Mind Sattva: Practical Wisdom for Modern Life

Season 2 of Mind Sattva is here. And we're starting with a statistic that might change how you think about your health: only 5% of cancer is genetic. The rest is shaped by lifestyle and environment. Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in her 50s, Dr. Mythri Shankar chose food over medication and brought her own HbA1c down. The protocol she built next is now helping her cancer patients address the other 95% through food, exercise, sleep, stress, and connection.
Dr. Mythri Shankar is a nuclear medicine physician and integrative oncologist with 30 years of clinical experience across the US and India. A TEDx speaker and certified lifestyle medicine practitioner, she is the author of Ease and a co-author of How Healers Heal alongside Dr. Mitika Kanabar and 31 other women physicians. She leads the EASE Protocol and EASE Cancer, a 21-session program for cancer patients based on the American College of Lifestyle Medicine guidelines.
In this conversation with Dr. Mitika Kanabar, Dr. Mythri shares the personal diabetes diagnosis that brought her into lifestyle medicine, the EASE Protocol she developed for preventing and reversing chronic disease, and a practical look at how food, exercise, sleep, stress, and connection are shaping how she practices, how she thinks about cancer recurrence, and how anyone in a caregiving role can stop burning themselves out trying to take care of everyone else.
 
✨ What you’ll learn:
The lifestyle medicine paradigm shift -  why prevention became central to Dr. Mythri's practice after years of scanning and treating tumors
The personal diabetes story that launched the EASE Protocol -  what Dr. Mythri saw when she turned over a bottle of metformin and read the side effects, and how she brought her hemoglobin A1c down through food alone
How to actually adapt plant-forward eating to the Indian palate -  Malabar spinach instead of kale, moringa and amaranth instead of broccoli, and the sambar trick that hides greens in flavor so the whole family will eat them
The “I will change my religion, but I cannot change my food habits” problem -  why food is the hardest behavior to shift, the colonial roots of ghee and oil as status symbols, and what actually moves a family toward change
How the body remembers famine -  why generations of survival instincts may still be shaping your blood sugar today, and why what we choose at the table can carry forward into the next generation
Ultra-processed food, the SOS formula (salt, oil, sugar), and the dopamine engineering behind why one bite leads to another -  plus where the food-addiction research actually is and where social-media misinformation has overcorrected
Only 5% of cancer is genetic -  and the lifestyle and environmental factors that shape the other 95%
Caregiver burnout, vicarious trauma, and the “fill your cup first” rule -  plus the How Healers Heal anthology Dr. Mythri co-authored with Dr. Mitika Kanabar and 31 other women physicians
 
Resources Mentioned:
Ease (book) by Dr. Mythri Shankar: https://www.amazon.in/dp/9393966001
How Healers Heal (anthology with Dr. Mitika Kanabar and 31 other women physicians): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYZSF571
American College of Lifestyle Medicine: lifestylemedicine.org
The Green Hub Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/thegreenhubTGFI
 
Connect with Dr. Mythri Shankar:
Nuclear Medicine Physician | Integrative Oncologist | Functional Medicine | Author of Ease | TEDx Speaker
Website: https://drmythrishankarmd.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmythrishankarmd
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmythrishankar/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wellthgreen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegreenhubTGFI
 
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What if the most powerful tool for healing burnout is also the cheapest, most accessible, and most overlooked? What if your brain has a built-in off-switch — the default mode network — that activates when you simply sit near a tree? And what does it look like when one woman takes that lesson all the way from a hospital recovery to a seven-story image of herself on the NASDAQ tower in Times Square?
Sheryl Barbosa is an environmental scientist, space strategist, keynote speaker, and founder of Sustain Cities Network, a green-tech platform built on a simple ecological insight: nature is an ecosystem where everything is connected, and our communities should be too. After two stress-driven cardiac arrests forced a complete rebuild of her life, nature became the medicine, the model, and ultimately the blueprint for the company she now leads.
In this conversation with Dr. Mitika Kanabar, Sheryl walks through the science of how short time in nature lowers cortisol and rewires the brain, what forest bathing actually is and how to do it, and the through-line of trust, intentionality, and ecosystem thinking that connects her hospital bed to a green-tech directory now reaching small businesses, large companies, and cities across the U.S.
 
