Meet Sarai Darbandi

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarai Darbandi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sarai, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

As a therapist, coach, & breathwork facilitator helping clients with overcoming imposter syndrome comes up quite a bit. I notice it comes up especially with those who are seeking their deepest desires and dreams through their careers or other passions like various entrepreneurship. The way I have experience imposter syndrome is in the form of fear. Fear of failure, fear of something not being worth it, thinking I am not worthy enough, not feeling equipped in some sort of way to pursue the next level in my life, ect. I think answering the question how does one overcome imposter syndrome can turn into several conversations. I actually do not think I have “overcome” imposter syndrome. Rather I have learned to walk with it, side by side. Rather than rejecting this part part of me, avoiding it, or acting like it is not there. I have learned to develop a deep relationship with my very human fears and insecurities that I believe are very universal. Specific skills and techniques I have utilized are mindfulness, breathwork, somatic experience, & parts work to essentially “befriend” and “attend” to this aspect of myself. Something that I continue to learn each and everytime that the risk has always been worth it the end to go after the desire. Because despite the outcome I always learn something. Which has been an interesting journey being a recovering perfectionist. I hope other individuals out there struggling with this can feel inspired that it is not

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve always had a creative mind and a deep affection for humanity. My upbringing was challenging, marked by a rough childhood and struggles with perfectionism, body image issues, an eating disorder, and overcoming trauma. At 36, I can reflect on my healing journey and see how it led me to the healing arts. My personal experiences with therapies such as EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Mindfulness, Breathwork, and Inner Child & Re-parenting work inspired me to become a therapist specializing in childhood trauma and transpersonal experiences.

In addition to these practices, psychedelics and plant medicines, along with Holotropic Breathwork, have profoundly impacted my life. I now assist others in preparing for and integrating these transformative experiences. Currently, I’m most excited about my training with the Grof Transpersonal Training in Holotropic Breathwork and the online breathwork journeys I facilitate. The power of combining music and breathwork to help people explore their inner selves continuously inspires me.

I am deeply honored by all the people who have supported me on this journey and by those I am privileged to hold space for. Witnessing others access their deepest and most authentic versions of themselves is a profound and humbling experience.

If you are interested in joining us online in our Online Breathwork Journeys, join your first journey for free, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/online-breathwork-journey-tickets-978778531937?aff=oddtdtcreator

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

This is such a good question. Reflecting on my journey, I would say that three key qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge were particularly impactful for me:

1. **Information**: At the start of my journey, I was unfamiliar with the language of childhood trauma and didn’t even realize I was struggling with it. My perfectionism led me to constantly hide from my true self by focusing on achieving goals. However, once people who genuinely cared about me shared valuable information, it opened many doors for me. Gaining knowledge about my struggles and understanding them was crucial in starting my healing process.

2. **Hope**: Throughout many dark nights of the soul, hope and deep trust in the process were essential. Even in the most challenging times, maintaining hope allowed me to push through and eventually find light at the end of the tunnel.

3. **EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)**: This technique was transformative for me. It enabled me to process my past in a profound way and allowed me to show up in the world with a renewed perspective. EMDR played a significant role in my healing journey.

For those early in their journey, my advice is to find the right person to work with. Whether it’s a therapist, coach, or breathwork facilitator, it’s vital to ensure that the fit feels right for you. The inner work is deeply intimate and personal, so having a supportive and understanding professional can make all the difference.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

My ideal client is someone who is eager to discover their truest and most authentic self. They have a deep thirst for self-awareness and are motivated to explore their inner landscape. An ideal client also has an interest in breathwork, which aligns with the work we do in our online breathwork journey community.

Currently, our community supports individuals seeking transpersonal experiences, those who want to prepare for or integrate psychedelic and/or plant medicine experiences, and those looking to develop a meaningful relationship with their own inner healer. If you’re driven to explore these realms and cultivate a deeper connection with yourself, you will find a supportive and transformative space within our offerings.

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