Episode 72

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Published on:

8th Jan 2026

Coached with Nayaswami Asha: On Love, Karma & Staying Steady in a Chaotic World

In this luminous episode of COACHED: Coaching Masters, I sit down with one of my own great teachers, Nayaswami Asha, a senior teacher in the Ananda Sangha worldwide movement and a direct disciple of Swami Kriyananda, in the lineage of Paramhansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi.

We talk about what it really means to live as a soul in human form during “strange times,” why the universe is made of energy, not matter, and how our longing for meaning, joy, and relief from suffering is not a defect, but a compass pointing us back to the truth of who we are.

From her early days as an 18-year-old “truth seeker” in California, to the fateful moment she heard Swami Kriyananda speak at Stanford in 1969, to 16 years living at Ananda Village in simple, communal, spiritually charged conditions, Asha traces how her path unfolded – not as a neat, linear ascent, but as a series of inner recognitions, breakdowns, and choices to align ever more sincerely with love, service, and higher consciousness.

We also dive into the role of the spiritual teacher and guru, the power of lineage and “magnetism” (why real transmission is much more than information), and how to stay grounded and joyful even as the world feels more polarized, fearful, and chaotic.

If you have ever wondered why you are here, why life sometimes feels like a shiny, gilded cage, and how to find a safe place inside yourself that no turbulence can touch – this conversation is for you.

In this episode, we explore:

  • The early life of a truth seeker
  • Growing up in an intelligent but non-spiritual, socially conscious family
  • The paradox of being “basically happy” but burning with questions about suffering and happiness
  • Discovering Swami Vivekananda’s writings and immediately recognizing a deeper truth
  • The moment the teacher appears
  • The “fateful day” at Stanford in 1969 when Nayaswami Asha first heard Swami Kriyananda speak
  • Why his presence felt like an embodied answer to a question she had carried her whole life
  • How she knew “he has what I want” and what it means to recognize your teacher
  • Ananda Village and a new way of life
  • Moving into a young spiritual community in the 1970s: goat milk, gardens, trailers, no electricity
  • Living extremely simply, yet feeling overwhelmingly rich in joy and purpose
  • Becoming Swami Kriyananda’s assistant and hostess, and learning by attunement, not just study
  • Energy, magnetism, and the real role of a teacher
  • Why Asha insists that the real transmission is not content, but magnetism
  • How a true teacher is like an “open window,” letting more of the divine light flow through
  • Why genuine masters never claim the power as their own and always “pass it up the line”
  • Self-forgetfulness vs. perfection of the ego
  • The difference between self-realization and personal-development perfectionism
  • Why our greatest moments of joy are usually the moments we forget ourselves
  • How trying to perfect the small self creates anxiety and “gilded cages” of external validation
  • Karma, reincarnation, and why this wild planet is not a mistake
  • A clear, grounded explanation of reincarnation as a compassionate, logical design
  • How our unresolved lessons live in our energy and draw us to the exact right circumstances
  • Why we “chose this planet” in this time: both to serve and to face our fears
  • Yes, it really might get worse – and that can be good news
  • What it means to be in a transition from an age of matter to an age of energy
  • The rise of super-charged ego and technological power, and the equal rise of light “underground”
  • How turbulence forces us to seek a real inner safety, and higher levels of happiness
  • Sincerity as the heart of spiritual practice
  • Why “sincerity, not perfection” is the real fuel for discipline and devotion
  • How to know whether you’re truly ready for transformation: what happens when things get hard
  • The one question to ask in any situation: “What is this activating in me?”
  • Love as the ultimate purpose
  • Why we are ultimately here “to learn to love” – and why love is not always “nice”
  • How perfect love casts out fear and leads to joy
  • Practical examples of choosing to serve rather than freeze in fear, even on a random flight from Mexico

Mentioned in this episode

  • Nayaswami Asha – teacher, author, and spiritual director with Ananda Sangha: https://www.instagram.com/innerlifewith_asha/
  • Paramhansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi (link: https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Reprint-Philosophical-library-First/dp/1565892127/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?adgrpid=188921505000&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.JWkEsunxvQv4ZLblIUyE31QZkPq3-x4S3sNyv4w7K0LsfbUmh6llSE06bn7uptcwET_p3b_FwT9CW0H6w16SG6DF6fTo27KEP_8VQwuqm0c8IEVsuv1b-fIkn4BZmW9xI1J2Qcjx-snQASYFHZAvQeu2QoL2f7zkkm_kn_Z6UyD6o8F4vz-HiZAvRinI73DsHjmtiE-7qJbQFlJZ9d-8QB8sA4XVPuG-eUL9LTyRVO4.TJNbPFXbJlNkwD0M6v2nSUf71mW8wKOyghsEswi_hAw&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779572530853&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9060225&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=6930145912084542343--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=6930145912084542343&hvtargid=kwd-378389948097&hydadcr=22591_13821178_9241&keywords=autobiography+of+a+yogi+amazon&mcid=a50e8358fa48389f8e9700dd28bab775&qid=1764007427&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1)
  • Asha’s talks on the current world situation: “Yes, It Will Get Worse” (parts 1 & 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKkKveJ2hLs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9XW5nXRvM
  • GILDED: Break Free From the Cage of Ambition, Perfectionism, and the Relentless Pursuit of More – by Coach Keren Eldad: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=gilded+keren+eldad&adgrpid=189531211907&hvadid=779513894136&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9060225&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=3389580693659355576--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=3389580693659355576&hvtargid=kwd-2388726978615&hydadcr=22537_13730727_8187&mcid=38855ac2f5e03c58b1696bec8b166ac2&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_79tpfm02cc_e