✨ What you’ll learn:
The science of “10 minutes outside” — why even brief exposure to nature drops cortisol, lowers stress, rewires the brain, and activates the default mode network that the constant overthinking front of your brain is wired to override
Why being near a tree, sitting in the sun, or feeling rain on your skin counts — even in urban areas where escaping into the woods isn’t an option, and why you don’t have to “try” for the benefits to land
The slow untangle of recovery, told through the metaphor of balled-up Christmas lights — why healing from burnout doesn’t look like a leap of faith, and why intentionality grows in layers
What forest bathing actually is, step by step — touching bark, watching light through leaves, locking memory through every sense (except taste, unless you’re sure of the berry), and how some practitioners weave in guided meditation
Why Sheryl turned to nature without anyone prescribing it — the internal pull that came before the research, the doctors, and the social media algorithm caught up to what her body already knew
How the symbiosis of bumblebees and flowers became the blueprint for Sustain Cities Network — connecting small businesses, large companies, cities, and people who want to buy green but can’t find each other
Why small businesses (96–99% of all U.S. businesses) are the center of community and economy, and the searchable directory and back-end metrics platform Sheryl built to let everyone finally find each other
The NASDAQ moment — seeing herself seven stories tall in Times Square through the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center, the validation of years of education work, and the motto that defines the company: “We make being green the easy choice”
From hospital bed to NASDAQ tower — the through-line of trust, intentionality, and time spent in nature that connects an environmental scientist’s recovery to a green-tech platform on the national stage
 
Resources Mentioned:
Sustain Cities Network — sustaincities.org
NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center —nasdaqcenter.org
Forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) — the Japanese practice of intentional time among trees
 
Connect with Sheryl Barbosa:
Founder of Sustain Cities Network
Email: Sheryl@sustaincities.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherylbarbosa/
 
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What does it look like when the pressure to “have it all” actually takes everything? What happens to a high-achieving environmental scientist when the very thing she’s working to protect — the planet — gets sacrificed alongside her own body? And what does it feel like to wake up in a hospital bed knowing you flatlined twice and that the worst-case scenario you thought only happened to other people happened to you?
Sheryl Barbosa is an environmental scientist, space strategist, keynote speaker, and founder of Sustain Cities Network, a green-tech venture connecting small businesses, large companies, and cities across the U.S. With over 20 years of experience in policy, innovation, and sustainability, she advises leaders across industries on how to rediscover their sense of purpose and build a planet where people and the planet can both thrive.
In this conversation with Dr. Mitika Kanabar, Sheryl shares the runaway-train years that led to two stress-driven cardiac arrests in her thirties, the slow-and-not-linear recovery that followed, and the practical philosophy of trust, flow, and intentionality that has quietly built her a fuller life and a more successful career than the grind ever did.
 
✨ What you’ll learn:
Why Sheryl believes the people building the commercial space industry — SpaceX, Blue Origin, the engineers behind citizen spaceflights — are the most planet-reverent group she has ever worked with, and how that paradox shapes her work as a space strategist
The cultural trap of the elder-millennial grind: why society’s pressure to “have it all” turned into a 100-mile-an-hour treadmill where keeping up with average requires running like you’re trying to be number one
The cardiac arrests Sheryl experienced twice in the hospital, what she woke up to, and the moment she realized she had nearly killed herself trying to save the very planet she was working so hard to protect
The runaway-train metaphor for burnout — why your health doesn’t ask permission before flinging you from your own momentum, and why a “tuck and roll” is the kindest landing you can hope for
Why slow is smoother and smoother is faster — and the everyday example of rushing out the door that explains why every minute we “save” by hurrying we lose three times over
The trust-and-flow framework that’s replaced productivity for Sheryl, and the coffee-shop chance encounter that built a sustainable fashion show, four friendships, a co-work venue, and a professional pipeline — all from a slower morning
The overscheduled-day problem: why Mother Nature, your intuition, and your loved ones can’t get on your calendar if every minute is already booked, and what it takes to make room for the wildly unimaginable
The Edward Scissorhands vs. precise surgeon metaphor for cutting “flail” from your work, doing less, and why intentional incision beats fast-and-shaky every time
Sheryl’s path from elder-millennial grind to environmental scientist, space strategist, and founder of Sustain Cities Network — and why she calls cardiac arrest the wake-up call she wouldn’t trade for any amount of money
 
