Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanila Sattar.
Hi Shanila, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m the Creatrix of Flow Breathwork Facilitator Training, Author of Breathe, and the Founder of AlwaysPlay Studios where I train breathwork facilitators, sound healers and mentor those in the healing arts.
I started AlwaysPlay Studios from my own curiosity and exploration in emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing, and wanted to bring east modern wellness practices to anyone who could use support as well. I got into this line of work because I was personally learning wellbeing tools that were not taught or available to me growing up.
My background is in tech, having co-founded an award-winning web agency over a decade ago, and in women’s research science, specifically in mindsets, implicit bias, perfectionism, women’s health, and societal experiences supported through the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, and several universities.
I started my discovery into wellness from my own need to feel better when I was going through it! I was met with lots of symptoms in my body that were consistently dismissed by modern medicine like my hair falling out, panic attacks, sleep problems, and digestion issues to name a few. As a relatively healthy person, this was pretty confusing. All of this caused me lots of distress and had a huge negative impact on my day to day. I wanted to feel better.
My first start into mindfulness came from having a little Tibetan bowl by my bed, which I would ding in the morning and nighttime for a minute or two. I didn’t know the science or anything behind what was happening, but what I did know is that I would feel much calmer through the day, fall asleep with ease and get restful sleep, and my moods were more stable. It was really fun to ding my bowl for friends and share this new thing that I learned, and watched their experiences shift as well! I began to study and practice sound baths and breathwork and finally started to share it with others. I began to host incredible sound bath experiences through the neighborhood, in parks, and beaches, especially with the new and full moons! All the healing and transformation that was happening was MAGICAL and beyond words. People wanted sound healing for their families, masterminds, retreats, and wedding gathering. Others wanted to learn how to facilitate breathwork and sound healing as well.
Then came what is now a mainly virtual wellness studio when I train breathwork facilitators and sound healers. As both a research scientist and wellness practitioner, my approach to this modality of work is from the hyper-science and the hyper-woo. I love intertwining the measurable with the unexplainable. I love being an alchemist and connecting the dots for those who I hold space for – in our Sunday Night Flow Breathwork Club (a free space I’ve held since 2018 and welcomed over 20k people through quarantine), my breathwork facilitator and sound healer trainings, and my healing arts practitioner immersion. Now I share message of personal development and spiritual exploration on my top podcast – The Playground.
I love the energy of the practitioners who have come through my studio and am so excited for the impact they create when they bring these modalities into their own communities as well. My vision is that we all have the tools and know-how to take care of ourselves in support with community and collective healing.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Healing is deeply personal and intimate, and when someone trusts you to hold that space for them – whether individually or in a group setting – it’s a big deal. Moving my practice from 100% in person to virtual has definitely shifted the energetics of the practice. However, we’ve been able to widen our reach to thousands of more people across the globe to get in on the magic dose of breathwork and sound healing. This transition was both easy and challenging at the same time; the work naturally translated with a rise of healers, coaches, and wellness practitioners desiring to be of service during confusing times. More practitioners were ignited and enthusiastic in studying online and accessing communities of like-minded folk that previously seemed far away. The challenge was creating deep, meaningful containers with the constraint of virtual spaces. This made me dive deeper into my own self, insecurities, strengths, and excitement in order to adapt into the new needs of virtual teaching. I’ve come out of this process both fully embracing the virtual space and excited for in-person connections.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
AlwaysPlay Studios x The Integrative Healing Academy is your go-to to embrace the woo. We are the playground for healers and healing that train breathwork facilitators, sound healers, and mentors those in the healing arts.
We are proud of accessible and decolonized holistic wellness, igniting you on your self-healing journey, supporting you to become conscious facilitators, mixing the science and the mystical, helping you embody your greatest gifts, and getting it done while having fun.
The Playground is a place for you to try out the world from a fresh perspective – play a little. And if you’ve been feeling the call towards the woo world of spirituality, intuition, breathwork, sound healing, energy healing, crystals, all the stuff you feel too weird to talk about, want to build your skillsets towards holistic and somatic healing and want to hone your intuitive gifts for the greater collective, you’re in the right place.
AlwaysPlay Studios has proudly supported hundreds of healers bring applied holistic healing modalities to communities all over the world and is one of the first to receive grant support from the State of California to bring holistic healing to clinical populations such as women’s shelters, veterans legions, low socio-economic schools, and much more. We support facilitators to learn the indigenous roots of holistic practices, become conscious facilitators, and create mindful real-life sustainable soulful businesses.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Moving from a world of research science into breathwork in itself is a risk. Haha. It’s a ton of personal inner work to have and maintain a dope business and have employees that co-create this business with me. The internal work is what’s kept me pushing through the limitations. You have to be your own cheerleader and future project your own visions before anyone else can see it. The risk is taking a chance on yourself before anything else.
I appreciate all the chances I’ve taken and all the opportunities that have come from establishing a wellness business. I get to work with amazing companies around the world, train badass facilitators who then go shine their light, and have a ton of fun and freedom along the way. I love my budding team who mentor practitioners in my programs and the pockets of collective healing energy we’ve generated together.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@alwaysplay.org
- Website: www.alwaysplay.org
- Instagram: @shanila.sattar | @alwaysplaystudios | @breathworkfacilitatortraining
- Other: www.tinyurl.com/playground222
Image Credits
Main – Reagan Schwab Others: Jessica Maddela, Komal Malik
