Leila Sadeghee is a yoga and meditation instructor working throughout the fields of priestessing, motion, yoga asana, depth non secular follow and vitality therapeutic.
We caught up with Leila to listen to extra about her practices…
What does a typical day seem like for you?
I reside by the ocean, so I usually get up and spend a while gazing on the sea and the sunshine over the ocean. Mornings are time to both go sluggish, 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 anyplace from one to 3 hours of follow. Just lately I’ve undertaken a deepening of my day by day follow, so there are extra ‘straight to follow’ mornings lately, and will probably be for the remainder of the 2024.
Then breakfast – practically all the time eggs (I would like the protein) and I begin in with emails, ongoing research, improvement, and pc work. Just lately I’ve been finding out a number of the Tantric Buddhist texts that I began my follow 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 yr’s Divine Mom pilgrimage that I will probably be main in Provence. There’s additionally prep, each research and planning, for my invitation-only pilgrimage to South India, The Secret Pilgrimage.
Combined in with this are conferences for my vitality fluency/non-duality coaching, Thriller College, and personal consumer & mentoring periods for my vitality work, Vitality Weaving. I wrap up by making myself dinner (I like to prepare dinner) and both gabbing with my friends or watching a film.
Two days every week I train courses in London at Re:thoughts studio (Vitality Weaving, my vitality 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 by way of 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 social gathering, Diasporic Days (when it’s on). I like to bop.
How did your yoga journey start and what impressed you to turn out to be a yoga instructor?
In 1998, I had an enormous non secular 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 ‘considering 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 how you can begin.
Happily I had a buddy who was dedicated to an Indian guru – Gurumayi Chidvilasānanda – and after I known as her she stated: You might want 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 aid 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 stated – ‘You already know, some individuals discover that it’s simpler to calm the thoughts after they follow yoga…’ and he was really instructing an Iyengar class proper earlier than the meditation. It wasn’t my first yoga class – I had been to a couple with pals earlier than –
However now I actually NEEDED it to work. So for me, āsana follow was all the time a follow 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 follow – 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 type of got here collectively at that time. I knew I had one thing priceless to share.
What impressed you to focus on your follow?
I don’t learn about specialisation – however I’ve turned to deal with my vitality work, Vitality Weaving. This brings collectively all of the energetic expertise 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 up to date yoga scene, which focuses on a type of spiritualised perfectionism and optimisation, reasonably than non secular awakening. It’s additionally a pure stream of my devotion to the Divine Mom in all their types.
How have you ever seen yoga profit your college students?
Lots of my college students have discovered the ability and presence with follow that blew aside their restricted self ideas – and that awakening to a extra resonant dimension of life as a spot to reside from – has been very releasing, radically releasing 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 approach of present.
I’ve stated 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 developing for you in 2024 /2025?
First there’s Thriller College – a coaching for vitality fluency and non-dual awakening – that’s October 23 (night) by way of 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 yr’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 folk 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 incredible 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
