Wellbeing Wisdom From India: An Interview with Dr. Mala Kapadia on Intergenerational Trauma and Ecological Belonging Wellbeing Wisdom From India: An Interview with Dr. Mala Kapadia on Intergenerational Trauma and Ecological Belonging
A CONVERSATION WITH:
Dr. Mala Kapadia
Director, Anaadi Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Anaadi Foundation
🌍 Tamil Nadu, India
What can traditional Indian Knowledge Systems teach the world about wellbeing?
Dr. Mala Kapadia, director of the Anaadi Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems at the Anaadi Foundation, shares knowledge and practices from the Indian sciences of Ayurveda, Yoga, Aesthetics, and Poetry, around Ecological Belonging and intergenerational trauma.
Watch the full video for her teachings, or read the highlights below.
“In India, I realized that the ideal could be that India becomes the voice for humanity — where you see the vibrancy of people practicing Ayurveda, practicing Yoga, living their civilizational, cultural values, which is slowly happening post-pandemic. It is slowly happening.”
WHAT ARE THE SCIENCES OF AYURVEDA AND YOGA AND HOW DO THEY RELATE TO WELLBEING?
Ayurveda, as they describe it, is a manual of life skills. It’s not just a medicinal system. It’s Veda- knowledge of ayu. Ayu is life. Ayurveda actually describes Life, and the beauty of Ayurveda is that it is for everyone. It’s not only for Indian people. It’s not for the people from a certain region, but the Sages talked about humanity at large. They say that our life has purpose and meaningfulness and to achieve that, there are paths, right?
The path begins with dharma, a Sanskrit word coming from the etymology Dharayati Iti Dharma. Meaning, anything that sustains you, holds you together, is dharma. I feel it’s a beautiful way to look at our life. It’s only psychology that has taken more than 200 years to reach positive psychology where Martin Seligman and others are talking about meaningfulness. And here there are sages many, many millennia ago who wrote about how life has to be meaningful for us to be healthy and happy. They describe life as Hita, beneficial to self and others, because they always saw life as a continuum: we and the Cosmos, we and everyone else, are interconnected. And only when we are leading a life which is interconnected and integral, can we be happy. And happiness is, not the pursuit of happiness that we understand today in a modern language, but it’s all about the State of Being. With the wellbeing crises that we see today, I realize that Ayurveda beautifully connects the wellbeing of the planet and wellbeing of an individual.
With the wellbeing crises that we see today, I realize that Ayurveda beautifully connects the wellbeing of the planet and wellbeing of an individual.
WHAT DO AYURVEDA, YOGA AND OTHER INDIAN SCIENCES TELL US ABOUT NEUROSCIENCE, EMOTIONS, AND HEALING?
What Yoga, Ayurveda, and the science of Aesthetics are talking about is being rediscovered and not just rediscovered, it’s being validated scientifically by some modern theorists. Today a lot of scientists talk of neurotransmitters, et cetera, but they look at only the brain. If you revisit our biology or anatomy from a Yogic perspective, our physical body that can be seen and studied or x-rayed is one reality, but we are also energy sheets.
So we are still stuck learning biology and anatomy from a Newtonian or Cartesian perspective dividing body and mind. But what is mind? People are still struggling to understand it. While in Ayurveda and Yoga, the body-mind continuum is very beautifully described. We have seven chakras, the major chakras, and many minor chakras. And I’m glad today chakra, like mantra and dharma, is a word in Western vocabulary as well. These are what Georgetown University neuroscientist Candace Pert talks about nodal points of neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters on those nodal points of the chakras are either blocked or they are open. So when they are blocked, naturally the energy flow is restricted and therefore the energy or Prana does not reach those organs which are connected with those nodal points. She was one of the, I think, first Western scientists to say that body and mind is a continuum.
HOW CAN THIS KNOWLEDGE HELP US WITH HEALING FROM TRAUMA?
