Niraj Naik has a highly effective prescription to optimize the health of your mind, body, and soul. 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 The Shelly Story:
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