
The Brave Table with Dr. Neeta Bhushan
Grab a seat at The Brave Table for unfiltered conversations about all the unpredictable moments we face on our journey through life—the raw, the real, the messy—and how to overcome them and thrive.
This is your oasis for the next season of who you are becoming—where you defeat your imposter syndrome, ditch comparing your life to others, embrace the unconventional, and recognize your evolution and expansion.
Join host Dr. Neeta Bhushan, a former dentist turned author, serial entrepreneur, and mama of two, for weekly episodes on strengthening your mental health and emotional fitness so you can face challenges with grace and grit.
Let’s get brave as we navigate this human experience together with lots of love, new perspectives, and a dose of laughter along the way.
Latest episodes

Mar 16, 2022 • 22min
14. How To Know If You Are Ready To Pursue Your Purpose & Change Your Life with Dr. Neeta Bhushan
Hey Brave Table fam, I have a question for you: have you ever asked yourself if you’re truly pursuing your life purpose? This episode is for anyone who might be going through a life crisis right now or a pivotal shift. Maybe you’ve ended a relationship, just left your job, experienced a loss — whatever it is, you’re going through an initiation or awakening of some kind, and you know you need to make a change. There are a few different ways you can approach it. You could ignore it and hope things get better or put a temporary band-aid solution on it, but eventually, the fall will be SO big that you’ll be forced to look at it. So, why not start now? First, I want to give you permission to feel uncomfortable with it all. Change is scary! But it’s what we need to ignite us into the next stage of our evolution. Use this as your opportunity to explore, try new things, and say YES to new potential and ways of being. You have a life purpose. Period. Everyone does. And sometimes you might just need a little guidance in figuring out what it is. So I want to tell you about (DCI) Dharma Coaching Institute. This is the first-of-its-kind dual certification to be a soul purpose & spiritual life coach. If you’re the giver in relationships, this could be the key to unlocking your secret gift. Or even if you’re not sure about becoming a coach, but you’re just looking to discover parts of yourself that are dormant, this is the course that could change your life. We get into critical life skills like how to have difficult conversations, how to create habits that are going to fuel you, how to develop a wealth & abundance mindset, how to heal the patterns of your upbringing and so many more juicy lessons. We’ve had hundreds of students pass through already and our next Spring cohort starts in April and doors have opened to DCI Dharma Coaching Institute. So check it out at https://dharmacoachinginstitute.com/ and find your Dharma Archetype by taking the quiz! https://www.dharmaarchetypequiz.com/. And I’m hosting a very special Q & A session to answer all of your questions on becoming a spiritual life coach on Sunday, March 27th so mark your calendars! I wish I had this training when I was going through my own awakening and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to share it with you! Some of the juicy nuggets you’ll get out of this episode - What it means to discover your dharma and how to take the first step in creating a life that you truly love - How to be okay with your discomfort and use it as your cue to seek something bigger - How to stop living in guilt, fear, and shame and worrying about what people think of you - Calling in an exciting new chapter and the next phase of your evolution - Learning how to create boundaries and identifying what you won’t settle for any longer - Leveraging your innate gifts to help others heal For more on pursuing your dharma, listen to my episode with Sahara Rose. Thank you for being here, loves! I hope you loved this episode, and if you did, I would be SO grateful if you could leave a review. This will help other brave souls like you find the show. I appreciate you all so much!