Resources Mentioned:
Sustain Cities Network — sustaincities.org
SpaceX — spacex.com
Blue Origin — blueorigin.com
 
Connect with Sheryl Barbosa:
Founder of Sustain Cities Network
Email: Sheryl@sustaincities.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherylbarbosa/
 
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What does it mean to stay human when AI is doing more and more of our thinking for us? Why do most people pass the clipboard instead of signing up, and what does it cost them? And how do women find their way back to themselves after years of putting everyone else first?
Dr. Liz Krider is a Caltech-trained researcher and founder of Catalyst, a skills accelerator for high school and college students in Southern California, and the author of the forthcoming book Purpose and Paychecks: How to Get the Most from Your College Years. In this conversation with Dr. Mitika Kanabar, she moves beyond career advice into the deeper questions of what keeps us grounded: the value of relationships built across all walks of life, the science behind why serving others heals us, and why she believes AI poses a quiet threat to the human instincts we can’t afford to lose.
 
✨ What you’ll learn:
Why Dr. Liz started talking to strangers at 14, and why she says building relationships with Nobel Prize winners and people with no societal visibility equally has been the single most enriching decision of her life
What the clipboard reveals about comfort zones: why people opt out of service, and how to design conditions where more people say yes
The neuroscience of human connection: what dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin release when we serve others, and why understanding this helps us show more compassion to people who struggle to engage
Why Dr. Liz believes we risk losing something irreplaceable when ChatGPT does our thinking for us, and why the struggle on the other side of a creative process is exactly what reminds us we’re human
The two things that keep Dr. Liz grounded: serving others to get outside yourself, and personal development as a lifelong iterative process, like upgrading software one version at a time
How Dr. Liz’s Christian faith informs the way she sees every person she works with, and why she says faith, whatever the tradition, is one of the most inspiring forces she encounters
Two practical strategies for women pivoting careers or returning to work: building a mentorship community around one thing in common, and using a five-to-nine side project to develop credibility in a new field before you need it
Why women sacrifice their dreams and what Anna Fels’ book Necessary Dreams argues about ambition, plus Charlie Munger’s inverted reasoning applied to the question of self-investment
Clayton Christensen’s question from Harvard Business School that will change how you see your extra half hour: are you choosing the immediate payoff, or investing in the relationships that define you 25 years from now?
 
Resources Mentioned:
Jonathan Haidt — NYU Stern School of Business (The Anxious Generation)
FIRST Tech Challenge — https://www.firstinspires.org
First Lego League — firstinspires.org/robotics/fll
 
Connect with Dr. Liz Krider:
LinkedIn: Elizabeth Krider
Website: www.passionprojects.net
Website: https://studentcatalyst.com
 
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Is your teenager disengaged, going through the motions, or just glued to a screen? What happens when entry-level jobs disappear and college costs more than a house? And what does a Caltech PhD who coaches teens have to say about raising a purpose-driven kid in the age of AI?
Dr. Liz Krider is the founder of Catalyst, a skills accelerator for high school and college students, and the author of the upcoming book Purpose and Paychecks: How to Get the Most from Your College Years. Her students have attended top-20 universities and gone on to careers with real purpose, and her mission is to equip 5,000 young people to solve meaningful problems in their worlds.
In this conversation with Dr. Mitika Kanabar, Dr. Liz breaks down why today’s teens are struggling, what the AI era actually means for college graduates, and what parents and students can do right now to build purpose, skills, and confidence before the job market demands it.
 
