empty-nest wake-up calls: "I haven't loved you for 10 years" 47:05 – What 12 Epic Dates offers couples 47:53 – Toolkit for stopping rumination: getting into the body 49:45 – Father energy, the "facing out" research, and resilience 50:53 – Online vs. in-person groups To get in touch, email swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: Views are personal. Listener discretion is advised. Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5

    52 min

  2. Jun 21

    Ep 74: Upasana Sarraju, author: The strange science of Ig Nobel Prizes

    In this episode, Upasana Sarraju, author of The Ig Nobel Prizes and The Science That Refuses to Behave (Penguin Random House India) talks about research that "makes you laugh, then makes you think". From zebra-striped cows (which reduced insect bites) to the science of crumpled bedsheets, a galloping horse encoded into bacterial DNA, Upasana takes us through the strangest, funniest, and most unexpectedly profound corners of science.  She talks about her five-year correspondence with Ig Nobel Prize founder Marc Abrahams, the Indian scientists who've won the prize (including Dr. Chittaranjan Andrade, a psychiatrist who studies nose-picking and mountaineers in his spare time), and why the silliest-sounding questions often lead to the most meaningful discoveries. Follow Upasana: LinkedIn | Instagram | Website Timestamps: 00:58 – What prompted the book; discovering the Ig Nobel Prizes 02:55 – Mark Abrahams: five years of interviews, the founding of the Ig Nobel Prize/Improbable Research podcast 05:22 – The book cover: the zebra-striped cow study (Ig Nobel 2025) and insect-deterring stripes 08:01 – Tangent: do mosquitoes prefer certain blood types/sweat? 08:39 – Other Ig Nobel studies on the cover (banana peel, pizza slice) 09:02 – Why woodpeckers don't get headaches 11:32 – What the Ig Nobel limelight does for scientists' careers 12:28 – Encoding a galloping-horse movie into E. coli DNA using CRISPR 21:25 – Riffing on "movie piracy via bacteria" 23:12 – On book structure: each chapter as its own potential book 24:33 – Chittaranjan Andrade: mountaineering, magic, music, NIMHANS 33:38 – L. Mahadevan and the physics of folds, wrinkles, and crumpled bedsheets 35:49 – Knots, tangled earbuds, and the physics of hair 37:34 – Reflecting on minds like Mahadevan's 38:21 – "On a Lazy Sunday Morning" chapter — everyday science (soggy cereal, coffee spills, banana peels) 39:50 – What didn't make it into the book — cut personal stories (e.g., Dr. Manjula Reddy) 43:03 – Material held back for a future book (cats/animals) 43:29 – The footnotes — Easter eggs and tangents 45:00 – Household dust, shed skin, and dust mites living in our eyebrows 47:27 – Closing thoughts, future plans  To get in touch, email swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: Views are personal. Listener discretion is advised. Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5

    49 min

  3. May 22

    Ep 73: Regina Linke, The Oxherd Boy: Big ideas for little kids

    “Where does my reflection go when I walk away from the mirror?” This question from her toddler put Regina Linke, a Taiwanese American author and illustrator, on the journey of creating her children’s book The Oxherd Boy which started as a webcomic on Instagram. It was followed up by Big Enough and now Little Helper, which combine the East Asian philosophy of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism with Chinese brush painting. She talks about putting down big messages for little kids in simple language, reconnecting with her Taiwanese roots, and how her spiritual practice has helped her find resilience and calm as she goes through the journey of bringing her adoptive daughter home from Taiwan. Listen in!  Follow Regina on: Instagram | Website | The Oxherd Boy Timestamps: 01:21 Moving to Taiwan as an adult and discovering her roots 06:16 Creating opportunities for conversations with kids through The Oxherd Boy 11:30 Explaining Confucianism, Tao and Buddhism 17:23 How moving from corporate America to discovering herself in Taiwan 20:31 How spirituality has helped her deal with her adoption journey 24:30 Learning the ancient art of gongbi painting 32:48 On The Little Helper book 36:45 What she enjoyed working on 41:15 Who the book is for Follow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramEmail: swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.  Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5

    43 min

  4. Feb 27

    Ep 72: Botox, Me Too & migration: Guruprasad Kaginele & Narayan Shankaran on 'Kaayaa'

