We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Hannala recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I found my purpose when I wasn’t looking. It was one of those situations where I was continuously led towards it no matter the path I was taking. I was first introduced to yoga by a family friend when I was 15 years old – I was instantly intrigued. The first time I taught a class, I was in high school where my morning class was yoga. My teacher called me and said her dog was really sick and asked me to please teach the class, I did and it was the first time I knew I wanted to be a teacher. A few years later, in 2013, my teacher at the time contacted me, told me that teaching was my purpose and I was meant to do it then proceeded to offer me a teacher training on scholarship. A few years after that, I moved into a house with a group of ladies, one of them being my dear friend Emily Weer, who introduced me to the world of sound healing. I had always been a singer, I did choir in school, wrote songs for fun and had a deep passion for music/singing since I was a kid. We collaborated on many sound healing and yoga experiences and I’m so grateful to have learned so much from her. When I moved to Los Angeles, I continued to focus on teaching yoga and sound healing. I was grateful to start teaching at Shefa Yoga Venice where I was introduced to a student of mine who offered me a job teaching yoga at a Mental Health facility for adults. Around the same time, I met a neighbor who also worked in treatment but worked with teenagers – she offered me a job doing sound healing there. These were both opportunities I had dreamed of because of my personal mental health journey, experience in treatment as a teen and deep interest in psychology. At Shefa, I met my amazing friend Amber Bonham who trained and certified me in Reiki and mentored me on how to use my voice more during my sound healings. It was always my purpose to be a healer and all of these special encounters, even when I didn’t know it, were all leading me to exactly where I needed to be.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a trauma-informed Bhakti Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master, Sound Healer, Writer, Creative and Mental health advocate. I am currently based in Los Angeles, California where I teach weekly public classes of multiple styles of yoga, at Shefa Yoga Venice. I also provide yoga and reiki sound healing at mental health facilities to support others in their healing journey. I also offer private yoga and healing sessions in person. You can also take classes from me on Youtube, I am currently working on adding more classes on there. I received my first yoga teacher training in 2013 and I have been teaching full time ever since. I am so incredibly grateful and humbled to have learned from some of the most incredible people, such as Jai Uttal, Ben Leinbach, Mc Yogi and Amanda Giacomini, Janet Stone and many other amazing teachers I’ve had along the way.
I am deeply devoted to the yogic path of Bhakti (love and devotion). I strive to inspire others to use the path of devotion to connect deeper with their divine higher power and in turn, fall in love with themselves, others and the world around them. I incorporate chanting and the ancient Vedic teachings of yoga in all of my offerings, as I believe in the importance of keeping tradition alive.
In 2022, I self published my debut book, The Syntax of Me, a collection of poetry and prose. It is an unfiltered, abstract expression of thoughts, emotions and experiences collected over the course of 8 years. It is my chaotic yet delicately molded articulation of life, healing and the alchemy of love. It is available for purchase on amazon and at Shefa Yoga Venice.
I’ve always considered myself a creative because I love to create in so many different forms, whether it be curating the perfect yoga playlist, modeling, writing, singing, collaging or painting. I think it’s important for all of us to explore our ability to be multi-faceted and understand that we don’t have to be the best at something to enjoy doing it.
I am excited to continue my journey of offering love and healing in every possible avenue I can find.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that have been the most impactful in my journey are most definitely – grace, devotion and discomfort. My greatest advice is to strive to always have these three qualities at the front of your mind. It is important to remain gracious to yourself and others. We show ourselves grace by supporting our experiences versus forcing them, by allowing ourselves to take a break when needed and know that there is truly no rush. Devotion is a form of discipline and a form of love. It’s impossible to always feel motivated, but it is possible to always maintain discipline. Discipline is the greatest form of self love we can ever experience, so it’s important we find what we want to devote to and build our discipline from that place of love. Nothing grows from being comfortable, the lotus and it’s ability to grow through mud symbolizes the spiritual path to remind us how important it is to constantly seek discomfort.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played an important role in your development?
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is by far the book that has had the greatest impact throughout my life. I received my first copy from my high school yoga teacher (the one who asked me to teach when her dog got sick) and I’ve read it around 10 times in these past 12 years. I love it because it is short, simple to read and with a potent message. You can listen to the whole audio book in 2 hours! The Four Agreements are – don’t take anything personally, always be impeccable with your word, don’t make assumptions and always do your best. Four statements that can actually be really hard to live by but can entirely change every aspect of our lives when we do.
Contact Info:
- Website:www.sarahhannala.com
- Instagram: @sarahhannala
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sarahhannala
- Other: tiktok: @sarahhannala
Image Credits
Ella Stern
