Make It Happen Mondays | Episode 476 | June 29, 2026
How to stay calm under pressure is the question behind almost every conversation about performance, stress, and leadership. The world is moving faster, but your nervous system still has to make the decision. Ishan Shivanand has spent decades building research-backed protocols for exactly that problem, and this episode is one of the most different conversations I’ve had on this show.
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In this episode, John sits down with Ishan Shivanand, a yogic scholar, Vedic educator, and mental health researcher born into a 21-generation lineage of yogis, to talk about stress, focus, resilience, meditation, and what it really takes to stay regulated under pressure. From growing up inside a monastery to building research-backed protocols for modern life, Ishan brings a very different lens to performance than the usual sales playbook.
If you are in sales, leadership, or any high-pressure role where the pace of change is starting to wear on your focus, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about breathwork, awareness, curiosity, and the human component that still matters in an AI-driven world.
How to stay calm under pressure: what the research says
- Why real joy is different from temporary achievement-driven happiness
- How unresolved experiences can shape fear, behavior, and decision-making
- Why the human component is still the failure point in any system
- Why breathwork can help train the nervous system before pressure hits
- How stress can become a reverse meditation if you repeat it long enough
- Why curiosity matters more than chasing one final answer
About Ishan Shivanand
Ishan Shivanand is a globally recognized yogic scholar, Vedic educator, and mental health researcher born into a 21-generation lineage of yogis. He is the creator of Yoga of Immortals, a set of evidence-based meditation protocols designed to help people build resilience, reduce stress, and improve mental well-being.
If you want to go deeper into the King’s meditations and ancient yogic wisdom, grab Ishan’s book The Practice of Immortality, your entry point into breathwork, meditation protocols, and the philosophy behind it all.
- Website: ishanshivanand.com
- Instagram: @ishan.shivanand
- LinkedIn: Ishan Shivanand
- YouTube: Ishan Shivanand
Frequently Asked Questions
How to stay calm under pressure when everything is moving fast?
The starting point is the nervous system, not willpower. Ishan Shivanand’s research shows that breathwork and awareness practices can train the nervous system to regulate before pressure hits, rather than trying to manage after the fact. The goal is to build a baseline of calm that holds when the pace accelerates, not to suppress the stress response in the moment.
What is Yoga of Immortals?
Yoga of Immortals is Ishan Shivanand’s evidence-based system of meditation protocols drawn from ancient yogic and Vedic traditions. It is designed to reduce stress, build resilience, and improve mental well-being through structured breathwork and awareness practices. The protocols have been tested in research settings and are built for people operating under sustained pressure in modern life.
How do unresolved experiences affect performance under pressure?
According to Ishan, unresolved experiences can quietly shape how fear and behavior show up in high-stakes situations. When the pressure increases, those patterns surface, which is why leaders and reps sometimes react in ways that don’t match the situation. Addressing the root rather than the symptom is what allows for a more consistent performance baseline.
Why is the human component still the failure point in AI-driven systems?
AI handles information processing but the decision, the relationship, and the judgment still run through a human nervous system. If that nervous system is dysregulated, the quality of every decision, conversation, and action degrades regardless of the tools available. This is why mental performance and stress regulation are increasingly relevant for anyone in a high-pressure role, not just athletes or executives. This connects to something I’ve written about before: what AI can’t do in sales is show up with genuine presence and emotional regulation. That gap is still yours to fill.
Why does curiosity matter more than having all the answers?
Ishan’s framework positions curiosity as a state of openness that keeps the nervous system engaged rather than defensive. Chasing one final answer creates rigidity and pressure. Staying genuinely curious keeps you adaptable, which is increasingly what performance requires in a world where the conditions keep changing.
Make It Happen Mondays is hosted by John Barrows, sales trainer to Salesforce, LinkedIn, Google, Amazon, and Okta. New episodes drop every Monday. Subscribe and listen on all platforms.
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