Born into a family of successful bankers, Prakriti Poddar was expected to follow in their footsteps. But destiny had other plans. What began as a conventional career soon transformed into a lifelong mission to heal minds and nurture emotional well-being across India.
Influenced deeply by her grandmother, a faith healer, Prakriti discovered early on that true fulfillment lies in helping others find peace within themselves. After working in Canada with TUCOWS and volunteering with the Salvation Army, she began to see the profound impact of guided meditation and emotional healing on people’s lives.
Though she once worked as a banker, her heart was set on a different calling to understand the human mind and transform how India perceives mental health.
In 2000, she founded Mind Over Image Consulting, offering corporate counselling, life coaching, and soft skill training to help professionals navigate stress and build mental resilience. But this was only the beginning of her journey.
By 2014, Prakriti took over as the Managing Trustee of the Poddar Foundation, part of the family’s legacy. Determined to break barriers around mental health, she shifted the focus to grassroots awareness—reaching communities where conversations about mental wellness were often silenced by stigma or superstition.
“In rural India, mental health issues are often misunderstood and neglected,” Prakriti says.
“We wanted to replace fear and myths with awareness and compassion.”
Through innovative initiatives like Silence Todo, the foundation is breaking taboos and encouraging open dialogue on mental well-being. With programs reaching over 60,000 people in Maharashtra, the foundation trains teachers, social workers, anganwadi workers, and medical officers to recognize and respond to mental health concerns early.
Their pilot project, Prakalp Prerna, launched in partnership with the Maharashtra Health Ministry, empowers medical officers to take mental health education to the most remote villages ensuring that awareness travels as far as hope.
Championing Women’s Mental Health
Prakriti is especially passionate about addressing mental health challenges among women and young girls.
She highlights how biological, social, and economic pressures uniquely impact women’s emotional well-being from postpartum depression and hormonal imbalances to societal expectations and lack of decision-making power.
“Empowerment starts with the mind. When a woman is emotionally strong, she becomes unstoppable,” she believes.
Mindfulness as a Daily Practice
Prakriti advocates mindfulness as a simple yet transformative habit for better mental health.
“Often, we suffer because we dwell on the past or worry about the future,” she says.
“Mindfulness brings us back to the present it teaches us to live, breathe, and be aware in the moment.”
She also encourages small, consistent acts of self-care: open conversations with friends, time away from screens, and practices like yoga, deep breathing, or walking.
For Prakriti, healing is not just about therapy it’s about creating a culture of empathy, awareness, and collective care.
Inspiring Change, One Mind at a Time
Today, Prakriti Poddar continues to inspire a generation of changemakers who see mental health as the foundation of a healthy society.
Her journey is a reminder that purpose often lies beyond expectations and when we choose compassion over convention, we not only transform ourselves but the world around us.
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