Dopamine Dialogues: Sarika Richard

Yoga Nidra, often called yogic sleep, is a practice of conscious deep rest where the body surrenders while the mind remains awake and receptive. This allows a powerful state of consciousness where manifestations of your choice are embedded in the subconscious mind. Rooted in the teachings of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, this practice is more than relaxation, it is a doorway into healing, clarity, and transformation.Modern neuroscience shows that Yoga Nidra:Synchronizes brain networks: EEG and imaging studies reveal that Yoga Nidra helps the brain organize itself, calming stress pathways while enhancing rhythms linked to memory, creativity, and emotional regulation.Reduces stress chemistry: It lowers cortisol and balances the autonomic nervous system, shifting the body into a parasympathetic “rest and digest” state.Improves sleep and resilience: Practitioners experience deeper sleep cycles, reduced insomnia, and greater emotional stability.Activates healing potential: Researchers describe Yoga Nidra as a liminal state between wakefulness and sleep, where the brain’s untapped capacity for transformation becomes accessible.In this podcast, Yoga Nidra is offered as Love as Medicine: a sanctuary where rest itself becomes a healing force. Through guided awareness, resolution (sankalpa), and visualization, you are invited to plant seeds of growth, love, health, joy and renewal deep within your consciousness.

In this Guided Meditation series, I invite you to experience Love as a sanctuary within, an inner refuge that nurtures, protects, and restores. In this first episode, we journey into Your self-created Inner Sanctuary, a sacred space inside the psyche where you can feel safe, grounded, and connected to your Higher Self. Here, guides, ancestors, and power animals may appear with messages of love and protection. Each visit is unique, offering lessons, renewal, inspiration and Visions. This practice is simple yet profound: find a quiet, comfortable space, allow yourself to soften, and explore the sanctuary within. Return as often as you need, morning, evening, or whenever you seek grounding and connection.Join me in creating your own sanctuary of self-love and healing, and let this journey leave you feeling refreshed, uplifted, inspired, and ready to begin again.LoveSarika

If you would like to support / donate please visithttps://techmyschool.org/donate/or contact TechMySchool [email protected]: TechMySchoolhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/robertcobbs/https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-sumrow-869516183/In this episode, I sit down with Robby Cobbs and Kyle Sumrow from TechMySchool, two humanitarian entrepreneurs whose lives are defined by service, sacrifice, and purpose. With backgrounds as teachers and years of experience serving across the globe, including Africa, they bring a rare blend of heart and vision to the work of education.Robby’s journey began during a sabbatical in Puerto Rico, where he witnessed firsthand how under‑resourced the schools were, including those his own children attended. In a moment of conviction, he gave up his boat savings to seed what would become TechMySchool. Kyle, aligned in mission from Texas, joined him and together they’ve built an organisation now reaching over 40 schools, impacting 5,000 students every day, and empowering 500 teachers each month.Their philosophy is simple yet profound: technology holds no bias. It is the bridge across inequality, and they are determined to make that bridge accessible to every child and teacher they encounter.This conversation humbled me deeply. We explore how Robby’s upbringing in adversity, abuse, and poverty shaped his resilience and drive to give back, and how both he and Kyle embody what it means to live in alignment with purpose, sacrificing personal comfort for the greater good.It’s a story of courage, conviction, and the belief that education, when resourced with dignity, can transform lives.

Breaking moulds, building mountains of courage.In the Spirit of honouring the African women that are Building, I could not have run the series without doing this episode with my Mum, Mama, Mamzo. She has and continues to Build a Legacy of Grace & Strength and is not afraid to challenge the perceptions, templates and conditioning that many women continue to face. I am proud to be her daughter. In this powerful episode of She Builds Mnandi, Dr. Vanita Richard shares her extraordinary journey. From growing up as an Indian woman in apartheid South Africa, to becoming a teacher of Home Economics for High Schools in Lenasia, meeting her husband, and stepping into activism with courage and conviction. Moving from Teaching into Matthew Goniwe, Pilo and working with and being inspired by Prof. Mary Metcalfe. She reflects on the challenges of raising a family while standing up for truth and justice, and the profound losses she has endured, including the sudden passing of her husband (Benjamin Richard) in May 2024 and losing both of her sons to mental illness (suicide). At 73, she climbed to Everest Base Camp, with my Dad's ashes, embodying resilience and the unbreakable spirit that has carried her through a lifetime of struggle and triumph. This conversation is a testament to legacy, courage, and the power of living one’s truth no matter which chapter in life you find yourself in. #ForLegacy #ForMum #ForDad #forAllComrades #SouthAfrica #apartheid #Sophiatown #Lenasia #Lens #SADTU #PTL #BeingIndian