✨ What you’ll learn:
Why Jonathan Haidt’s research on the phone-based childhood explains the disengagement epidemic in classrooms today
How parents can support teen development without being ignored — and why outside mentors change everything
Why passion projects matter more than grades when it comes to college readiness and life readiness
The honest case for and against college in the AI era — what the data says and what it misses
What “underemployment” really means and why most new graduates don’t see it coming
How to use LinkedIn and informational interviews to build a real career network before you graduate
Gen Z’s $500K salary expectation — and the path that actually leads there
How robotics competitions like FIRST Tech Challenge build camaraderie, confidence, and career-ready humans
Why the best college-prep tool might not be a tutor — it’s a meaningful project
 
Resources Mentioned:
Jonathan Haidt — NYU Stern School of Business (The Anxious Generation)
FIRST Tech Challenge — https://www.firstinspires.org
First Lego League — firstinspires.org/robotics/fll
 
Connect with Dr. Liz Krider:
LinkedIn: Elizabeth Krider
Website: www.passionprojects.net
Website: https://studentcatalyst.com
 
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Is your phone hijacking your brain? What happens when you use substances before your brain is fully developed? And what does ancient yoga philosophy have to do with modern addiction medicine?
In this special role-reversal episode, Dr. Suhani Mendonsa - entrepreneur, social activist, lifestyle influencer, author of '1551: Your Story,' and trustee of the Mendoza Foundation - turns the tables and interviews Mind Sattva host Dr. Mitika Kanabar, a keynote speaker on attachment to AI chatbots and addiction to our phones. From addiction medicine and brain development to screen addiction, healthy habit formation, and the yoga philosophy behind Mind Sattva, Mitika opens up about the science and spirituality that drive her work.
✨ What you'll learn:
Why substance use before age 25 can permanently lower your IQ and disrupt brain development
The difference between substance addictions and behavioral (process) addictions like phone and gaming
Abstinence vs. harm reduction - and why relapse doesn't erase progress
How phone and screen addiction is eroding real human connection - from Devil Wears Prada workplace pressure to identity and withdrawal
The origin story of Mind Sattva - the three gunas, sattva, and bridging East and West
Building lasting habits using the Prochaska trans-theoretical model and the power of your 'why'
Yoga philosophy beyond the poses - the Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and why only 3 sutras are about asanas
Rebuilding after life falls apart - grief, resilience, and understanding your self-worth
Advice for families dealing with a loved one's addiction - boundaries, enabling, and finding support
Resources Mentioned:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Anna Lembke - Stanford Addiction Medicine
Mendonsa Foundation
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) & Al-Anon
The Prochaska Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change) - View Model
Connect with Dr. Suhani Mendonsa:
YouTube: com/c/drsuhanimendonsa
Instagram: @suhanimendonsa
Website: com
Mendonsa Foundation Website: https://mendonsafoundation.org
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What really happens on the night of Shiva? What does Shiva actually destroy? And how can you observe Mahashivaratri at home with nothing more than a lamp and your intention?
Dr. Mitika Kanabar sits down with Acharya Mrityunjay and Acharya Satyam, both scholars from Kashi, the oldest living city on earth. Together they explore Shiva tattva, the four prahars of all-night worship, why Kashi is said to rest on Shiva's trident, and the promise between Shiva and Annapurna that no one in Kashi will go hungry. They address the cannabis question directly and close with a chant you can follow along with, no Sanskrit needed.
✨ What you'll learn:
What Mahashivaratri means and why it is observed through the night
Shiva tattva: the essence of Shiva beyond "the destroyer"
The four prahars of worship and how to observe them
The sacred geography of Kashi and why death there is celebrated
Ashutosh: the God content with a leaf, water, and your sincere intention
How to do a simple Shivaratri puja at home
The cannabis question: sattvic practice vs. tamasic shortcuts
Shiva and Krishna's relationship and the story of Gopishwar
Resources Mentioned:
"Har Har Shambhu" by Backstage Siblings | Instagram (the bhajan clubbing trend discussed in the episode)
"The Hidden Hindu" by Akshat Gupta | Book Summary (the mythological fiction series set in Kashi)
Connect with Dr. Mitika Kanabar:
mitikakanabar.com | Instagram
Listen & Follow:
Podbean | @MindSattva on Instagram

Struggling with screen time? What if the best digital detox isn't another app—but getting your hands dirty?
 
