Ishan Shivanand is the founder of Yoga of Immortals. / Ishan Shivanand website

Ishan Shivanand, an Indian-origin mental health professional and the founder of Yoga of Immortals, said that the mental health problem in the United States may appear more severe due to the abundance of data. He, however, clarified that it's not that the West is suffering more or being defeated by mental health issues; rather, the West has more resources to highlight these issues. In contrast, the research on mental health in India is limited.

“If you look at India, a large population group is still rural. And the population is focused in the urban region. There's a big population exodus. And the research that has been done, it's quite limited,” he said in an interview with New India Abroad.

Shivanand explained his experience working with various institutions in India, including Karnataka’s Jayadeva Cardiology Research Institute, which has a better healthy heart clinic that also focuses on mental health research. He highlighted that research in Bengaluru was very focused but emphasized India's vast diversity.

“Each Indian state is like its own country,” he said. “We have multiple languages, various cultures, various theological understandings of the universe. We have various geographies if you go from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and if you go from the west to the east, it is so diverse that until and unless a monumental epic task is undertaken to study the psychology of the population, we will not have tangible results.”

Shivanand noted that the West likely has more resources to highlight the issues occurring, yet he believes it is insufficient. He pointed out that the South Asian population is often grouped under the broad category of Asian American Pacific Islander, a classification that encompasses a highly diverse group.

“If you look at the South Asian population, it's just clumped together as they think it's the Asian American Pacific Islander and this group is so diverse. If you look at AAPI, you are just clubbing 70 percent of the population in India, China, Indonesia, and Malaysia all into one group and this group is very different,” he added.
“You have not taken into consideration the different problems that are unique to each group,” he added.

Shivanand emphasized that research needs to be understood, and based on that study, protocols should be introduced to help with mental health problems. Addressing the question of where the crisis is more intense, he pointed out that the West has more data, although it may not be perfect. In contrast, India is still in its infancy when it comes to procuring population data, he said.

Post-Covid mental health awareness

Shivanand noted that after the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been increased awareness about mental health. “It's not like the issues magically appeared after Covid. It is just that during the time of Covid, we all had to do a collective pause. And in that pause, we became aware of our mental health,” he explained.

Shivanand observed that society previously accepted a culture of stress, where constant work and stress were considered normal. “But because of Covid, because we took that pause, it was time to then become aware of our priorities, maybe reset them, and make actionable changes so that we could get a better quality of life,” he shared.

The Indian knowledge systems

Shivanand noted that the trajectory of mental health post-Covid is concerning, with increases in anxiety, burnout, isolation, insomnia, and other mental health issues. He emphasized the importance of caring for the mind just as we care for the body.

“Thankfully, in the rich history of India, we are blessed with modalities that were created as Indian knowledge systems that are clinically and scientifically proven to help a person's mind, to help a person become peaceful, happy and healthy,” he said. “Techniques like yoga, meditation and yoga-based resilience training have been proven to help practitioners overcome any and most of the psychological predicaments that they would be going through,” he added.

Shivanand believes that educational institutions and governments need to take action rather than placing the responsibility solely on affected population groups to be industrious and overcome challenges.

“Women who are at home got affected a lot post-Covid. Students got affected a lot post-Covid. And people generally, are on a downward trajectory. So, my thought process is simple. Preparation, because prevention is better than cure,” he emphasized.

Meditation a long-term solution for mental health

Shivanand emphasizes the importance of both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical approaches to mental health. “If somebody is going through a severe mental health crisis, like suicidal tendencies, schizophrenia, then definitely we have to provide pharmaceutical intervention. But at the same time, we have to be aware of the overprescription crisis as well,” he said.

He also highlights that non-severe mental health issues, which can be managed through lifestyle modifications, should be addressed with meditation and yoga-based modalities. “They have universal application and they provide a long-term solution to the mental health crisis,” he said.

Additionally, Shivanand advocates for an integrated approach to healthcare, encompassing both physical and mental health. He believes in evaluating each case individually, providing acute pharmaceutical treatment for severe cases, and managing less severe cases through yoga and meditative modalities.

“That is the beauty of yoga-based modalities, breathwork-based modalities and meditative modalities. There are no side effects. They help us in a holistic manner. They heal us. They help our attitude towards life become better,” he said.

Shivanand observes that meditation fosters positivity and happiness without leading to addiction. Based on his 20-year career and research, he notes that modern individuals engaging in meditation primarily aim for personal well-being and societal contribution, rather than seeking self-enlightenment.

“It (meditation) could be prescriptive and preventative if we are going through an issue. But at the same time, it can also be a way of bringing quality to your life,” he added.