So when I go back to Yoga and Ayurveda as ancient sciences as I said, “If we all are integrated, we all are connected, then my energy and the world’s energy is somewhere merging together, right?” Energy, we all know, cannot be created or destroyed. It needs to be transformed. So when we look at trauma, trauma is an energy block as I see it personally. If it’s a blocked energy, then which chakra is it impacting? Is it impacting your security? Is it impacting your relationships? Is it about your power or victimhood? Is it about your heart experiencing gratitude or is it about your heart experiencing a closed xenophobic existence where you switch on to a survivalistic mode? This is what scientifically people talk about trauma and the response to trauma as fight, flight, or freeze. But that fight, flight, freeze is not just limited to the brain. It travels all over the body. So, if my mind is in every cell of my body, then my trauma response is also coming from every cell in my body. It’s not only a cognitive skill.
This is where Yoga and Ayurveda come into play because they have a lot of practices which can help you dissolve these traumatic emotional imprints without wanting to bring them up to the brain, which is not able to cope.
And they can be dissolved with a lot of Ayurvedic treatments, Ayurvedic lifestyle guidance meditations and Yogic lifestyle. And when I say Yoga, it’s not just exercise or breathing exercises or physical postures. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, one of the oldest texts of Yoga talks of Yama and Niyama, which are the behavioural codes at the individual level and collective level. So unless we practice them, doing breathing exercises and doing postures will not give us results.
DO INDIAN SCIENCES TELL US HOW INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA AND ECOLOGICAL BELONGING ARE CONNECTED?
In all ancient indigenous cultures, I found one thing common is, apart from being connected with nature, they’re also connected with their ancestors. Our history, our ancestors, are living within us, not just genetically, but psychologically and spiritually. Ancestor healing is a major ritual in most of the indigenous cultures, including India. In India, we have birth charts. The moment you are born, depending on the time of the birth, a birth chart for every child is created. Most of the birth charts have a problem with ancestors. It’s called Pitru Dosha. Pitru are ancestors and Dosha is some problem. Now, obviously, we really don’t know what our ancestors were going through, right? Beyond a certain generation, we don’t even know our ancestors. And we don’t even know what their life was. We don’t even know what trauma they went through. But whatever their trauma, we have inherited it and the trauma of Mother Earth. That’s also an ancestral trauma. There are a lot of rituals connected with the five elements – the element of sky or ether or Akaash; the element of air or Vayu; Fire; Water; and Earth – because many ancient indigenous cultures believe that the entire universe and our body all are made up of these five elements.
WHAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF AN INDIAN PRACTICE ONE CAN DO TO WORK ON INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE HEALING?
One ritual we have is ending all the prayers with saying, “Shanti hi, Shanti hi, Shanti hi.” Shanti means peace. Why do all prayers end with saying peace three times? Just one time could have been enough. The three “peace” is invoking peace at three levels: one, individual, me and myself; two, collective, which is the community around me, society, Nature around me, my nation; and three, the global level and Universal level.
Today, when there are wars happening, when there is so much destruction happening, when there is so much human suffering, working on peace and giving it priority is very important. I realized that, unfortunately, most of the Western researchers define peace as an absence of war or conflict. Peace is not seen as a positive construct in itself, which is there in India. In Indian literature, in Indian philosophy, peace is a positive construct. Health is a positive construct. Health is not as opposed to disease and peace is not opposed to war or conflict. So, if peace is a construct in itself, how do you arrive at it? How do you actually start experiencing peace from within? And chanting mantras, chanting simple Om, is one way.
Why do all prayers end with saying peace three times? The three “peace” is invoking peace at three levels: one, individual; two, collective ; and three, the global level and universal level.
YOU’RE DESCRIBING HOW MODERN SCIENCES ARE “VALIDATING” TRADITIONAL SCIENCES. DOES THIS MEAN THEY ARE THE SAME?
