Aug. 16, 2023

65: Niraj Naik, Tapping Into Your "Inner Pharmacy" via SOMA Breath - Breathwork, Dance, Ayurveda, Community, and More (Encore Episode)

65: Niraj Naik, Tapping Into Your

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 called Breathwork for Life that is among the most popular on Mindvalley, a personal transformation platform with more than 12 million members. His journey is a fascinating one that demonstrates the power of "owning your health" and "untethering your life" - the key tenets of The Shelly Story podcast.

In this episode, podcast host Nikhil Torsekar and Niraj touch on the following topics:

  • Niraj's time as a highly successful DJ, hosting some of the UK's largest raves, followed by returning to a his "fall back career" as a community pharmacist
  • How a Tony Robbins event opened his eyes to the power of nutrition, breathing, and other nascent forms of biohacking to optimize health
  • Niraj's application of these holistic health management principles as a pharmacist to rave reviews, which then ended and sent him into a deep depression combined with nearly fatal ulcerative colitis
  • Niraj's "dark night of the soul," which led to a discovery of Ayurveda, meditation, music, "brain training," colostrum, and other alternatives to invasive surgery and dangerous medication
  • Niraj's reinvention as "the renegade pharmacist," creation of content on YouTube, development of a music therapy business, and collaboration with Marisa Peer and Wim Hof
  • How SOMA Breath has won over skeptics in the Indian medical community through the stamp of approval from Cambridge University
  • The "inner pharmacy" paradigm of SOMA Breath, as a more personalized, fun alternative to the one-size-fits-all "pill for every ill" pharmaceutical model
  • How community be beneficial in the healing process, but also lead to rigid, dogmatic indoctrination
  • Reflections on Mindvalley, where Niraj and Nikhil had met, and how a trip to the company's "AFest" led to a very fruitful partnership
  • Nikhil's reflections on teaching SOMA Breath box breathing to a classroom of 3rd graders, and the myriad benefits of teaching the next generation breathwork and meditation
  • The science behind breathwork, leveraging studies by Dr. Prakash Chintamani Malshe, and the benefits on generation of stem cells for healing

To learn more about SOMA Breath, visit the ⁠Website⁠, or sign up for ⁠a free masterclass⁠

You can also connect with Niraj on his Instagram channels (⁠@nirajnaikofficial⁠ and ⁠@somabreath⁠) and his ⁠Facebook group⁠.

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

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GIOSTAR Chicago⁠