This Tamil podcast by an Erode girl is among the top-rated mental health shows in India
In 2019, when she began to podcast, Poonguzhali Sundaram just wanted to talk about how small lifestyle changes can improve one's mental well-being. At that point, she says, there weren't many popular podcasts in regional languages and she knew there weren't any focusing on mental and emotional well-being and self-development. And she just wanted to start one in her mother tongue — Tamil. So, began her journey. Today, over 11,000 followers later, Yours Positively, is one of the top self-development and motivational podcasts across various platforms.
Poonguzhali, an engineering graduate from Kumaraguru College of Technology in Coimbatore, is definitely not a mental health professional. Nor does she claim to be an expert on clinical and chronic mental health issues. "All I want my listeners to do is to develop themselves so that their minds remain hassle-free. Some challenges can be fixed just by small changes in one's lifestyle and that is what I'm trying to do. If anyone needs medical attention, they should definitely seek it," she says.
Pic: Poonguzhali Sundaram
Choosing mental health and well-being was quite an easy choice for Poonguzhali. "I hail from Erode and in a small town like that, mental health is still a taboo subject. No one understands it is as important as physical health. Through my podcast, I also wanted to educate the people about the importance of mental health from a common person's perspective," explains Poonguzhali, adding, "People in small towns seldom would visit mental health clinics even if they feel they have a problem. I just want to help them out in whatever way I can."
While Poonguzhali is not a trained professional, she states she found immense peace in meditation, which she began in Class 9 while studying at a state government school. After completing school, this experience made her take up a 14-week course on Yoga For Human Excellence. "The course comes under the purview of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University. It is not limited to physical yoga but classes on introspection, meditation, self-awareness and anger management are also conducted," she says. It is this knowledge of self-development that prompted Poonguzhali to start the podcast.
Pic: Poonguzhali Sundaram
Yours Positively is not just popular in several parts of Tamil Nadu, but it is also quite popular abroad, especially in countries with a higher Tamil population. "According to Spotify, Yours Positively also ranks well in countries like the USA, Malaysia, Singapore and Canada," says Poonguzhali. Besides Spotify, the podcast, which has over 60 episodes, streams on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Gaana and JioSaavn.
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Over the last year and a half, Poonguzhali has spoken about topics like self-love, how to overcome self-doubt and also about the Japanese technique, Kintsugi, a method by which a broken vessel can be fixed with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, platinum or silver. "It basically shows that it is our imperfections make us perfect and that it is our imperfections that make us the person we are today. And we should love that person," she explains.
Pic: Poonguzhali Sundaram
Poonguzhali is a one-woman team — she not only records the podcast on Anchor, but she also edits and makes the creatives herself. "I have had some guests on my show - most of whom are Tamil YouTubers — to speak about their own experiences with mental health and how they overcame it," says the 23-year-old.
Yours Positively ranks in the Top 10 among mental health podcasts in India on Apple, while it is in the Top 3 motivational podcasts on Gaana. On Spotify, Poonguzhali's podcast is among the Top 100 podcasts in the country. A new episode drops every Wednesday.