Mar 14, 2022 • 47min
13. How to Build Unconventional Financial Wealth & Abundance with Codie Sanchez
Hey Brave Table crew - welcome back for another episode. Today I’m sitting down with one of my dear friends and the founder of Contrarian Thinking, Codie Sanchez. We’re going to dive into financial freedom, creating abundance, and building wealth through avenues you might have never even thought of. Codie and I met during a weekend event and formed a sister bond immediately. We both shared the experience of having lived a super traditional life and longing for something more — something aligned with our soul calling. Both of us navigated first marriages, and divorces- Codie went from a white-picket-fence, country-club, 9-5-office-life to completely disrupting the finance space by breaking it down and making it accessible. She proves that a life of financial freedom is possible for anyone — even when you stray from a conventional life path. She shares the story of how Emotional Grit, my first book led to sparking her evolution, and how managing your mindset while going through transitions will help spearhead your next evolution. She is the founder of Contrarian Thinking, a media company, and newsletter dedicated to talking about money in an honest yet unintimidating way. She also invests in what she refers to as ‘boring businesses’ — we’re talking things like laundromats, car washes, vending machines — industry outsiders that people often overlook and how you can run them to earn passive income. Loves, how can you start calling in all that juicy abundance that is waiting for you? Without financial freedom, you’ll continue to seek safety in the conventional & traditional. So if there is something you long to do, do it right now; do the thing that lights you up. Because as Codie will let you know, there are so many ways to make money by following your heart. Some of the juicy nuggets you’ll get out of this episode: - Figuring out your identity and discovering who you are after divorce, when you change careers, and when lose your social circle - Democratizing the traditional way of doing business & investing and making it attainable to anyone - Viewing every activity you do as a business and how to create a “You” Corp - How to create multiple streams of income and generate passive income, and why there’s never been a better time to do so - The difference between high-risk and low-risk businesses and how you can slowly begin to build an investment portfolio - even without tons of cash - And MUCH more. Grab your copy of emotional grit here at emotionalgrit.com. Sign up for Codie’s newsletter at https://contrarianthinking.co/ and follow her on TikTok @realcodiesanchez for the hottest investment and finance tips. Thank you for tuning in, loves! If you enjoyed this episode, please rate the show and leave a review so you can help others find juicy conversations like this one on The Brave Table.

Mar 9, 2022 • 58min
12. Healing Generational Trauma & Breaking Free From Asian Immigrant Parents with Dr. Neeta Bhushan
Dr. Neeta Bhushan discusses healing generational trauma and breaking free from Asian immigrant parents. She explores the impact of trauma on genes, shares personal experiences with domestic violence and family pressure, and emphasizes the importance of reversing these changes. The podcast delves into the complexities of family expectations, cultural pressures, and navigating relationships with immigrant parents, highlighting the journey towards healing and creating a better future.

Mar 7, 2022 • 35min
11. Being Brave In Building Your LifePass and How to Find Your True Calling with Payal Kadakia
Welcome back loves for another juicy conversation at The Brave Table. My guest in this episode is Payal Kadakia, Founder of ClassPass, Artist, and Author of LifePass. Payal believes that your life purpose lies at the intersection of what you’re innately passionate about and what can impact others. At a young age, she was lucky enough to find her purpose — Indian dance — and used this as her North Star to guide how she would operate in this world. As a result, Payal has paved the way for what’s possible in entrepreneurship when you lead with your purpose and passion, turning her love of dance into a billion-dollar business. So, if you’re feeling stuck, I hope this conversation inspires you to find and cultivate your true calling in life. It already exists within you, but sometimes you just need to get quiet and shut out all the noise of the world — like your parents who want to see you take a different path or the pressure from society to behave and act a certain way — to get clear on what it is. What are the things you LOVED to do throughout your life? If you’re unsure, can you try new activities and hobbies to see what lights you up? Then, how can you use these passions to chase your dreams relentlessly? Let’s dive in. Some of the juicy nuggets you’ll experience in this episode: - Growing up with different cultural identities and how to merge these identities with your passions and include them as a part of you, rather than hiding them or having to choose - How to create agreements with loved ones when their expectations of you are different than your own - The turning point of leaving your job to go after something much greater than you ever imagined - Doing things out of authenticity and attracting the right people to your business - Merging business with creativity, and not having to choose one or the other - Finding your purpose through rekindling activities from your childhood and incorporating more of those activities into your everyday life - Why it’s important to create boundaries without guilt, surround yourself with the right energy, and clearly define your expectations - What being brave means to Payal, her daily rituals & practices, and her word to describe this season And SO much more. Grab Payal’s already super hot LifePass book that’s out now at www.lifepassbook.com. I hope you SO loved this episode! And before you go - make sure not to miss out on The Brave Table giveaway at www.thebravetable.com/giveaway for your chance to WIN some amazing self-care prizes - this is my big THANK YOU for being here! Check out the site for all the ways you can enter to win - most important is that you leave a review and share it with a friend! This will also help more people find the show. Deepest gratitude to you all, and make sure to enter today because we’re closing the contest on March 15. Thanks for being here, love, see you next time!