    “Are all beautiful people happy? Are all happy people beautiful?” is something that Guruprasad Kaginele addresses in his book Kaaya, a satirical comment on beauty and identity through the story of a US plastic surgeon caught in the Me Too movement, inspired by a real life incident. It has been translated from Kannada to English by Narayan Shankaran.  Here, they both discuss getting the cultural beats right during the process of translation, such as deciding on the phrase “boob job”. Guruprasad, a doctor based in the US for the last three decades, confesses to Kannada still being his language of “emoting”, while English remains of transactional value, and often erupting in “Aiyyo” to the bafflement of his American colleagues. They also touch upon issues of migration and enhancement culture, with walk-in botox clinics and lunch-hour collagen injections. Guruprasad is a prominent voice in contemporary Kannada literature. His novel Hijab received the 2017 Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award. Narayan Shankaran, a management professional, who enjoys writing and translating between Kannada and English, has earlier also translated a collection of short stories by Guruprasad, published as The Preferred Pronoun and Other Stories. Listen in! Related episode: Ep 39: Chandan Pandey & Sayari Debnath: Stories of desolation & translation Timestamps 01:40 How the collaboration happened 03:53 Writing Kaayaa, his process 06:14 Narayan on the book 10:33 Guru on themes of sexuality in Kannada literature 13:55 Thinking and writing in Kannada 18:24 Reacting with an “Aiyyo” instinctively in the US 20:06 Narayan’s process of translation; reading out the excerpt 28:06 Translating “boob job” from Kannada 30:17 Inspiration for the story of Kaaya; the God complex of a plastic surgeon 34:42 Commenting on the enhancement culture 36:18 Guru on creating his women characters; cosmetic demands on beauty 40:00 The migrant experience 44:50 Narayan on the characters in Kaayaa Follow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Email: swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised. Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5

    47 min

  5. Feb 16

    Ep 71: Namratha Stanley: From an abusive marriage to a wine brand in France

    Namratha Stanley, the debut author of Vineyard Melody, moved to France in 2017 after an abusive marriage in India, to pursue a Wine MBA in Bordeaux. She now runs her wine brand Solicantus—sold in five countries, including India.  A single mom, she talks about the struggle to escape her abusive marriage as “being stuck in a web”, regaining confidence, taking things one step at a time to finally set up her wine brand and reunite with her daughter in France. Wine is a culture, says the entrepreneur, who believes in meeting life with an open spirit. She lets us in on the charm of living in France, the French penchant for prioritising intellectual and artistic enjoyment and, yes, their annoying but charming habit of complaining! Listen in!   Follow Namratha on: LinkedIn | Instagram | Website Buy her book: Amazon Timestamps 01:30 Going to France on a chance, to escape her marriage 05:20 What made her finally leave her marriage 10:30 Women are redefining womanhood 11:23 Identifying as the “victim” 14:10 Life right now, managing her wine brand 16:25 Her wine offerings 20:30 Getting the right magical blend for her wine 22:34 Availability in Mumbai and Bengaluru 23:45 Wine trends in India 25:07 One percent of Indians know their wines; growing audience 26:20 Pairing wine with Indian food 27:54 Wine as an investment — SWAG (silver, wine, art and gold) 33:09 Survival instinct led to becoming an entrepreneur 36:40 Busting French cliches 40:10 About her book ‘Vineyard Melody’ Follow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Email: swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised. Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5

    43 min

  6. Jan 12

    Ep 70: ‘Single Papa’ Aditya Tiwari: Adoption, Down Syndrome, and an Everest dream

    “It’s the child who gives birth to the parent,” says Aditya Tiwari, who adopted his son Avnish, now almost 11, as a single father at the age of 28 in 2016, after a long legal battle. Today, Avnish, who was born with a hole in his heart and has Down Syndrome, has trekked to the Everest Base Camp at the age of seven, and is the youngest National awardee.  Here, while Aditya talks about the practicalities of bringing up a special child and meeting developmental milestones with support from experts, the joy of watching his child thrive is unmissable.  Listen in as the Indore-based software professional discusses his hopes and dreams for Avnish, and the inherent bias that favours women as parental figures! Follow Aditya Tiwari on: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Related episode: Ep 66: Arun Dohle, Adoptee Rights Council: How he met his mother Timestamps: 02:04 Preparing for the Everest Base Camp 06:52 Creating support systems for his special child Avnish 09:35 Likes playing drums, explore nature, etc 11:30 Importance of spending quality time with a child 13:50 Meeting milestones and therapies 18:40 Accepting a Down Syndrome child, don’t look for a miracle 21:19 Living in the present 23:06 Guardianship; concerns about securing Avnish’s future 28:20 Creating support systems as a single parent 30:20 Questions raised on adoption initially; adoption gives one choice 32:10 Meeting Avnish as a baby in the orphanage and the legal battle to adopt 34:56 Single men face a bias as adoptive parents 37:27 Mindset barrier when it comes to fathers over mothers 39:19 Avnish’s health challenges 41:40 Challenges of claiming medical insurance 45:17 Honing Avnish’s skills with help from experts Follow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Email: swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised. Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5