In this episode, we sit with Lungile Maile—Nubian Smarts founder, EdTech innovator, and fierce advocate for Africa’s children as tech creators, not just consumers. Lungile’s work through Nubian Smarts is reshaping how under-served communities engage with STEAM (A for Art yay) education, from culinary coding and VR classrooms to AI hackathons, and AI-powered WhatsApp tools for teachers, parents and Business Operations - especially Manufacturing. We explore the soul behind the software: how Lungile blends manufacturing grit with ancestral vision, how she builds playful yet powerful learning experiences, and why democratizing tech is a spiritual and strategic act. This conversation is a call to educators, parents, business owners, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and dreamers—to co-create a continent where innovation is local, joyful, and radically inclusive.Lungile Maile Nubian Smarts contact details:Mobile: +27 73 748 3166 (South Africa)Email: [email protected]: https://www.instagram.com/lungi_maile?igsh=MTNyNzRsOHB0b3czcg==

She Builds Mnandi is a series honouring and showcasing African female entrepreneursMy first guest for the series is Carmen Ely, Founder of of Play With Me ZA. Carmen created her boutique intimacy shop in Johannesburg to empower women through sensual self-awareness—born from her own journey of reclaiming pleasure after a few painful and healing life experiences. Play With Me ZA isn’t just a sex shop—it’s a feminine, elegant, and emotionally intelligent space that invites women to explore intimacy with grace and curiosity.Come and play with us In this evocative episode, as I sit down with Carmen—entrepreneur, sensuality guide, and cultural disruptor—for a raw and reverent exploration of pleasure, reclamation, and radical intimacy. What begins as a story of personal transformation unfolds into a layered reflection on Carmen’s divorce, her struggle to prioritise her own pleasure, and the unexpected evolution of her adult toy store into a healing sanctuary.Carmen shares how her business became less about products and more about the deep, vulnerable conversations with clients—conversations that helped them confront shame, guilt, and cultural conditioning around sexuality. Now, she’s expanding into the creation of dungeon spaces: intentional, consent-based environments that honour kink, edge-play, and the full spectrum of erotic expression.Throughout the episode, Carmen gently invites listeners to dip their toes into their own edges—to explore the blocks, beliefs, and inherited scripts that shape their relationship to intimacy. For her, communication is the cornerstone of any erotic or emotional connection. It’s not just about what we do, but how we speak, listen, and co-create safety.This episode invites listeners to meet themselves at the edge—where curiosity becomes courage, and healing begins with truth.How to reach Carmen Ely and Play with Me.ZAhttps://www.instagram.com/playwithmeza/https://playwithme.co.za/?srsltid=AfmBOoqRVpFGdlsoO0YkrKHaoZKaxi0I7T2e39JpHJux2ZnLADyEsKgB

Lynda Williams founded the Evolved Woman Program—a 12-week coaching journey designed to help professional women reconnect with their feminine energy, build emotional resilience, and create soul-aligned lives. She works with emotional and energetic alignment, clearing subconscious blocks like imposter syndrome and burnout, reclaiming self-worth and alignment that goes beyond external definitions of success. Lynda's journey resonated with my own and her personal message touched me. "Your podcast always sparks honest conversations about modern womanhood, and I truly admire your approach to these nuanced topics. I thought about reaching out, as my own path might resonate with your listeners. From losing my dad to suicide at 18, to pushing through divorce and two intense burnouts running a million dollar PR agency, I've experienced firsthand the pressures ambitious women face behind their polished exteriors.What ultimately changed my life was creating the Evolved Woman Method, after my own setbacks with love and relationships. I walked away from a successful business to focus on helping high-achieving women find love and fulfillment—as I did myself—without having to dial down their ambition. Today, my coaching program is sought after by accomplished women worldwide and guides them through overcoming patterns that keep them from real connection.Lynda"Lynda Williams, Founder, Life & Business CoachLynda Williams Group LtdFounder of The Evolved Woman ProgramPodcast Host: PS I Love Me

The perfect way to close out Women's month in South Africa. Today’s guest is someone whose presence arrived not through algorithms or marketing funnels, but through resonance. Nancy Griffin, founder of Women Worth Wellness, reached out to me via email—unsolicited, unexpected, and at first, I’ll admit, a little suspicious. I’ve had my fair share of strange requests lately, so I asked for a Zoom meet and did what any discerning woman would do: I checked her LinkedIn. What I found was a woman whose work deeply aligns with mine—uplifting communities, integrating emotional intelligence into financial empowerment, and redefining wealth as something far more expansive than numbers on a spreadsheet.Nancy is a Certified Financial Planner, a legacy architect, and a fierce advocate for women reclaiming their worth—emotionally, financially, and spiritually. She’s worked with Boomer women, their daughters, and now their granddaughters, helping them design lives and legacies rooted in wellness and wisdom. In today’s conversation, we explore the sacred dance between self-worth and net worth, the emotional terrain of money, and how giving back becomes a pathway to wholeness.

