Some of my growing years were spent visiting ashrams in the Himalayas! Oh yes, I got there about 8 years after The Beatles made it hip. But unlike them, I was too young to understand the deeper meaning of these ashrams. The Beatles were seeking spiritual awakening after fame and fortune. I was trying to stay awake!

Back then I saw Ashrams as safe houses for those who were ‘running away from life’. And I just could not understand the strict regime the Ashramites undertook(which my family and I participated in)! Waking up early to practise their daily rituals. 4 am rise, shower, reflect, 5 am meditation, 6 am Yoga followed by their day’s service practise. Food was simple and enough to sustain the body. The days were packed full of service and there were no spare moments. Any spare moments were filled with repeating your chosen ‘mantra’.  Chanting the divine’s name.  

I could not understand why people put themselves through these gruelling practises. But fast forward to today and armed with a bit more knowledge and understanding of the sciences behind these practises I appreciate the process more. The reason (the why) behind an individual’s surrender to an ashram is their own and is wide and varied. But my focus for this article is on the process that ashrams put these individuals through.

And it is about changing the individual’s state.

This week I continue with last week’s theme of becoming more balanced by reducing the oscillations between highs and lows. It ties back to the practises I observed in the ashrams growing up but interpreted through the lens of neuroscience.

At a recent programme I attended, the definition of coaching presence caught my attention: ‘coaching presence is when your state can become your trait.’

State (way of being): a reflection of you (think, say, do) based on what’s going on for you internally in that moment, mentally and physically.

Trait: a distinguishing characteristic of a person.

It was an aha moment for me. Though the statement referred to coaching presence, my brain tried to extrapolate it to other contexts. Where else would this be relevant? Everywhere I thought. Was this not what the ashramites were striving for, a higher, awakened state that would become their trait? In leadership, isn’t this what leaders with great executive presence exude? A trait based on a highly developed state.

Think of a leader or person you admire. Chances are they have a strong executive presence.

And the process of making your state your trait is via your daily practises/rituals AND your emotions and moods.  

Our forefathers recognised the need for daily practises many millennia ago. But they expressed it as a road to spiritual awakening which is a change of state. This included fasting. My ancient Hindu forefathers knew the healing benefits of fasting long before modern-day benefits of intermittent fasting were proven. But their aim, with fasting, was spiritual awakening through the body. Intermittent fasting is a change of state through the healing of the body.

And neuroscience has now proven that the brain changes through our daily practises.

For example, neuroscientists, equipped with fMRI imaging tools, confirm that the repetitive chanting of mantras benefits the brain by helping clear the mind and calm the nervous system. Mantras can also help lower blood pressure and increase overall well-being and health.

Practising gratitude (an emotion) has similar benefits. When we express gratitude and receive the same, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin, the two crucial neurotransmitters responsible for our emotions, and they make us feel ‘good’. They enhance our mood immediately, making us feel happy from the inside. People who consciously practised gratitude showed greater neural sensitivity in the medial prefrontal cortex, a brain area associated with learning and decision-making. The study also suggests that people who are more grateful are also more attentive to how they express gratitude.

Our forefathers knew the science behind these practises long before the fMRI machines were invented. They sensed the need for and benefits of calming the body and mind to rise to an ‘awakened’ state. Which I interpret as an enhanced state/presence and executive presence in the modern day. Achieved only through our chosen daily practises/rituals, emotions, and moods!

What are your daily practises/ritual and your go-to emotions and moods to enhance your state?

As always, you can reach me at yoga@yoganesadurai.com