Luke Coutinho on the art of surrender and finding balance

At a wellness session organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata on January 8, holistic lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho delved into the idea of surrender - calling it one of the hardest yet most liberating human acts.

“The human mind is wired to always be in control,” he said, explaining how most stress and anxiety stem from the urge to control people, situations or outcomes. “For what you can control, give your hundred percent. For what you can’t- like the weather -you have to accept it and move on. The inability to let go is what creates resistance, and that resistance becomes stress.”

Drawing from his work with end-of-life and cancer patients, Luke said healing often begins the moment people accept their condition and surrender to the process -be it medication, lifestyle change or mindset shift. “Healing begins because resistance ends,” he added.

Citing an example from medicine, he mentioned a Stanford neurosurgeon who, after performing complex surgeries, consciously surrenders the outcome for the next 24 hours. “That’s surrender -not giving up, but trusting the process,” Luke said.

According to him, surrender is not about passivity but peace. “When you let go of control, you gain clarity,” he concluded. “That’s when true balance -physical, emotional and spiritual -begins to align.”