Mar 2, 2022 • 1h 4min
10. Awakening Your Inner Wisdom As The Rock-Star Shaman with Alyson Charles
Hey there Brave Table squad! Welcome back for another super juicy episode, this time with the Rock-Star Shaman (and my rockstar friend), Alyson Charles. Internationally renowned Shaman, best-selling author, and host of Ceremony Circle Podcast, Alyson’s story starts with a traumatic experience followed by a spiritual awakening that shifted her out of her life as a national champion athlete, top-rated radio host, and national daytime television talk show host in New York City, and into her calling as a Shaman. The woman has led pop culture shows through her meditations workshops awakening spirituality in circles where they need it most, from HBO film festival, Art Basel, Elle magazine to brands like Tory Burch, The National Geographic, The New York Times After 16 years of being in a codependent and very toxic relationship, Alyson shares the shocking moment that turned on her internal wisdom and spiritual gifts were heightened and allowed her to receive the call from Spirit that would send her down the path of Shamanism - but not before undergoing some intense shadow work and facing her greatest fears. We dive into how to use these challenging seasons of life as a way to find your true soul calling, all the ugly and messy of shadow work and how it ultimately leads to so much beauty and growth, and why it’s so important during your down cycles to experience the FULL spectrum of human emotions and not try to push them away. Alyson also talks about her new book, Animal Power: 100 Animals to Energize Your Life and Awaken Your Soul (which has been such a blessing for my whole household - it provides so much soul medicine and the kids love looking at the beautiful illustrations!) Go check it out and order your copy at www.alysoncharles.com/animalpower, and you’ll also get access to a free guided shamanic journey from Alyson! Some of the juicy nuggets you’ll experience in this episode: - How to embrace your gifts and trust your deep inner knowing - What is shadow work, how to begin, and facing your inner gremlins for self-development and personal growth - Naming and looking at your greatest fear so you can face it and overcome it - Dropping the veil of illusions in toxic relationships, taking the necessary steps to overcome abusive relationships, and getting out of your own way - Looking at where and how you give your power away, why you do it, and how to reclaim your power - Practicing patience in your healing journey and learning to trust yourself - How Alyson defines Shamanism and how you can tune into your own Shamanic journey - Practices & rituals that you can do following a spiritual awakening to recalibrate - Unconditional love as a tool for practicing bravery - What medicine we can learn from the energy and spirit of different animals - The energy that’s guiding Alyson through this season of her life I hope this conversation with Alyson was as inspiring for you as it was for me! If so, I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review. Each one helps others find juicy conversations like this one on The Brave Table. Let me know if you’ve left a review by going to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway so you can enter for your chance to WIN amazing prizes, like a pair of Apple AirPods Pro! I’ll also send you my Grow Your Grit 7-day mini-workshop for FREE to help you master your emotions, transform your thoughts, and change your world! Thanks again, loves, for tuning in! Until next time.

