Soul Sessions : Interview with Temple and Alisa
The wonderful people at Soul Collective asked us to share during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Enjoy the dual interview below from our two co-founders.
Temple Haze is a singer/ song-writer, trained yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner, co-director and sound designer of Soneiro Collective. Known for his composition work and collaborations with Berlin based artists such as Sam Shure, narou and Oliver Koletzki; he brings the underground Berlin music scene and spirituality together in harmony.
Alisa is a yoga and meditation teacher, writer and cultural scientist. Alisa used to live in Mexico where she studied Latin American studies and drama, as well as learned from different indigenous cultures. Alisa is the founder of the non-profit organisation YOGA FOR OTHERS e.V. bringing yoga and meditation to people in need. In 2016, she co-founded Soneiro Collective.
What is your morning ritual?
Alisa: When I am in my garden I first walk barefoot out the door on the wet grass and feel the morning sun on my face. I check on the plants water a few of them, this is actually the first meditation in the morning. I meditate for 20 minutes, make a coffee and a few times a week I go for a run. When I am in the city, I light a candle on my altar and welcome the day with saying an intention out loud and what I invite into the day. Sometimes I practice an activating yoga flow.
Temple: Wake up, Hydrate, clean up the house, roll out the yoga mat, warm up sequence and short meditation. Then taking a moment to think of all the things I am grateful for.
What tips do you have for someone starting out with a mindfulness practice?
Alisa: Try out different things. Be extremely open and observe your interest and your resistance towards different practices. Pick out what feels good for you right now. Maybe even the practice where you feel most of the resistance. What inspires you? Go deeper into it. Practice it. Study it. Live it. This will open so many new doors to you. No one can tell you what your practice should be like unless you feel it out for yourself.
Temple: Have self compassion, starting something new always takes some getting used to. Try guided meditations, and learn techniques that you can incorporate into your regimen. Don't worry or stress yourself if you feel you are thinking while you are meditating, it is part of the process!
What do you think are the most common misconceptions about yoga/meditation/sound healing?
Temple:
- People who do yoga are naturally more flexible. I've heard this a lot and this holds many people back from starting to take classes, we are all learning and working on our edge to become more flexible.
- I can't meditate, I am always thinking, Sitting and thinking in silence is the first step to learning meditation. I also have days where my mind just twirls around while I try to meditate, it's all about the practice and just doing it.
- Sound work/meditation/yoga seems too spiritual for me. With Soneiro Collective we are always trying to bridge that gap, and bring new people into the mindful experiences. basing many of our teaching and sessions on science helps create a grounded starting point.
Alisa:
Meditation: everybody except oneself is sitting in absolute inner peace and quietness during meditation. Having difficulties doing it means one is not good in it :-P
Soundhealing: Soundhealing is something esoteric.
How do you think the current crisis will change the way we practice mindfulness?
Alisa: Honestly, I am deeply rooted in the present moment since this “crisis” has begun that is why I don’t feel to make any future prognosis. It is more interesting for me to observe what is happening in this very moment. Right now what I am missing extremely is the personal contact with our participants and students. At the same time I feel that more people are now willing to practice.
Temple: It's been a deep process. I'd call it "cleaning out the closet" - washing away the old and stagnant energy in your home and creating a dynamic space within it. We are now forced to deal with ourselves, at home, mixing our work - life - movement - stillness life all into one center, our own home. It's been a great process to find inner motivation to get things done at home, without external motivation. I've also come to LOVE parks, and very thankful I live near one.
How do you find peace and balance when you’re feeling unbalanced? In what ways do you show love to yourself?
Alisa: I go into nature. Actually since I have the garden there is no feeling of being unbalanced. Before I had the garden, I would right away when I felt it and when it was possible drop everything, pack my things and drive out into nature. I sing. I pray and find balance in rituals with the elements: the water, the fire, the earth. Wind I have enough already in the city J When something is emotionally intense I go deep into a feeling. I never numb any feeling. I just can´t. When something is present I feel it in it´s fullness. I carry myself through it. And nature holds me.