In this episode, Dr. Mitika Kanabar shares why gardening is her go-to method for unplugging. She explores the science of horticultural therapy, soil bacteria that boost mood, and the Ayurvedic concept of dinacharya (daily routine). Plus: practical tips for starting a garden even without a backyard.
 
✨ What you'll learn:
Why gardening works when willpower fails
Research on soil bacteria and mental health
The scrolling paradox and emotional overload
Ayurvedic daily routine (dinacharya)
How to start small and detach from outcomes
Replacement behaviors vs. restriction
 
Connect with Dr. Mitika Kanabar: mitikakanabar.com
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Follow @KanabarMD on Instagram

What really happens when you stop drinking alcohol, even for a few weeks?
In this solo episode of Mind Sattva, Dr. Mitika Kanabar talks about Dry January and why many people choose to take a break from alcohol. She explains what changes in the body and brain when alcohol is removed, and why even a short break can lead to better sleep, steadier mood, more energy, and overall health improvements.
Mitika walks through how alcohol affects blood sugar, blood pressure, brain chemistry, and sleep. She also explores why drinking is so closely tied to celebration and social life, and how those beliefs have been shaped over time.
The episode includes practical guidance for handling social situations without drinking, managing cravings when they come up, and noticing habits that may be driving alcohol use. Mitika also talks about who may want to be more mindful or cautious with alcohol, how the liver and gut respond during a break, and changes people may notice in their body when they take a break from alcohol.
✨ In this episode:
What Dry January is and why people try it
How alcohol affects blood sugar, blood pressure, mood, and sleep
Short term benefits like better sleep, steadier mood, and more energy
Long term health effects including liver health and cancer risk
Who may need to be more mindful or cautious with alcohol
Finding your personal reason for making a change
Handling social pressure and cravings
Why alcohol is linked to celebration and social life
How sleep, habits, and gut health are connected
Referenced in this episode:
Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker
https://www.quitlikeawoman.com
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🌐 mitikakanabar.com
Follow @MindSattva and @KanabarMD on Instagram

What started as five minutes of scrolling is now two hours gone. Sound familiar?
In this "In the Flow" episode, Dr. Mitika Kanabar unpacks the science behind screen addiction: why our phones live "rent-free" in our brains and how social media algorithms are designed to capture our attention coins. She explains why the dopamine hit from scrolling feels like happiness but actually leaves us sadder, chasing that next reel like a mirage in the desert.
Mitika offers practical tools from both Western and Eastern perspectives: screen-free morning blocks, the yogic principle of shaucha (cleanliness in thought), and household boundaries that work. She addresses how excessive screen time erodes our closest relationships, why children's developing brains are especially vulnerable, and the uncomfortable truth that in social media, just like the casino, the house always wins.
✨ In this episode:
The dopamine mechanics of screen addiction and "attention coins"
Why you pick up your phone without wanting to: conditioning and the "rent-free" brain
Boundaries: screen-free mornings, work blocks, and shaucha (cleanliness of thought)
The 4 C's of addiction and when screen use becomes unhealthy
Screens and relationships: partners, parents, and protecting children
Digital footprint safety in the age of AI
"The house always wins": what social media is really costing us
Referenced:
The Anxious Generation by Dr. Jonathan Haidt
Closing reflection:
If we want to change the narrative, we have to speak the truth where people are. Your attention, your focus, your intentions for the day, and your actual human connections: that's what the house is winning. And children learn more from our behavior than from what we have to say.
🔗 Listen on Podbean | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
🌐 mitikakanabar.com
Follow @MindSattva and @KanabarMD on Instagram