Leila Sadeghee is a yoga and meditation instructor working throughout the fields of priestessing, motion, yoga asana, depth religious observe and power therapeutic.
We caught up with Leila to listen to extra about her practices…
What does a typical day appear to be for you?
I dwell by the ocean, so I typically get up and spend a while gazing on the sea and the sunshine over the ocean. Mornings are time to both go gradual, take a tea or chocolate in mattress, gaze on the sea & learn for pleasure earlier than I begin my day, or to rise additional early and go straight to my altar for wherever from one to a few hours of observe. Just lately I’ve undertaken a deepening of my day by day observe, so there are extra ‘straight to observe’ mornings today, and will likely be for the remainder of the 2024.
Then breakfast – almost all the time eggs (I want the protein) and I begin in with emails, ongoing examine, improvement, and laptop work. Just lately I’ve been finding out among the Tantric Buddhist texts that I began my observe with within the 90s. I’m reviewing them as a result of I’m making a 2025 coaching for the thoughts known as The Ideas of Elevation, and we’ll be working with a few of these teachings. I’m additionally arranging a reconnaissance mission to the South of France to organize for subsequent 12 months’s Divine Mom pilgrimage that I will likely be main in Provence. There’s additionally prep, each examine and planning, for my invitation-only pilgrimage to South India, The Secret Pilgrimage.
Blended in with this are conferences for my power fluency/non-duality coaching, Thriller Faculty, and personal consumer & mentoring periods for my power work, Vitality Weaving. I wrap up by making myself dinner (I like to cook dinner) and both gabbing with my buddies or watching a film.
Two days per week I train courses in London at Re:thoughts studio (Vitality Weaving, my power work), Tripspace Yoga and Dance, and Sāmya Studios (Yoga āsana). There’s additionally workshops on lots of my weekends. So these days are extra targeted on instructing and being with individuals in particular person. Between these occasions I often go for walks, rifle via each charity store within the space (I’m a bloodhound), and in my London evenings I attempt to get to my favorite Persian home music get together, Diasporic Days (when it’s on). I really like to bop.
How did your yoga journey start and what impressed you to develop into a yoga instructor?
In 1998, I had a large religious awakening, whereas working at galleries in Berlin in my early twenties. I used to be completely freaked out – I knew that the voice in my head – my ‘pondering voice’ – wasn’t ME – but when my thoughts wasn’t me – then who was I?! I knew I wanted to get up spiritually – however I had no thought what that meant or learn how to begin.
Thankfully I had a pal who was dedicated to an Indian guru – Gurumayi Chidvilasānanda – and after I known as her she mentioned: You have to MEDITATE. So I discovered a category – that is pre-intenet days, thoughts you – and went to meditate, praying I might lastly really feel some reduction from this desperation that had woken up inside me. Everybody was so quiet, beatific and peaceable trying – and I felt worse than ever! After the category, I broke down into tears with the instructor. He mentioned – ‘You already know, some individuals discover that it’s simpler to calm the thoughts after they observe yoga…’ and he was truly instructing an Iyengar class proper earlier than the meditation. It wasn’t my first yoga class – I had been to some with pals earlier than –
However now I actually NEEDED it to work. So for me, āsana observe was all the time a observe to organize the vessel for deeper awakening practices. I nonetheless train from that perspective.
Someplace alongside the road I began understanding that it was my path to show the yoga. However I put it off for years earlier than I lastly skilled, greater than 10 years after my awakening. I instructed myself that it was only for my very own observe – however after I noticed what Tara Judelle was bringing to her instructing ministry, the artfulness, the care – I knew I had the bug. At that time I had been working therapeutically with the physique for 7 years as a bodyworker. All of it sort of got here collectively at that time. I knew I had one thing priceless to share.
What impressed you to focus on your observe?
I don’t learn about specialisation – however I’ve turned to deal with my power work, Vitality Weaving. This brings collectively all of the energetic abilities and understandings of my years of Tantric sadhana, and centres my Avalonian priestessing and different threads of my life practices. I’m additionally main pilgrimages and specializing in supporting individuals in non-dual awakening. These shifts – from instructing a big schedule of āsana courses in large studios & my annual boutique yoga immersion & instructor coaching – to the work I’m doing now, in supporting individuals in cultivating deeper practices – are a results of my on-going decolonisation & frustration with the ‘white wellness’ paradigm of the modern yoga scene, which focuses on a sort of spiritualised perfectionism and optimisation, relatively than religious awakening. It’s additionally a pure move of my devotion to the Divine Mom in all their kinds.
How have you ever seen yoga profit your college students?
A lot of my college students have discovered the ability and presence with observe that blew aside their restricted self ideas – and that awakening to a extra resonant dimension of life as a spot to dwell from – has been very liberating, radically liberating for a lot of of my college students.
Additionally, holding the profound accountability of the seat of the instructor has additionally been life-changing for a lot of of my instructor trainees. I get them coming again, years later, sharing how deeply their lives have modified from coming to grips with such accountability. It has introduced them into a way more genuine and care-driven method of present.
I’ve mentioned it innumerable occasions: these practices are highly effective. Highly effective to do them. Incomparably highly effective to share them!
What’s your favourite quote or life motto?
First sutra of the Pratjabijna Hrdayam:
Cittih svatantra vishva siddhi hetuh.
My colloquial language riff: ‘Maa is all the time doing it’
Consciousness, completely autonomous, is the true reason behind the whole lot.
What’s arising for you in 2024 /2025?
First there’s Thriller Faculty – a coaching for power fluency and non-dual awakening – that’s October 23 (night) via October 27 – in an amazingly charming venue in central London.
Then private pilgrimage – to a Black Madonna in Poland, and to Auchewicz. To Provence to analysis subsequent 12 months’s Divine Mom pilgrimage (I’m including some new Mary Magdalene websites and another particular issues.)
January I’m beginning The Ideas of Elevation – a year-long thoughts coaching for stability, readability, and luminosity of the thoughts and coronary heart. That’s in-person (and on-line for people overseas) at Sāmya Studios, with 6 conferences all year long, plus common group check-ins and meditation on-line.
Finish of January it’s The Secret Pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu, South India! I’m so excited to return to those magical temples. I’ve an amazing devotion to the types of Divine Mom there. And the crew who’re coming are very particular individuals certainly.
France pilgrimage to Paris & Provence is early June.
Lot’s of juicy issues to look ahead to….
Discover out extra about Leila:
Web site: https://www.leilasadeghee.com/
Instagram: @leilasadeghee