Shahd Alasaly is a living dedication and prayer for healing community through collective resonance and recovery. Her team, namely Katie, found Dopamine Dialogues and wrote this email to me... which is why we now have this episode. Thank you Katie for introducing us. "Hi Sarika, The stories stitched into every garment can sometimes say more than words, and no one embodies that philosophy better than Shahd Alasaly. With a rich background as an author, educator, and sociologist at the University of South Florida, Shahd’s work bridges research, fashion, and human resilience. She focuses on trauma, displacement, betrayal, and collective healing, especially within collectivist communities, an angle that brings fresh depth to conversations about belonging and transformation. As founder and creative director of Blue Meets Blue, Shahd launched a humanitarian label in Chicago in 2015, dedicated to empowering refugee artisans through luxury, modest fashion collections deeply rooted in healing and cultural preservation. Now in Tampa, she is relaunching with a sharp focus on Syrian brocade, traditional embroidery, and building meaningful employment for refugees in the U.S. Her recent journey to Syria, where she partnered with local textile artisans rebuilding after war, gives her firsthand insight into cultural survival and hope. Every Blue Meets Blue piece tells the story of survival, dignity, and craft, a powerful lens for your Dopamine Dialogues listeners exploring memory, collective recovery, and creativity as a force for justice. Beyond fashion, Shahd is the author of A Kids Book About Humanitarianism and is developing a children’s series on the refugee experience. Her commitment to ethical sourcing, sustainability, and storytelling creates a rare blend: someone who truly lives the connection between creative expression and empowerment. Would love for you to consider Shahd as a future guest. Best, BMB TeamThis episode is a call to soften, to witness, and to lead from the heart. It’s for anyone who believes that healing is communal, that leadership is energetic, and that love is the most radical strategy of all.And of course, I got emotional. I ugly cry when I am deeply humbled. LoveSarika

In this raw and soulful conversation, I sit with sacred intimacy coach Tamara Carter, to explore the sacred power of the yoni—our portal of creation, pleasure, and emotional truth. With courage and compassion, Tamara shares her journey of healing from sexual abuse, shining light on how deep-rooted shame can fracture our connection to sensuality and self-worth.Together we unpack how both women and men reject their yoni energy, and what that means for living fully, feeling safe in our bodies, feeling safe in creating and experiencing the joy of orgasmic life force. There are a few emotional moments where I share vulnerably about my miscarriages, my own shame around sexual intimacy and the emotional threads of unworthiness tied to the sacral centre. We are inviting listeners into a space of remembrance and radical healing.We also explore how energetic disconnection often begins in the emotional and etheric body—manifesting physically in ways that disconnect us from our birthright of creation and pleasure. The conversation moves through grief, reverence, and transformation, ultimately asking: What would it take to truly heal the yoni?💫 This episode wasn’t planned—but it arrived divinely aligned with August, Women’s Month. A time to remember, reclaim, and rise. May you listen gently, reflect deeply, and if you feel called, reach out to Tamara for intimacy coaching or sacred support.www.sacredintimacysecrets.com

Calling all entrepreneurs and brave souls. This episode is a love letter to those building slowly, with care. I am joined by Tina, a powerhouse of note—entrepreneur, counsellor, and creative force—for a conversation that pulses with authenticity, ritual, and renewal. Tina shares her journey of building a business that’s woven from healing work, lifelong learning, and a fierce devotion to showing up fully—as herself, for herself, and with others.From sacred morning coffees that anchor her day, to village-style, person-to-person connections, and her delectable homemade toasted baked sandwiches that nourish more than just the body—Tina invites us into a world where entrepreneurship becomes a sacred, sensory, and relational experience. Her energetic presence radiates freedom held within form, balancing soul and structure with grace.

If you're thinking of pursuing a life in the arts and what this means as a career....Prof. David Andrew shares his thoughts on the necessity of creativity in today's world, the evolving nature of artistry and the importance of embracing artistic sensibilities, even in non artistic professions.David reflects on the shifting definition of art in the next 5 to 10 years, exploring his concept of "creative citizenry", a future where artistic thinking integrates into society in ways we haven't fully realized yet.Through real world stories, including former students and where they are today...David illustrates how an education in fine arts is foundational in building critical thinking and creativity and how this can enrich the world today.

Im this episode we continue exploring the profound depths of emotional courage in artistry and expression - how confronting truth within oneself creates work that resonates deeply with others. Prof. David Andrew shares his philosophy on honesty in art, encouraging his students to bring their full, unfiltered selves to their creative process.Prof reflects on how Ishkar did this with intensity, an emotional rawness most shy away from. His work and his life was fearless in its honesty, diving into the deepest wells of feeling without hesitation. This conversation is about what happens when artists truly embrace their vulnerability, when expression becomes more than aesthetics , it becomes a testament to the self.