We talk of ancient or indigenous wisdom at one level and modern at another. And a lot of people have this misconception that ancient is outdated and modern is more scientific, or modern is the complete know-how. Unfortunately – or fortunately – we realize that what is ancient is being rediscovered by many modern theorists. So we as humanity, we just have to take a U-turn and go back to our own cultural roots, civilizational roots. I realize that most of the indigenous cultures, they were connected and rooted in nNature. I’ve been to Hawai’i. I’ve met some of the Kahunas, the wisdom holders. And one of the Kahuna, I still remember, she held my hands and she said, “You are one of us.” I realized that she felt that and I felt that because of the Mother Earth. We could have lived in different lifetimes. We could have lived in different geographical locations, but ultimately, it’s all One.
I’ve been to Hawai’i. I’ve met some of the kahunas, the wisdom holders. And one of the Kahuna, I still remember, she held my hands and she said, “You are one of us.” I realized that she felt that and I felt that because of the Mother Earth.
IN FACING OUR 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES, WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK SPIRITUALITY AND THIS ANCIENT WISDOM CAN PLAY IN THE SOLUTIONS?
The industrial revolution has uprooted people from nature. Nature has become a resource to be used and exploited. People became a resource that needs to be used and exploited and we didn’t realize that we ourselves became this resource. This trauma needs to be addressed because today, corporates have to wake up to the spiritual aspect, which is not a philosophical aspect, it is a practical aspect. Most of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are far away from being met.
When we are spending so much money on sustainability goals, climate change, et cetera, what we don’t realize is, we just need to bring back that foundation of spirituality, Dharma, in everything we do. And the moment that foundation comes back, everything will fall into place. Right now, we have lost the bigger picture. We are all struggling with pieces of puzzles, trying to fit them here and there. But spirituality is like a bigger picture, and without looking at that bigger picture, we are not able to fit in those pieces of the puzzles.
About Mala
Dr. Mala Kapadia is a highly accomplished scholar and practitioner with a distinguished career spanning research, education, journalism, human resources, and consulting. She is a passionate advocate for integrating ancient Indian wisdom with modern approaches to wellbeing, leadership, and organizational development. Dr. Kapadia is currently the Director of Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, at the Anaadi Foundation and the Principal Investigator for a Ministry of Education (India) Indian Knowledge Systems Research Project on Wellbeing and Happiness based on Ayurveda. Mala is also a Guru participating in Grateful to Gurus, an initiative by Indica Academy, in which she inspire young minds in ancient wisdom. She is also a member of the Advisory Council of Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems at Chanakya University, Bengaluru, India.
About the Anaadi Foundation
Anaadi Foundation is a spiritual organisation founded in 2015 and located near Palani in Tamil Nadu, India. With key focal areas on Education, Culture, Wellbeing and Sustainability, the Anaadi Foundation focuses on imparting Indian Knowledge Systems through various initiatives including Dharma Gurukulam, IKS-funded projects, publication of books, and training programs. The Anaadi Foundation provides various programs aimed at physical, emotional, and cognitive stability. These include the Mouna Sadhana program, which integrates asana, pranayama, dharana, dhyana, and Bhagavad Gita sessions. The foundation actively engages in sharing and preserving the depth of Indian culture, sciences, and values.
Want to know more about trauma and its impacts?
Watch the first virtual convening in our webinar series hosted by The Wellbeing Project and the Collective Change Lab. You can also visit our new hub for research and stories on intergenerational trauma. Together, we explore how we can move from trauma-informed to healing-centered ways of working for systemic change.
Discover the Wellbeing Movement in IndiaDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in India
Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in India.
Welcome to the Good Feeling House: Home to Peer-to-Peer Youth Mental HealthcareWelcome to the Good Feeling House: Home to Peer-to-Peer Youth Mental Healthcare
INTERVIEW WITH:
Thieu Scheys
“Conflixer” student volunteer at the Goed Gevoel Huisje (The Good Feeling House)
🌍 De Prins Secondary School, Diest, Belgium
In 2022, a passionate 17-year-old student, Noor Van Reet, won a grant to construct a small house on her school campus where peers could counsel and support each other about mental health.