Feb 28, 2022 • 1h 1min
9. On Being Enough & Healing Childhood Wounds with Marisa Peer
Hello, loves! This is a BIG episode as I sit down to chat with a woman I’ve admired for a long time, Marisa Peer. Marisa is a globally acclaimed therapist, author, speaker, and founder of Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT), an award-winning technique that combines NLP, CBT, psychotherapy, and hypnotherapy for compelling results. So much so, that she’s taught it as a self-coaching tool to shift your life rapidly! Marisa Peer has been the guide for me in motherhood and the person who jump-started my interest in hypnotherapy. She’s not only worked with some of the biggest celebrities, Olympic athletes, royalty, heads of state, politicians, and rockstars: from Hollywood to Bollywood, but she’s an author of many books including her newest release, Tell Yourself A Better Lie, which is out on amazon. Through her events, trainings, and workshops globally she has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands. We’ll dive into how to be more present with yourself, have more compassion in motherhood, and reparent yourself. Most of Marisa’s work deals with helping you heal your inner child, as much of our core beliefs and meanings we make in our lives are formed from our interactions and the love we desired from our caretakers. This is SO powerful. We also go through the origin story of Marisa’s ‘I am enough’ movement, why it is SO important to be mindful of your actions, words, and behaviors with yourself, and how to heal your past. Whether you’re a mama now or a mama-to-be or a boss looking for insights from an absolute queen of personal transformation and growth, you definitely will NOT want to miss this conversation. Some of the juicy nuggets you’ll experience in this episode: - Being in the right mindset to experience joy in the birthing process, not fear and dread - Reparenting yourself & healing your inner child. - Navigating your new identity as a mama, how to rediscover yourself, and mothering without guilt - How to balance your love for your child with your own dreams and ambitions - Raising children in this digital era - where do we place boundaries? - Childhood development - not expecting so much of your children, including them in their decision-making, and giving them more power - The 4 pillars of Marisa’s Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) and how to use them for personal growth and self-development - Learning how to process and transmute your emotions when you’re having BIG feelings and avoiding self-sabotage - Reframing your life to what happened to you instead of what’s wrong with you Get connected with Marisa Peer and her work here: marisapeer.com. Learn all about becoming an RTT therapist here at rtt.com Thank you Brave Table crew for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please rate the show and leave a review so you can help others find juicy conversations like this one on The Brave Table. Make sure you let me know you’ve left a review by going to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway so you can enter for your chance to WIN amazing prizes, like a pair of Apple AirPods Pro! I’ll also send you my Grow Your Grit 7-day mini-workshop for FREE to help you master your emotions, transform your thoughts, and change your world! Thanks again, loves, for tuning in! See you next time.

Feb 23, 2022 • 28min
8. How to Create Routines & Morning Rituals That Work For You with Dr. Neeta Bhushan
Hey fam! Welcome to another episode of The Brave Table. In today’s episode, I’m pulling back the curtain to give you a behind the scenes look at a day in the life of a mamapreneur with 2 kids (both under 3 years old, eeeek). So many people often ask me - how do you do it all? And even though a lot of my life is online, what actually goes on in my home is something I usually keep pretty private. Well, not anymore, my loves! I’m going practice the bravery I preach and invite you in to all the messy and magical of a day in my household. My hope for you in this episode is that you’ll learn how to prioritize the precious time that you DO have during this season of your life. We’re often so caught up in what we DON’T have (trust me - I have been guilty of this too!). BUT - I’d love for us to shift our focus to be on what lights us up, what we’re grateful for, and the tiny wins we experience throughout our day to create more juicy and expansive moments. And for those days where we just don’t get it all done, despite our best intentions, how can we not have guilt about it and instead feel radical self-love and celebrate all the things that we did accomplish? How can we redefine certain practices that may seem daunting, turn them into something nourishing, and allow ourselves to shift and change as needed? PLUS, find out what I used to take for granted and what’s been medicinal for me during this season, and best practices for creating your biggest year yet for self-development, wellness, and personal growth. Some of the juicy nuggets you’ll experience in this episode: - Identifying your non-negotiable rituals, & routines that give you life! - How to find joy in the small wins throughout sometimes stress-FULL days - Making peace with and savoring the season that you’re in - Ensuring that you’re being intentional with the time that you do have what you do with it - How to find clarity in prioritizing what’s important in your life through gratitude and setting yearly intentions (to help you get started - grab your free Elevated! Intention-Setting Planner at www.globalgrit.co/eyl) Thanks for joining a day in my life! I hope you enjoyed it! While you’re here, I would REALLY appreciate it if you leave a review. Every single one helps The Brave Table get noticed by more people! Once you’ve rated the show 5-stars and left your review, you can head on over to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway and I’ll send you a FREE gift of my exclusive Grow Your Grit course to help you master your emotions, transform your thoughts and change your world! Not only that, you will have your chance to enter our giveaway! That’s right Brave Table team. So go to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway and follow the instructions there, and share it with your friends! See you next time!