My brother, Ishkar Richard, 13 years younger than I was one of Prof. David's students. He passed by suicide on August 1st, 2014, just after graduating with a degree in Fine Arts and 2 years after ny brother Bivash Richard passed in the same way. You will notice thay I dont use the phrase "committed suicide" because mental health is just as important as physical and emotional health and is not a crime. We don't say committed a heart attack or a stroke. Ishkar Richard is one of my role models (not past tense). For his whole 23 Earth years, he embodied raw authenticity, truth and deep emotional courage...something I am only just learning. David shares what Ishkar and his artistry meant for him, reflecting on his presence, his depth and his impact. We talk about his exhibition "Mindfuck" just after Bivash died, and the impact that had on Prof. and everyone who stood witness to it. This conversation was deeply triggering and emotional for me and Prof. and you will notice many pauses in the recording. I have intentionally not edited them out because silence is as important in communication as words are. It is a space where words go to rest, where presence and emotion hold the space. In silence, the most profound Truths are spoken.I apologise, you will hear a few seconds of audio where i was adjusting the mic...i should have paused.. still learning but I chose to keep it in as part of the imperfection in showing up ...

Prof. David describes how when an artwork keeps coming back and he is not even aware of the title, its like reuniting with an old friend. The artistry never gets old whenever you look at it and from whatever angle. He explains, from his perspective, how being honest about your work shows up, and evokes emotion and inspiration in others. If and when you are authentic in your expression and willing to do the work, therein lies the masterpiece and the world feels that.

Prof. David explains who his favourite artists are and why they intrigue him...including Pablo Picasso...

I love that the conclusion to this episode was that organic art is timeless. David shares his insights on how the artistic and educational landscape is shifting with the rise of AI. Rather than resisting change, he embraces the idea that in 5 to 10 years, artists will integrate AI tools into their individual expression in ways we can't yet fully imagine. We explore the conversation between technology and creativity...how AI is not replacing Artistry but expanding the possibilities of human imagination. Digital and organic creation CAN co-exist responsibly. The concept of an evolving canvas is both transformational and curious.

I am very honoured to publish this series of episodes with David Andrew, Associate Professor of Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Arts (South Africa).In this first episode Prof. David reflects on the profound influences that shaped his path -his childhood, parents, various mentors and role models. Prof. talks about the role of art in his life's meaning, social justice and accessibility. These experiences shaped his commitment to making art education inclusive for all. His transition into teaching would serve as a key moment in his life where art as a bridge between personal identity and societal change guided his path into fine arts education. We explore how life itself unfolds like a masterpiece, guided by synchronicites that weave meaning into our jpurney.As we recorded, Magic, my cat made his presence known-a deeply resonant sign. David recently lost his beloved cat Foundy and we both felt that in Magics playful noises, Foundy's spirit was with us. Yet another reminder that art, just as life, holds space for connection, presence and the unseen thread that binds us all.

This episode had no topic. I wanted the conversation to just flow with women and Souls that I deeply Trust in my vulnerability. Life is a messy business that we are all trying to navigate and in the mess we find our peace, our purpose and our Divine medicine. What medicine do you have to offer the world?Sending with love ❤️ please share your comments, views, experiences#trust #vulnerability #purpose #mess

The last episode in our series talking about Healing the Masculine wound in each of us. It Starts and It Ends with us. We are the reason that we are here. Finding that wholeness in ourselves is one of the most beautiful things that we can experience. We can heal the world one person at a time, one conversation at a time, one realisation at a time, as we continuously evolve. Thank you for listening! Please share your thoughts, feelings, comments with us. Sarika

In this episode we touch on the feminine wound in men that can begin in childhood and how this shapes the way that they are able to express themselves and penetrate their world. We further explore how the denial of the masculine in the mother can affect how we allow our sons to experience what true feminine energy feels and looks like. To be able to embrace that his energy is what sparks creation. By embracing the masculine, we step wholly into being the feminine receptacle and holding space for and amplifying creation. "There is no more fight"Tamara and I talk about the deep surrender required in trusting that we are always being held and that we are safe. We are whole already and the sheer potential that rises from this sense of trust.

This World is full of Kings, we just havent been ready for them. Masculine energy is the seed, the energy that penetrates the world. The Feminine energy is what is meant to amplify and grow this seed into life and creation. When women are unable to receive love and surrender into that, the masculine force and seed has nowhere to go, it is blocked and therefore a deep sense of purpose and placement in the world is lost.For all creation, we need a healthy acceptance of both and of each other. In this episode we explore the natural creator and beast in the man, how the feminine denies the man this role by rejecting her own masculine, the good girl syndrome and my funny dating experiences. Hope you enjoy and please share your thoughts in the comments.

The impact of denying masculine energy on self-integration for women

An introduction to Dopamine Dialogues, who I am and our very first guided podcast topic