Connect

  • Listen to more COACHED: Coaching Masters episodes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coached-with-coach-keren/id1467079024
  • Follow Nayaswami Asha: https://www.ashajoy.org/, https://www.instagram.com/innerlifewith_asha/

Connect with Coach Keren: www.KerenEldad.com, https://www.instagram.com/coachkeren/?hl=en

Coached Show Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed by guests on this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Coach Keren or With Enthusiasm. Nothing shared should be taken as an endorsement of specific advice, teachings, or opinions. This series is intended to showcase a range of teaching styles and business methodologies for educational and informational purposes only.

Mentioned in this episode:

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COACHED with Coach Keren
Coaching mastery, personal transformation, leadership development, spiritual growth, burnout recovery, and business reinvention start here. Welcome to Season 5 of Coached: The Coaching Masters, where the world’s top teachers, coaches, spiritual guides, and conscious entrepreneurs share the real story behind transformation and leadership. Hosted by master coach Keren Eldad, this season explores the full arc of becoming a teacher and leader. Each episode explores coaching at its core, not as a polished highlight reel, but as a soul-centered journey. We go behind the scenes of coaching businesses, leadership breakthroughs, burnout recovery, and conscious entrepreneurship. You’ll discover how teachers turn personal pain into wisdom, purpose, and coaching mastery.

This season features transformative conversations with master teachers, bestselling authors and podcasters such as Byron Katie, founder of The Work, revealing how to break free from suffering. Dr. Kristin Neff, global authority on self-compassion, shares the truth behind inner kindness. Jessica Zweig opens up on collapse, rebirth, and her platform: The Spiritual Hustler. Danielle LaPorte speaks on softness, strength, and heart-centered leadership. Craig Siegel shares insights on business reinvention, financial success and transformation. Kurtis Lee Thomas dives into breathwork, burnout recovery, and becoming a true vessel for change.

What listeners will walk away with: personal transformation, leadership growth, spiritual insight, business breakthroughs — and all of the above. You’ll gain insight into your own journey through these role models. Reframe coaching leadership as a soulful, grounded path. Receive spiritual wisdom from teachers who embody what they teach. Discover business breakthroughs rooted in alignment, not hustle. And gain permission to evolve, unravel, and rebuild again and again.

In this season of Coached: The Coaching Masters, we explore emotional resilience, energetic alignment, spiritual awakening, business reinvention, leadership development, coaching business growth, and personal transformation. These honest conversations reveal the real work behind building coaching mastery and conscious entrepreneurship with integrity. Whether you're a coach, leader, entrepreneur, or in a season of reinvention, this podcast is your guide. You’ll gain insights from role models who’ve lived it, leadership development rooted in alignment, business reinvention strategies with purpose, spiritual growth grounded in wisdom, and burnout recovery guidance for rebuilding with intention.

Keren Eldad brings mastery, heart, and wisdom to each conversation, helping you evolve personally, spiritually, and professionally. If you are searching for coaching mastery, personal transformation, spiritual growth, leadership development, burnout recovery, business reinvention, coaching business growth, and conscious entrepreneurship, this season will be your essential companion. Join us for earned wisdom, deep transformation, and coaching that changes lives. Subscribe now to Coached: The Coaching Masters and begin your journey of conscious leadership, soulful business reinvention, and personal mastery.

About the Host: Keren Eldad (“Coach Keren”) is a top executive coach helping Founders, Olympic athletes and Fortune 500 leaders reach success. As the bestselling author of GILDED, she empowers individuals to redefine success and unlock their full potential. Recognized as a Top Ten Executive Coach by the ICF, Real Leaders, and Goop, Keren holds advanced degrees from The London School of Economics and the University of Jerusalem. With 500,000+ TEDx views and a global presence, her insights inspire leaders worldwide.


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Website: https://www.kereneldad.com
Email: keren@kereneldad.com
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About your host

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Keren Eldad

A thought leader in the coaching world, Keren Eldad (“Coach Keren”) specializes in taking high achievers out of the futility of constant pursuit and into the greatest levels of success and fulfillment. Her coaching clients include Olympic athletes, politicians, Hollywood stars, supermodels, Special Forces operatives and serial entrepreneurs, as well as renowned global organizations such as Estée Lauder, J.P. Morgan, and Nike… She is also the founder of THE CLUB, a community of leaders, entrepreneurs and coaches who encourage and support each other to reach their fullest potential and make their greatest contribution.
Recognized as a Top Ten Executive Coach by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Real Leaders Magazine, & Goop, Keren maintains gold-standard coaching credentials on top of her advanced academic degrees from The London School of Economics and the University of Jerusalem. She is also a former C-suite executive, who has lived and worked in 17 countries and on four continents, and now coaches leaders all around the globe in four languages: English, Spanish, Hebrew and French. With half a million views on her TEDx talks, and speaking engagements all over the world, Keren’s message seems to transcend borders. She hopes it resonates with you.
Coach Keren resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Ryan, and many beloved pets.
For booking and coaching consultations, contact: Lee@KerenEldad.com