The East

Self healing and personal advancement through a healthy and balanced nervous system is nothing new. For two millennia it has stood at the core of Buddhist and Yogic practice. Meditation (meaning ‘familiarisation’ in Tibetan), massage, applied yoga, breath work, nutrition, all tried and true methods to rebalance the body and mind.

Before we dreamed up MRI scanners and computers, we used the power of our own minds to research the depths of our nature. We used what amounts to an ‘inner science’, a systematic method for transforming our inner world to create a better human being – more compassionate, selfless, with greater calmness and equanimity, bringing us to the intrinsic core that defines us as a particular person. Many approaches became religious institutions, stalling development, though the Yogas (‘to yoke’ the mind) stayed diverse and remained in continuous development for at least four thousand years – right up to the present day.

Yogis forge neural links with deep inner systems normally behind conscious awareness. Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity grow these subtle perceptions into inner senses. Martial artists streamline not only their inner balance and control but also sense perception – to the degree that masters can see, react, and return a strike in less time than most of our brains take to even finish seeing it.

Buddhist monks train for mental balance, flexibility, emotional equanimity and inner harmony. These qualities define a master of the mind. The insights of these masters, long dismissed as unworthy of consideration, are now proving to be in the forefront of cognitive neuroscience, and are stretching our assumptions about human capability and the nature of those abilities.

No matter our opinion of pre-technological approaches, in mental technique and ability these traditional adepts are miles ahead of the rest of us. Not only did these masters uncover the wiring and harmonic nature of the central nervous system, the levels of mind and brainwave states, but they devised systematic methods for transforming the inner world to produce equilibrium in the brain. Having trained in these techniques, we draw from this knowledge to help you achieve balance.

In these traditions, one must balance the main channels (sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems) before moving forward in a stable way. The first step to a finely-tuned mind is to calm the busy static and stop destructive habits – the base of any self-improvement or spiritual practice, and the primary goal of what we do. We teach the mind to stay in a constructive range – contentment instead of craving, calm rather than agitation, compassion instead of hatred.

The advantage of integrating modern neuroscience with the eastern traditions is that what used to take years to achieve can now be accomplished in months, with virtually no effort. We do this by exercising your own tendency towards balance. In our inner world, we experience this draw towards balance as our seeking ‘contentment’ or ‘happiness’.

See video ‘Yoga, Buddhism, and Neuroscience’ here.