Interview with Helene Sandi

Helene Sandi began her love affair with yoga in her 20’s while living and working in the fashion industry in Milan. It was there she first began to experience extreme health issues. She began with simple yoga classes in the park, but what really impressed her, was the way the teacher expressed true love and dedication for the practice and she could feel that. She returned to New York city and began taking classes but it was not until her first trip to Bali in 2012 that her entire life changed. Today Helene is a yoga/meditation teacher, Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, and is passionate about helping women to find hormonal balance naturally through holistic health coaching. Her goal is to help people connect more deeply to their hearts and truth. She has taught internationally at retreat centers in Vietnam, Italy, Colombia, L.A and is currently living in Bali. . 

Greatest inspirations Helene?

• My teachers who taught me everything I know about the spiritual path and living a yogic lifestyle. I feel truly blessed to have met incredible teachers who I had a soul connection with, it was that immediate sense of knowing, like this is it.

• I’m also greatly inspired/influenced by anyone who lives a freedom based, heart centered lifestyle. Those are the true rebels to me. 

Challenges of living holistically in NY and L.A?

NYC was a special chapter in my life that I will always hold close to my heart. As a young woman in her early 20’s I felt extremely free and fortunate to explore the rebellious parts of me that still exist today, just in a different way. Living holistically wasn’t so much on my mind until I actually got sick, and realized I needed to make a change. Plus, the party lifestyle eventually took a toll on my mental health, as depression was something I have struggled with since I was a young. That kind of lifestyle just wasn’t good for me.

In 2013 I moved to California to essentially start a new, healthier chapter in my life. But ironically enough, LA turned out to be some of the darkest years- in the sunny weather, I faced more darkness then I had in those underground raves of New York. LA was where I was finally forced to grow up - become an independent adult, and many of my illusion bubbles were popped. I was deep in the beginning of my journey, and contrary to how we may see the spiritual journey portrayed, it is not always fun or glamorous, it is messy, and it will knock you down and turn your whole life upside down. I spent 7 years in LA, working all kinds of different jobs to make ends meet while also teaching yoga at various studios. I lived in several different pockets of the city, from Venice Beach, to Glendale, and everything in between! Once I could no longer afford living near the beach LA became just like any other hustling to get by city. Last November, I took a trip back to Bali for the first time in 4 years. Opportunities presented themselves to me, and it became very clear that my time in LA was done, and so I took the next big leap in my life and decided to move to Bali, the place which has felt like home from Day 1.

.What do you think will be the greatest change between Pre Corona and Post in our lifestyles?

People, will finally slow down. I truly believe this time will teach many of us the beauty of living a more simple, and slower paced life, and also remind us of just how precious and fragile this life really is. My wish is that more people start waking up to their truth, and live their true purpose for being here. This doesn’t mean everyone needs to turn into a spiritual teacher, maybe someone’s purpose is to bring education to the underprivileged. For another, it could be cooking for the homeless. For someone else, to pick up plastic on the beach and save the oceans. Their purpose doesn’t have to be the main way they bring in their income - but to do something that they are actually passionate about that will have them feeling excited to get out of bed in the morning, will make a dramatic shift in the overall consciousness of this planet. I believe the “I don’t have time” statement will be a thing of the past! We will start making the time and prioritizing those things that really bring us and others joy, and from this place, a whole new form of abundance will be born.  

Websites, teachers or social media handles you follow?

• Ashtanga Yoga Bali - Led by Prem and Radha Carlisi. I fell in love with the method through these incredible senior teachers.

• Katiza Satya Ivulic - Spiritual teacher Satya and her partner Sahaj are the teachers who birthed me on the spiritual path and I came into the lineage of Tibetan Buddhism through them. 

• Chandresh Bhardwaj- tantra/meditation teacher and spiritual advisor - the real deal. 

• Guru Jagat - Kundalini master. I’m not a Kundalini practitioner but she makes spirituality accessible to the day to day householder.

• John Wineland - Intimacy and Embodiment teacher - basically, he’s the Yoga of relationships. He teaches about the divine feminine and masculine energies, and how to merge them, both in relationship and individually.

• Kim Anami - Holistic Sex/Relationship Expert - this women is my hero. To me, she’s a woman who is fully in her power. Follow her for all things holistically sex / her teachings helped me a lot when I was going through my hormone balancing period 

• Eddie Stern /Ashtanga Yoga teacher - Eddie is a senior yoga teacher, and is offering a whole lot of amazing virtual classes now to help people get through these times. My absolute favorite offering of his right now is his Mon-Fri 6 am EST IG LIVE chanting session - chanting the Ganesha mantra, overcomer of all obstacles . join us! 

Any tips you would recommend for people suffering through anxiety, pain and loneliness due to the stressful times we are experiencing?

• The number one tip I recommend for these times is meditation. Insight timer is an awesome app with a ton of great meditations on there. Meditation is truly the most incredible tool to bring us back to the present and a state of calm. 

• Yoga - it’s important to find a teacher you really connect with - I would recommend sticking to one or two teachers for a certain period of time, to really get the transmissions and benefits the teacher has to offer. Find a style that works for you and stick with it. 

• Breathwork - a little bit of deep breathing everyday will help balance the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for conserving our energy, and bringing us more to a resting state and out of fight or flight mode. A great one to start with is Nadi Shodhana, you can find tutorials on YouTube. I also have a tutorial of the Nine Purification Breath, a Tibetan Buddhist pranayama practice, on my YouTube channel.  

Thank you Helene, Anything else you’d like to share?

Find your blessings everyday. Remember that not everyone has the privilege of staying in a safe and comfortable home. Finding even just one thing to be grateful for everyday will help to get us out of our heads and back into our hearts. Place your hands on your heart for a few minutes each day, close your eyes, and breathe. You are safe here. And above all - have compassion for yourself. You’re doing great!! There is no “right way” to get through this. Find your truth! 

Follow Helene to stay up to date on future classes and online courses. She is currently offering an 8 week integrative holistic therapy program, which supports women to find hormonal balance and live a thriving, heart centered life.