Reverse and Onward

Episode 3 - Well Being through Yoga and Meditation with Deepa D'Souza

akhilminocha@gmail.com — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:40:30 +0000

Deepa D’Souza is a certified Hatha and Yin yoga teacher whose unique perspective has been shaped by her incredibly diverse background. She comes from a multi-faith family and has been exposed to diverse cultures through her extensive travels and her time living in India, Singapore, and London. These experiences have helped mould her thinking and have taught her valuable lessons in the importance of understanding, accepting and celebrating cultural differences. Although she initially trained as a Chartered Accountant, she found her calling much later in life through Yoga, which she has used to help better herself and now uses to help many others. Deepa has completed her Hatha Yoga teacher's training at the Arsha Yoga Ashram in Kerala, India and her Yin Yoga teacher’s training in Singapore. She has also lived in a Buddhist monastery for a silent meditation retreat. She has taught yoga at various venues in Singapore, including AWWA, Buddhist Fellowship, Brahm Centre & National University Hospital. She now continues her practice in London, where she relocated to in 2021 and regularly conducts both online and in-person wellness workshops for corporates, young adults and social organizations. She believes in personalized care and hence designs and conducts customized Yoga classes for individuals and groups depending on their need, aspiration and level of fitness. She has also developed ‘A Beginners Guide to Meditation’- a program that introduces various techniques of meditation, from which participants can choose and apply the ones that best resonate with them. Before she found yoga, Deepa had a 12-year stint in the corporate world, making her fully aware of and sensitive to the challenges and stresses it poses. Her own journey and training coupled with her extraordinary passion, have led her to teach yoga and meditation with the sole purpose of uplifting people's well-being and bettering their physical and mental health. Deepa continues to build upon her learning every day through self-practice, self-reflection, and observation of her students and also keeps upskilling herself by attending various training programs, workshops, retreats, and immersions. Here’s a link to her meditation tracks: https://on.soundcloud.com/fdVmAs3ScNmHyG8R8

Episode 2 - Unravelling an IronMan - A Talk with Hetal Sonpal

akhilminocha@gmail.com — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:37:05 +0000

Unraveling an Iron Man...When I first talked to Hetal for this podcast, he was already a Half-IronMan. As he had promised me then, he completed the FULL IRONMAN in August 2022 and now adorns the title for life. He plans to climb Mount Everest among many other audacious dreams.....

Hetal is someone I have always admired for his passion for achieving a never-ending list of milestones in life.

Since we were colleagues at a tech MNC, I have seen him grow from strength to strength in living his dreams. An IronMan, Marathoner, Technology Strategist, Author, Angel Investor, avid reader, Motivational speaker, and now a PhD scholar, whatever role Hetal embraces, he does it with perfection and passion.

Hetal Sonpal has over 23 years of experience in the Tech industry. An alumnus of the NMIMS, Mumbai, Hetal has worked in Senior Management roles across Asia for Wipro, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Intel.

Hetal is currently a Startup Evangelist and helps startups in sales, marketing, strategy, and growth. He is among only 54 "Regional Mentors of Change" for Niti Ayog and mentors school children in Innovation programs. Apart from being a TEDx speaker, Hetal has given motivational talks at many prominent B Schools and colleges across India.

Hetal is a published author: his first book, Against All Odds, was released on Aug 21, 2021. He regularly blogs on LinkedIn and other online channels.

Hetal’s running journey started in Oct 2013, and since then, he has run 18 full, 21 half marathons, and Malnad 50K ultra. Apart from this episode which covers Hetal's health and fitness journey, I hope to cover Hetal's complete IRONMAN Journey, the preparation, the toil, and the experience very soon! Stay tuned ...

Episode 1 - Reverse and Onward with Shivnath Mazumdar

akhilminocha@gmail.com — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:33:54 +0000

Shivnath or Shiv as we call him is in a Sales and GTM leadership role at Deloitte. I had interacted for this episode with Shiv when he was leading Partnerships for Persistent for Asia Pacific previously. He lives with a condition called spondylitis and he's really been inspirational in finding a balance on how to live with it and get better with the passage of time and that's exactly what interested me to speak to Shivnath and find out more about how he balances his life and his profession.

Shiv and I were colleagues in the previous company. I always admired him for his confidence and approach to business and we struck a good cord together. I happened to speak to him and learned of how he juggles his life despite his condition and that prompted me to seek him to tell his story through this podcast episode and also in much greater detail in the chapter you would read in the book - Reverse and Onward, which is slated to be published in early 2023.