Today, the Goed Gevoel Huisje (or “The Good Feeling House”) welcomes students of all ages at the De Prins Secondary School to join their peers for a moment of calm, connection, and creativity throughout the school day. Students are trained as “Conflixers” by mental health professionals from the Flemish School Association (VSK) on how to provide age-appropriate peer support in an inviting and welcoming space. Seventeen-year-old volunteer Thieu Scheys joined the Peer-to-Peer Wellbeing Practices Forum at The Wellbeing Summit Brussels to share with changemakers the youth perspective on mental health and community wellbeing. Here’s his point of view.
What is the Goed Gevoel Huisje ?
The Goed Gevoel Huisje (the “Good Feeling House”) is a wooden house built on the playground of our school where students can come talk about their problems with other students. They can also come to hang out, play board games, and read books. We also plan other activities in the house outside of school. It’s a very cozy and fun place.
How does it work?
People can walk in to hang out or start talking to us, or they can send us a message beforehand about what they may want to talk about. We received training about how to talk to kids about their feelings and how to listen to them. We also give everyone the option to sit in different places at school to talk, because the house is on our playground where everyone can see, and maybe they want to talk in a private space.
How did the Goed Gevoel Huisje start?
It started with a student named Noor. When she was little, she was in the hospital for a while and couldn’t go to school. She realized how hard it was to be alone and have no other students or friends around to talk about her feelings. So she had the idea for the Good Feeling House and won a competition in Europe with the idea, which gave her a budget. Our school agreed to build the house on the playground and the company Wood-You built it based on our designs.
Why do you think the Goed Gevoel Huisje is important for your school?
Some people have good home environments where they can talk about their feelings but some people don’t, so it’s nice for kids to have a place at school where they can talk about their feelings with other students. It can also be really hard for kids to talk to adults about what’s going on because of the age difference. The volunteers are in the fifth year of school and we’re mostly focused on inviting students from the first and second grade to join. It’s easier to talk to someone when they are closer in age to you.
How can kids support each other with their mental health?
I think kids can support each other by listening to someone else, but also saying if they have a problem. If you can give an example, and other people feel that it’s possible to share their feelings, then it becomes something that just becomes so normal to talk about. It becomes an open conversation. In society, I don’t think it’s very normal and it would be really good to get rid of this stigma.
The Flemish School Association (VSK) equips students to serve as peer supporters with conversational skills for talking about mental health and resolving conflict. Conflixers also learn about topics like bullying, harassment, mental health first aid, hate speech, bias, and more.
“It is often small things that affect the atmosphere or wellbeing of students at school. The Conflixers are doing something about it!
Conflixers are students who support other students at their own school where necessary. It can take different forms, but one thing is certain:
students will get it done.“
What have you learned since being involved with the Goed Gevoel Huisje?
We all had training about how to talk to each other about our feelings and mental health. It was really interesting because I learned that when we communicate, we often put our perspective on the other person. The main thing we can do to help each other is listen, not look at ourselves, and maybe not offer them a solution — just listen to the other person. It’s also important to take the time to care for ourselves and sometimes say no to other people. Sometimes, saying no to other people and thinking a little bit about yourself will mean that you can give more to other people eventually.
I’ve also learned how fun it is to be involved in a project. It’s very nice to work with other people, do activities, and do nice things for other people.
What is wellbeing to you?
I think wellbeing is feeling good in your skin, having the chance to do what you like, be who you are, and just feel good in general. I think other kids would agree with me that it’s about feeling good and happy in general, without too many bumps on the road.
What do adults not understand about young people’s mental health?
I think most adults are doing a good job helping young people express their feelings. Teachers, for example, do a lot for us. But I think they don’t understand that it can be very hard to go to someone who is a lot older than you. That can be a really big step, so we’re trying to make that step smaller so students will be quicker to act when something is wrong.
What do you need from adults to see the change you want in the world — to make it easier for kids to talk about their mental health?
I think adults need to be more open about how they feel. With kids, they may not want to share how they are feeling. But I think that if they start sharing from a young age, like if they are tired or not having a good day, then it will be easier for the young kids to share the same when they are older.
What advice do you have for other youth who want to do something positive in their community?
