Caught in the chaos and complexity that comes with modern day living? Always in search of something slower? Smart phones have made us hyper connected, yet more emotionally disconnected than ever before; add in caffeine, traffic, the need to document and share the process online, and it’s no wonder most people can relate to a general sense of overwhelm.
It is such a privilege to introduce Celine Wallace, founder of Sattva Soul for this month’s women in business feature on our journal. Sattva Soul is holistic wellness business, offering retreats to help women re-centre and supplements to support the management of stress, fatigue, and mood. Once deep in the hustle and craving respite from the rat-race, Celine knew she was not the only women battling the burn-out. The vision for Sattva was born, based on a yogic philosophy, Sattva is the ideology about finding balance through incorporating equal parts of mind, body, and spirit.
On meeting Celine, she is beautiful, centred, energised, and encouraging with an infectious energy. We chat about business, she openly shares the journey getting there as well as her approach to wellness, and creating the life you dream of. We know you are going to love this feature as much as we do!
Share a little bit about yourself, your background and what led you to become the women you are today
Thank you so much for the beautiful intro! Nothing excites me more than women in business supporting each other, sharing their stories, and learning from others' experiences.
I grew up in Auckland, NZ, and was always chasing a dream. When I was 19, I moved to New York to pursue my childhood dream of becoming an Actress. Many people want to become Actors/Actresses because they want to be famous, but I was different because I always wanted to create stories and help people release emotions. It's funny how now I can look back on how that dream has come full circle, which I want to touch on later. The concept of thinking our lives should be one thing: having a vision and allowing that process to morph and the idea of our lives to change over time.
After studying in New York for a few years, I moved to LA and lived in Hollywood for a decade. It's such a fast-paced and hugely populated city that you can lose yourself, and I found myself burnt out on a constant hamster wheel trying to find balance.
I think those years in LA made me the woman I am today. As a young woman, I had to learn boundaries with people, and I had to learn to look out for myself, to survive on my own in a foreign country, to not care about materialism and keeping up with the 'Jones's and how to distance myself from people with toxic behaviors.
It wasn't an overnight process, and I didn't learn these things all at once, but those years of 'coming home to myself' in a city of lost souls shaped me into the woman I am today.
Let’s chat Sattva Soul, take us back to the beginning, how did the dream begin?
I remember the day this journey began; I was 25, I was exhausted, and although everything looked glamourous and golden on the outside, I was broken on the inside, and my health was failing. That day I looked at myself in the mirror with tears streaming down my face. I was tired, hungover, and permanently exhausted. I thought there has to be more to life than this endless merry-go-round. And sadly, the more women I work with now, the more I realize this has become an unfortunate societal norm with our hectic modern lifestyles.
That day my friend took me to a yoga class, and I'll never forget the feeling. I was forced to slow down, to breathe. It felt like it was the first time I stopped to breathe in years. After that, I decided to pivot my life, and I embarked on my own version of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' traveling to Bali, India, and then on to Sri Lanka to study Yoga and meditation.
As I studied these ancient healing techniques and lived in the Himalayas in India, I wondered why we aren't taught these daily life tools and thought that we shouldn't have to reach burnout or travel to the other side of the world to have access to these tools and this information.
So, after thousands and thousands of hours of study at Ashrams around the world, Sattva Soul Retreats was born. The word Sattva means balance in Sanskrit, so 'Balanced' Soul Retreats seemed very fitting. Since I believed my life journey and most peoples are about trying to cultivate a sense of balance between how we show up for our friends, family, careers, finances, and ourselves.
And those first steps? What were those initial actions taking it from a dream to a reality
Once I decided to create the retreats, I researched the best possible ways to deliver this information to the women who needed it. What type of retreats would they want, where they would want them, how can I make them the best quality, and what would I want out of this experience if I was attending as a guest. I think it's so important when you're creating to create from a place of 'what I would like and why I am doing this.' Then it was just a matter of doing it!
It's easy to have an idea and over conceptualize it so much nothing happens, and then you lose inspiration. There comes a stage where you just have to take action without every detail fine-tuned because if we want to have every detail perfect, we'll never do it.
So, after researching and curating the schedule and workshops, I found a beautiful villa in Bali, booked it, and the rest is history with Sattva Soul Retreats. We have since sold out every retreat, and I have now expanded into day retreats here in Auckland, held bi-monthly since covid hasn't allowed us to travel.
The day retreats are a fantastic way to come home to yourself and remind you what's important. We have one this month in Omaha, April 17th, on a stunning 5,000-acre farm estate, and you can find out info on our IG or website - Sattva Soul Retreats.
And then you introduced Organic Ashwaganda – tell us more! (what it does etc)
Yes! Sattva Soul Supplements are my most proud creation.
For years I had women coming to the events and retreats asking for support for their busy lives, and as an Ayurvedic Practitioner, I was always offering them advice. Many would say they were on sleeping pills, anti-depressants, or suffered terrible anxiety and would attend the retreats as a way to escape from their crazy schedules.
