Untether Your Life Nikhil Torsekar & Shelly Sood

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:


How relations between black and South Asian communities – specifically romantic and marital relationships - have evolved since the 1990's, when Tanya began her first relationship with a black boyfriend in high school.
Tanya's incredibly challenging journey with mental health, which began at age 16 with several suicide attempts, hospitalization, and multiple rounds of trial and error with medication. By getting curious, reading extensively, and probing beyond the "script" read to her by doctors, she was able to own her health and achieve happiness, balance, and stability in her life.
The mission of Blindian Bliss, a group coaching program that helps South Asian women in relationships with black men achieve "self-awareness, love, heart-centered guidance, and enjoy the best and most important ride of their lives," along with success stories of women who have gone through the program.

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.

Connect with Nikhil to learn more about ⁠⁠Untether Your Life⁠⁠ and other projects:

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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:


Neal's move from the cut throat, always-on world of investment banking at Goldman Sachs to that of a spiritual life coach, reiki energy healer, breathwork instructor, and digital nomad
Neal's recently published book Banking on Angels, and how it can help readers achieve a sustainable meditation practice, attain higher states of consciousness, and appreciate the power of synchronicities in life
How the devastating and unexpected loss of his mother prompted him to untether his life, and rethink his previous attachment to the never-ending pursuit of material satisfaction
The legacy of Greek mathematician Pythagoras, beyond the widely-known Pythagorean theorem: the vibrational energy of numbers; the significance of "angel numbers;" and why (how??) Neal gets up at the ungodly hour of 3:33 every morning
The scientifically proven benefits of breathwork, meditation, and energy healing
A deeper dive into the Map of Consciousness 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.

Connect with Nikhil to learn more about ⁠Untether Your Life⁠ and other projects:

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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:


The value of having a good teacher
Insight into Dylan’s yoga journey, which began when he was in high school
The surprising role Indian comic books played in inspiring his first trip to India
How Dylan learned to follow his bliss – as per Joseph Campbell
Why he believes that education is key to your personal foundation
How the pandemic influenced his practice and brought philosophy to the fore
Sacrifice, gratitude, practice, and detachment: what yoga means to Dylan
Breath and pose in the practice of Ashtanga
Why yoga is often misunderstood as a physical, acquisitive practice
An understanding of the self-directed approach of Mysore
Dylan’s thoughts on the commercialization of yoga
Going beyond the cookie-cutter solutions of medication and cognitive therapy
Benefits of yoga and meditation for your mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing
How to start your yoga journey, starting with finding a good teacher!

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 ⁠dylanyo@gmail.com⁠

Connect with Nikhil to learn more about his various initiatives:

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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:


Pamela Topjian
Matt LeBris
Cristina Marcello
Matt Drinkhahn
Wiley Davis
Rebecca Lerch
Claudia Noriega-Bernstein
Brian Acord

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:


Instagram: http://instagram.com/thelifeshiftpodcast
YouTube: https://bit.ly/thelifeshift_youtube
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelifeshiftpod
Website: http://thelifeshiftpodcast.com


Connect with Nikhil to learn more about ⁠Untether Your Life⁠ and other projects:


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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:


An overview of chakras - "vortexes of energy" - and how can better understanding them can equip us to optimize our physical and emotional well being
How meditation (including several that Natasha offers through her Website) works to clear chakras, and can assist in managing anxiety, depression, addiction, chronic fatigue syndrome, and many other issues
A closer look at the concept of the inner child, which is "a part of ourselves that stayed stuck in an event"
How engaging in a more supportive and nurturing dialogue with our inner can child help us better manage challenges such as addiction to sugar, social media, and other vices
The mission of Natasha's Getting to Know Woo Podcast; how, despite the comical title and light tone, it can provide serious benefit to those seeking help for their trauma beyond medication and cognitive behavioral therapy

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.

Connect with Nikhil to learn more about Untether Your Life and other projects:

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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:


The origin of Possibility in Action, and how this platform can liberate us from the "land of regret."
Robert's circuitous journey from an abusive upbringing in The Bronx, to a promising career in private equity and idyllic married life in Abu Dhabi and Dubai (cut far too short when his wife Desiree passed from cancer at 41), to his current vocation in Abruzzo, Italy
How taking care of Desiree informed his decision to become a life coach and write three best-selling books
What the imperfections in the pieces of ancient mosaics and Michelangelo's David can teach us about self actualization
How daydreaming - an activity that we're dissuaded from as children - can serve as a powerful catalyst to help us realize a major life shift.
Philosophies and authors who have resonated with Robert, including Richard Bach, Rumi, and stoicism - along with the Eastern notion of impermanence

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.

Connect with Nikhil to learn more about Untether Your Life and other projects:

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GIOSTAR Chicago