Temple: For me creating music and performing fills me with joy and abundance. So sometimes even forcing myself to get creative does wonders for my psyche. Also reaching out to friends and loved ones, trying to give, share or help someone else, always tends to put me at ease.
What is something new that you’re excited to learn about?
Alisa: Living with plants. Now that I have the garden I have a huge responsibility towards many plants and trees. I was fascinated and studied a lot about plant medicine and made my own medicine here and there since teenage times. But now I am also living with them and studying their rhythms. Making sure they have everything they need. I am also having an extended herbal medicine garden to make natural remedies. It´s a lot of work and an incredible field of studying. The Great Mystery just sent this magical place: the Garden and the Gardenhouse to me in the beginning of the Quarantine. It was the perfect time to start this project.
Temple: I am very excited to continue learning about the power of sound and music, especially in how expertly crafted sound design can affect the mind, body and spirit.
What are three things you can’t live without? (doesn’t have to be material things)
Temple: musical instruments, music, exercise
Alisa: Love (I mean, who can?). My Community. My Freedom.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Alisa: Something rewarding for me is to know, that my work is aligned with my values. This is not just offering me a truthful life. I know that this is essential to stay healthy and happy. I couldn´t have a job that is “part of the problem” (with problem I mean the ecological and spiritual crisis that we are facing) but rather “part of a solution”. Rewarding is, that I find purpose in my work. To see that with my work I can help others. I can inspire. I can help others so that they can help themselves and then they can help others again. I see myself as a bridge builder and it is extremely rewarding to see how people build bridges through our work: may it be the therapeutical work with sound, the yoga retreats or women´s weekends, the rituals or circles. It is rewarding for me to see participants walking again on their own bridges, towards or back to their authentic life path…. connected and truthful life in connection with nature and their values. Many times it has happened that after a retreat for example I get messages that people quit their job, moved to another city or completely changed their life. Of course I never tell anybody to do such thing. I was asking myself what am I doing that people do these radical shifts and changes after joining our retreat or worked with me? In the beginning I was even scared for a moment since I felt so much responsibility. But through what they told me and what I can witness on the long run about those who did these changes is, that this was the right decision for their individual life path. I see it in their smiles, in their vitality and happiness.
Temple: Creating flow moments within performance, finding the meditative center of it. The blessing to be able to share such beautiful things with people and the feedback makes all the hard work worth it in the end.
What are you grateful for?
Alisa: That my dearest ones and myself are healthy. To create my own reality. To not be stopped by anyone but supported by my family, friends and my invisible allies. Grateful to be able to express love daily: professionally and intuitively through my work and path and impulsively (and chaotically sometimes) to the people around me. I am also grateful for the goodness in people. This is what I trust in: That more people wake their heart spaces up and act for the greater good. Whenever I see a glimpse of that in a person, a stranger or wherever in the world I am grateful and I feel hope.
Temple: To be here, my mother, the beautiful people in my life, my yoga practice, to be healthy, my talent and ability, my challenges (external and internal), my ambition, this incredible life we get to live, to be free and able to live my dreams, etc. (I could go on and on :) )
Are you offering any courses/practices/training during this time? And where can we find more information?
Alisa: We created an Online Workshop: a 2 hour Sound Ceremony – a journey through the energetic system, the Chakras with sound and my guidance and a 1 hour Kundalini Class. You can get both sessions together, to create a home day retreat or both sessions separately. People from different countries and continents practiced through this in their home retreat with us. We spend a lot of time creating this outstanding sound experience and are very happy with the outcome since we made sure that it has the same potential like a live session. And the feedback that we get proves that it does J
I released my first Podcast episode, sharing a deep insight into my Vision Quest in the Andes of Ecuador. For those who understand German: make yourself a tea, lean back and travel with me into this ritualistic world. More episodes, also in English, are following. The name of my podcast is Inner Worlds, portraying different holistic arts and bringing together science, art and spirituality.
Temple: Yes! I have a new EP that should be released in June, perfect music for yoga and dancing :) With Soneiro Collective we have our Online Sound Workshop Series that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home, a Yoga & Meditation Retreat in July and our Sound Meditation Training in summer! Learn more in the links :)
http://templehaze.com/
https://www.soneirocollective.com/