After the retreats, they would say how wonderful they felt and ask how they could create an inner retreat at home or work. In India, we take Ayurvedic herbs to support our daily lifestyles and manage our stress hormones to balance our cortisol levels (cortisol is the stress hormone).
I take Ashwagandha every day as a stress adaptogen to help my body adapt to stress in this hectic world, and it's the most phenomenal natural herb on the market. When I was looking around to recommend Ashwagandha to some of my retreat ladies, none of the brands available were high quality, organic, sustainably-farmed, vegan, Ayurvedic Practitioner dosage, or had beautiful branding, so I thought,
'Screw it! I'm creating my own.' I will create a female-founded brand, by women for women, of the highest quality, organic and beautiful Ayurvedic products that also look chic on your nightstand.
I'm so grateful that it's flying off the shelf, and people love it. I started the product range with Organic Ashwagandha as a base product for stress, anxiety, fatigue, and mood, because we could all use a little more stress support. You can find out more here -
Can we expect more from Sattva Soul in the coming months?
Yes! I launched Sattva Soul Supplements just this past November of 2020 and are now in over 15 retailers, not including our online stockists. So since we are having such a great response and people are saying how great they feel with the Ashwagandha, I will release some new products. I won't give away too much, but stay tuned.
What motivates you?
This is a good one! I think it's true the saying 'Show me your friends, and I'll show you your future' I get motivated by surrounding myself with inspirational people who lift me and inspire me because they are striving for their own goals and passions.
I also love reading and my 'me time,' and I don't think self-care is a luxury. I think it's a necessity, and we should aim to schedule time for ourselves every day, even if it's 15 minutes, to do something nice for ourselves so that we can feel our best selves and then that allows us to show up for others.
Conversations you wish we were having more of?
I think human connection is the essence of the world we live in, connecting with others on a deep soul level to enhance our life experience. So I wish more women were open to being raw and honest with their communications about their stories and how they overcame adversity in their darkest moments. That kind of vulnerability should be celebrated instead of shamed and then will help us learn from each other, lift each other up, and love each other when we need it.
When people are operating from behind a mask, pretending they have it all together and in reality, they are at breaking point, it is dangerous for our mental health. Unfortunately, that is how we are conditioned to operate as a society, which ultimately leads to a numbed out culture on prescribed medications, adrenal fatigue, and alcohol abuse to function. So I wish we had more vulnerable and honest conversations to be there for our loved ones in their times of need and vice versa.
Daily rituals?
Every morning, I have a routine.
- I wake up and write down three things I'm grateful for to shift my perspective to look for positive things during the day.
- I make a Matcha with oat milk and sit in bed, and pull a tarot card to tell me what my focus for the day should be.
- Then I meditate or do morning pages - Morning pages are when you free write whatever is on your mind, like a brain dump, until you feel like you've got nothing left you to want to write.
This morning routine sets me up for the day and leaves me in a constructive space to show up for others.
Mantras you live by?
‘Treat others how you wish to be treated’
What does wellness mean to you?
I think wellness can mean different things to different people, but for me, wellness means to be physically, mentally, and spiritually happy.
Advice for someone spiraling in to the chaos?
Slow down, take a breath. Remind yourself, no matter how big the past pain, you've always made it through and come out stronger on the other side. This is no different, this will pass, and you will be okay.
Write down a list of what would make you happy on this day, whether that's a walk, a yoga class, calling a friend, cooking a nice meal. Whatever it may be, no matter how big or small it may seem, make an effort to do one or all of those tasks for yourself to shift your state.
Daily practices you’d recommend to recharge?
Having a morning routine and gratitude journaling is huge, as it trains your brain to look for the positives instead of the negatives as you carry throughout your day. I would recommend getting a little notebook to have on your bedside table to jot down your gratitudes every morning as soon as you wake up.
Ensure you have movement in your schedule, whether that's a walk, a yoga class, or a gym session. Getting your physical body moving will release endorphins and dopamine in the brain that make you feel happy and moves stagnant energy.
Digital detoxes are a big one! We're constantly glued to our phones 24/7, and it's not healthy to always frequently dialed into the grid and so accessible. I make sure I have boundaries around my phone usage, and I don't look at my phone the first hour I wake up or the last hour before I go to bed and put it downstairs in another room when I sleep.
Where do we find you?
Thanks so much for sharing my story, and yes, if anyone has any questions or would love my help you can reach me at my personal IG: @celine_wallace
Otherwise, you can find the retreats and supplements at -
www.sattvasoulretreats.com www.sattvasoulsupplements.com
What do you love most about Saben / wearing Saben?
I love the effortless simplicity and chic aesthetic of all the bags. I'm somebody who is usually going from multiple meetings and clients all day, so I love having an elegant and functional bag, and I can throw everything in, and off I go.
What is your default Saben style? (the one in heavy rotation)
The Kelly Tote with the insert is my absolute favourite!
Celine wears the Kelly Tote, also pictured is the Roma weekender
Photographer: Lydia Rachel @lydiarachelphoto