Feb 21, 2022 • 52min
7. Pursuing Your Dharma To Be Your Highest Self with Sahara Rose
Hey Brave Table soul fam! I’m SUPER excited for you to tune in to this episode as I sit down with my dear friend, sister, Goddess, and co-founder of Dharma Coaching Institute, Sahara Rose. Sahara is the best-selling author of Discover your Dharma: A Vedic Guide to Finding Your Purpose, the host of the Highest Self Podcast - the #1 spirituality podcast on iTunes - and has been proclaimed by THE Deepak Chopra as a “leading voice of the millennial generation into the new paradigm”. My girl has devoted the last decade of her life to raising the vibration of the planet and has empowered so many to discover their Dharma so that they can create conscious abundance, joy, freedom, and purpose in their lives. Sahara and I first bonded over our strict upbringings and how we navigated pursuing our calling - which definitely veered off the path our parents laid out for us! You have to hear her incredible story of how a health scare sparked her journey into understanding ayurvedic medicine and how she overcame what was expected of her in fierce pursuit of what she came to this earth to do. Oooof, it’s a story that hits you right in the feels. Last year, Sahara and I teamed up to create Dharma Coaching Institute. The Great Resignation and these massive world shifts we’re experiencing are providing an incredible opportunity for you to find your Dharma, reconsider the trajectory of your life, and ask yourself: “Am I living my truth? Why am I here? What are my gifts? What am I excited about?” Are you somebody who is the advice-giver in your group - somebody who connects deeply and is always that person to count on? We’ll talk about what that could mean for you and how you can use your Dharma to create an expansive business from your gifts. Some of the juicy nuggets you’ll experience in this episode: - How to recognize your gifts - Saying yes to challenging things as a catalyst for change in your life - What to do when your calling differs from the expectations your parents set out for you - Using daily self-care practices to give you more clarity in your life - How to discover your Dharma and how to know if you are on the path to your Dharma - How to have difficult conversations with your parents about your career, and what may happen at times with immigrant parents - When to pay attention to the challenges, roadblocks, and circumstances that could be a wake-up call for something better coming your way - How to take the first step towards your Dharma - even when it may not be the easiest, nor the sexiest - Dealing with rejection when it creates a mirror for all your fears - How we decided to join forces and build our mission of helping others in pursuing their purpose Dive into discovering your Dharma by heading over to www.dharmacoachinginstitute.com or get access to a FREE masterclass where Sahara helps you discover your Soul’s Purpose: https://iamsahararose.com/masterclass Follow Sahara at @iamsahararose on IG, and get connected with her #1 spirituality podcast at the Highest Self Podcast @highestselfpodcast I hope you SO loved this conversation as much as I did, and I would really appreciate it if you leave a review. Every single one helps! Once you’ve rated the show 5-stars and left your review, you can head on over to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway and I’ll send you a FREE gift of my exclusive Grow Your Grit course to help you master your emotions, transform your thoughts and change your world! Not only that, you will have your chance to enter our giveaway! That’s right Brave Table team. So go to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway and follow the instructions there, and share it with your friends! See you next time!