Spread the word about your project and just have fun! Make a good impression on the world and hopefully start to make it a better place. There are a lot of different little projects in the world and eventually, the world will become a much better place.
If someone wanted to start a Feeling Good House at their school, what would you tell them?
All schools are different and all people are different so just see what works for you. Do whatever you want and fun!
Discover the Wellbeing Movement in EuropeDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Europe
Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in Europe.
Building a Brighter Future for The Gambia, Africa, and Beyond Building a Brighter Future for The Gambia, Africa, and Beyond
Stories from the Hearth
Guest post by:
Dr. Margor A. Green-Harris, MD
Medical Officer, Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital
🌍 Banjul, The Gambia
Once upon a time, in the heart of Sengeal “Rew Taranga” a diverse group of changemakers gathered for The Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès —a transformative event that promised to reshape the future of the continent. Among them was I, a passionate advocate for social and behavioral change and holistic wellbeing.
As the Summit unfolded, I immersed myself in a rich tapestry of workshops, discussions, and cultural exchanges. I eagerly participated in sessions on yoga and mindfulness, recognizing their potential to enhance my wellbeing and activism.
During a panel discussion on “The Africa We Want,” I experienced a profound shift in perspective. Inspired by the vision of a continent united in peace and prosperity, I realized the power of collective action to bring about meaningful change.
However, I also became more aware of the challenges facing grassroots movements and community initiatives. Too often, well-intentioned projects were sometimes derailed by external interests and agendas, leaving local communities disenfranchised.
Determined to make a difference, I resolved to prioritize the voices and needs of my fellow activists and volunteers. I refused to let external sponsors dictate the direction of our work, advocating for autonomy and integrity in all our endeavors.
As The Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès drew to a close, I felt a renewed sense of purpose and possibility. Armed with new insights and connections, I returned to my community with a commitment to holistic wellbeing, grassroots activism, and the Africa we all wanted to see.
And so, inspired by the spirit of unity and determination I had witnessed at the Summit, I continued my journey, knowing that together, we could build a brighter future for The Gambia, Africa and beyond.
EXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHEREXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHER
Dive Into Stories From Around the World
Discover the Wellbeing Movement in AfricaDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Africa
Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in Africa.
Strengthening Community Resilience in Kuwait with Storytelling Strengthening Community Resilience in Kuwait with Storytelling
Insights from en.v’s Eleanor Burton and Mohammed Marafi
With a vision of a united, compassionate and resilient society, a small organisation is making a big impact on collective wellbeing across the Gulf states.
en.v facilitates positive social transformation within Kuwaiti society with an integral focus on empowering Kuwait’s migrant population – as well as youth and other traditionally silenced communities – through storytelling. Recognised by the International Labour Organization (ILO) for its impactful work supporting the human rights of migrant workers, en.v practices community-building through socially responsible ways. We talked with Eleanor Burton, en.v’s training and relationship manager, and Mohammed Marafi, en.v’s programs manager, about their use of storytelling as a tool for social transformation. Here’s how they do it.
Storytelling to Build Trust, New Narratives, and Healing Bridges
As an organisation committed to the collective wellbeing of communities in Kuwait, an integral focus for en.v is on the country’s migrant population, whose wellbeing is significantly impacted by the grave consequences they often face working under the Gulf labour market’s kafala system. Broken trust, mistreatment, and abuse are common, as are trauma and mental health struggles. Beyond legal frameworks, cultural attitudes in Kuwait have helped normalise the effects of the kafala system: with certain long-held beliefs about migrant workers and commonplace employment practices, de-facto segregation and a deeply ingrained power balance are the norm.
While important efforts are in motion to update migrant worker schemes in the Gulf and protect migrants’ wellbeing, en.v recognises migrants themselves are missing from these conversations. In response en.v passes the mic to the migrant community in Kuwait to support systemic change from the ground up. Working with employers of migrant workers and the migrant community, it offers spaces for both groups to meet and begin to build healing bridges. The process is complex, but it is working, and its Global Migrant Workers Network (GMWN), Compassionate Communities programme, and BUILD Ideathon community projects have been recognised as important actors in this process.
