This thesis investigates the experience of heightened states of awareness in the South Indian martial art of kalarippayattu, with a focus on meyyu kannākuka—described as “when the body becomes all eyes”—and the psychological concept of flow. The research addresses two central questions: What are the supportive conditions to experiences heightened awareness that influence the perception of the self in kalarippayattu? And, what are the similarities between the heightened states of meyyu kannākuka and the flow state?

The study adopts an exploratory, inductive qualitative research design, grounded in phenomenology and is based on the analysis of in-depth interviews with kalarippayattu practitioners. The thematic content analysis reveals three interrelated conditions essential for the experience of heightened awareness: 1) heightened awareness as a dynamic process, 2) the interaction between inner and outer states, and 3) the integration of body and mind.

Findings suggest that the embodied discipline of kalarippayattu enables practitioners to enter states of deep concentration, reduced self-consciousness, and unification of action and awareness, characteristics also described in the flow state. The comparison between meyyu kannākuka and the flow state identifies shared features including one-pointed focus, integration through practice and a merging of mind and body.

These experiences reshape the practitioner’s perception of self, creating conditions for heightened states of awareness that are both embodied and transformative. The study highlights kalarippayattu not only as a martial practice but also as a method of cultivating self-awareness, presence and experiential knowledge through lived, embodied experience.