Feb 14, 2022 • 35min
6. On Parenthood And Being A Father with Ajit Nawalkha (Part 2/2)
Hi loves! This is the second part of my conversation with my husband Ajit on moving into a new chapter of our lives as parents to Arie and Aiyla and how our children are our greatest teachers. We talk about the challenges of parenting during a move, a pandemic, and validating children's feelings. With the birth of Aiyla and this being our second rodeo in the parenthood game, I ask Ajit how having a daughter has heightened his warrior-protector mode and if there’s one message he’d want our children to know - what would it be? We also dive into the rise of the matriarchy, open up about our fears and concerns about raising children in today’s world, our hopes for the future of humanity, and how we all get to choose the world we want to create for our kids. Plus, find out how we keep the SPICE in our lives outside of parenthood and keep date nights creative and inspiring! Some of the juicy nuggets you’ll experience in this episode: - Seeing your kids as collaborators for your self-development and personal growth - Discovering new things about yourself through your interactions with your kids - Modelling behavior for your children through your routines and actions and creating life habits that involve your children - Prioritizing your health as a means to maintain your vitality and be present for your children throughout your life - The importance of recalibrating with time without kids and reserving time for intrigue and surprise - We wrap up with a fun and light igniting round where Ajit talks about his suckiest human moment and what he’s reading - his answer might surprise you! Thanks for listening, fam! If you liked what you heard, please leave a review so you can help others find The Brave Table! You can also head over to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway and I will send you a FREE gift of my exclusive Grow Your Grit Emotional Mastery course! You’ll find it nowhere else but here - exclusively for you, my Brave Table peeps! It includes the full Grow Your Grit 7-day mini-workshop, plus my Emotional GRIT guidebook, and worksheets to support & help you master your emotions, transform your thoughts and change your world. Not only that, you will automatically be entered into our giveaway! That’s right. So go to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway and follow the instructions there. Until next time!

Feb 14, 2022 • 36min
5. Talking About Difficult Transitions with My Husband, Ajit Nawalkha (Part 1/2)
Hey team Brave Table! This week’s episode is a super fun one! I sat down with my boo, my baby daddy, my husband, and - also - serial entrepreneur, author, and coach, Ajit Nawalkha. This is part 1 of a 2-part episode! People often ask how we keep our relationship fun, juicy and fresh since we’re together so often as business partners, life partners, and now our most important roles of mom and dad. We’ll touch on a few of our tricks for clearly defining the different roles we play and placing and maintaining boundaries around them. We also touch on how to show up for our partners when moving through enormous change - in our case, this was the birthing of a new business, a new baby, and moving our family from LA to Austin. I’m sure pretty much ALL of you have experienced some huge shifts over the past couple of years, so we’ll share with you some of the tools and rituals we had to revisit to help us get through this challenging season. This is part one of a two-part conversation so make sure to check out the follow-up episode where we talk more about parenthood and the things no one prepared us for. Some of the juicy nuggets you’ll experience in this episode: - How we mentally and emotionally navigated our toughest year to date - How to use your different communication styles as a catalyst for strengthening your relationship - Reflecting on your needs vs the needs of your partner and how to honor and respect both - The practice of operating from a place of non-reaction and the importance of taking time for solitude and reflection - Self-awareness and radical self-acceptance as keys to growth I hope you SO loved this conversation as much as I did, and I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review. Every single one helps! Then head over to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway and I will send you a FREE gift of my exclusive Grow Your Grit Emotional Mastery course, exclusively for you Brave Table fam, which includes the full Grow your grit 7-day mini-workshop, plus my Emotional GRIT guidebook, plus worksheets, to support & help you master your emotions, transform your thoughts and change your world. Not only that, you will have your chance to enter our giveaway! That’s right. So go to www.thebravetable.com/giveaway and follow the instructions there, and when you share it with others it counts for more! See you next time!