“The insight and connection with and from the vast network and community that en.v has nurtured over the years is unrivaled. Their ability to get straight to the beneficiary and those most in need has been inspiring to witness, and a great honour to support.” – International Labour Organization
en.v’s Theory of Change (Credit: en.v/@blancheillustrates)
en.v’s community-led approach to social change is founded on bringing different groups together to work across differences. Building bridges that lead to social change is a complex process – and for en.v, it all starts with a story.
“In every single piece of our work, whether it’s with labour inspectors, activists in the migrant community, domestic workers, students, academics, or officials from the ministry, we always start with storytelling and connection,” says Eleanor. “We start with some sort of space where we try and get people into an intimate, authentic conversation with each other. It’s in every single thing that we do – having that first moment of building trust and connection, but in safety.”
As different people come together – many for the first time – to express themselves and listen to each other, these moments of connection are rich with opportunity. They help pave the path to reconciliation by the way of self-exploration, bonding, and movement-building. With long-held beliefs contributing to divisions within the community, this is an important step towards sustainable behavioural change.
“It changed my viewpoints on others around me. I lived in a bubble and thought that there wasn’t a community of people who genuinely wanted change too.” – en.v BUILD Ideathon Participant
The AWAKEN journey.
In supporting the migrant community, this storytelling can involve facilitating conversations between workers and employers and creating space for both groups to reflect on their experiences with their peers. For example, generations-long employment practices in the Gulf shape how employers view domestic workers and how domestic workers view themselves. Through dialogue, en.v encourages everyone to practice self-inquiry and reflection. Sharing one’s story and listening to others serves as a foundational, and often emotional, step towards reconciliation.
“With storytelling, we can think about roots and forces shaping our value systems,” says Eleanor. “We can ask questions: what’s your power in the society? What privilege do you have? How do you move through the society? It’s ultimately a practice in building empathy, deconstructing a lot of the cultural norms, and thinking about how we relate to one another.”
One example of a project defined by storytelling is en.v’s Women’s Circle Project. Held in partnership with the International Labour Organization’s FAIRWAY Project, it brings together female employers of domestic workers in safe spaces to talk about employment practices. These Women’s Circles help to shift employer mindsets, leading to improved relationships and increased fair treatment of workers.
Storytelling with the migrant community also focuses on understanding values and shifting mindsets, while also caring for the deep traumas felt by the community. Their experiences in Kuwait are often defined by deep feelings of loss: a loss of self while facing exploitation at work and having to support family back home, and a loss of community due to the transient, impermanent type of residency available under the kafala system.
In response, en.v uses storytelling to help the members of the migrant community create a new sense of self and belonging, which can help strengthen their resiliency, increase feelings of agency, and promote healing – an empowering process that helps unlock doors to a new future.
Mohammed explains this process is essential for empowering community-led action: “If you want for people to really feel like they want to change this place, they first have to feel like they belong here. A lot of what we try to do in our work is try to create a space within Kuwait where they can at least feel like they belong to each other.”en.v helps create these spaces physically – with community gatherings such as its AWAKEN festival or its Aswatna program promoting inclusion in the country’s schools– and figuratively, through various activities such as Mapping Belonging and art therapies. Through different methodologies practiced in safe spaces, migrant and other traditionally silenced or marginalized communities are offered the opportunity to own, share, and rewrite their stories.
While the process of behavioural and systemic change is complex and challenging, these meaningful moments of storytelling are also important marks of progress. At the heart of this storytelling is a true sense of compassion and unity, says Eleanor: “It’s very intimate. It’s really loving work we do, that creates a space where people can really connect.”
With a vision of solidarity among communities in Kuwait, these emotional connections are the first step towards community wellbeing and healing.
en.v is a proud member of The Wellbeing Project’s Wellbeing in Higher Education Network. Learn more about en.v’s work to foster transformational leadership and community-building in the Gulf at www.envearth.com.