    49 min

  7. Jan 8

    Ep 69: Sita Bhaskar, author: Immigration, home, and the world of R.K. Narayan

    Rukmini Aunty and the R.K. Narayan Fan Club started as a writing experiment, but soon took on a life of its own, with a cast of delightful characters, some of them inspired by the legendary author’s own works. Sita Bhaskar, who divides her time between Madison, US and Mysore, India, where the novel is set, creates an accidental crusader as her fictional protagonist Rukmini Aunty sets out to save the crumbling R.K. Narayan House (now a museum) from demolition. In this chat, Sita talks with humour about Indian immigrants in the US, some now in their fourth generation, keeping alive their connection to India, and being inspired by Natalie Jenner’s book The Jane Austen Society alongside RK Narayan’s own novels for her own.  Listen in! Follow Sita Bhaskar on Instagram | Website Timestamps: 01:30 Growing up in India and moving to the US 05:00 Coming into writer 07:00 Avoiding Indian stereotypes 10:08 Creating a cast of characters for the book 13:35 Entertaining visitors from India 18:07 Conceiving the plot for the book; reading The Jane Austen Society 23:41 Favourite characters 28:00 NRIs maintaining connections back home 32:54 Research for her book 35:23 Visiting RK Narayan’s house, now a museum Follow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Email: swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised. Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5

    38 min

  8. 12/24/2025

    Ep 68: Gayathri Narayanan, Myndtree: How to develop the compassion muscle

    There are no external fixes, says Gayathri Narayanan, who is a firm believer in doing the tough inner work. The founder of Myndtree, who stepped away from a career in tech, talks about developing the compassion muscle through mindfulness, and non-violent parenting (42:42), which is all about using conflict as an opportunity to deepen connection.  A Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, Gayathri’s contemplative path is shaped by immersion in the Advaita (non-dualistic) traditions of Hindu philosophy, and in Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan lineages of Buddhism. She has trained as a nonviolent parenting educator through Echo Parenting & Education in Los Angeles and certified as a mindfulness meditation teacher with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Listen in! Follow Gayathri: LinkedIn | Instagram | Website | X Timestamps: 01:28 Stumbling upon non-violent communication & parenting 07:10 Meeting her guru at the age of 11, discovering Advaita philosophy, Buddhism, etc 16:50 What compassion in action looks like; “karuna” and “anukampa” 21:28 Developing compassion is stretching your muscles of love 25:56 How to practice compassion27:49 Everyone has a secret history; explaining non-violent communication (NVC) 32:57 What is wisdom? 36:10 The story about a monk and a master from Pema Chodron; no external fixes 39:30 Learning to stay, rather than give in to the flight or fight response 42:42 How non-violent communication works – “OFNR” / “OFNEETS” 50:20 How NVC works with adults, making a request rather than a demand – “OFNR” Follow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Email: swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised. Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5 Want to be a guest on Swishing Mindsets with Anuradha Varma? Send Anuradha Varma a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1750746513391971e921bbda5

    56 min
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5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Listen in to conversations that "swish" or shift your perspective! Journalist and Mindset Coach Anuradha Varma interviews a diverse cast of people who share their expertise and experiences on a range of themes, across spirituality, inclusivity, entrepreneurship, mythology, and popular culture. Follow and share to stay updated and grow the conversation. Anuradha is a journalist with nearly three decades of experience, having worked for media houses such as The Indian Express, The Times of India, and The Pioneer. She is also an internationally certified Mindset Coach with expertise in Mindfulness, EFT and NLP. Follow her on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Email: swishingmindsets@gmail.com Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

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