Photo: Courtesy of Standing Light
Through Leyla Salvade‘s many travels and experiences, she developed a passion for nutrition, self improvement and holistic healing. This lead her to move to the New York, which lead to the eventual conception of Standing Light. Salvade’s ideals and teachings have a consistent motif; light, finding/following your inner light and living a healthy, happy ‘Lightstyle.’ Through her Light Coaching, which explores health and mindfulness initiatives ranging from meditation to energy work, she strives to make clients feel more empowered and enlightened.
Her programming doesn’t stop at coaching. She also evokes her ‘Lightstyle’ practices through her blog, artistic collaborations and Heart to Table events, which encourage guests to familiarize themselves with healthful ingredients that can easily be added to their meal. We got to chat with Salvade to learn more about her journey and inspiration behind this healthful brand.
What inspired the sustainable, holistic ethos of Standing Light?
Being born and raised in Switzerland, sustainability is an automatic lifestyle, but once I moved to Arizona I lost touch of that natural way of life and unconsciously adapted to the consumeristic American lifestyle. My deep love of nature and our planet never left me and although it took me until college to realize how my unconscious acts were helping destroy our planet as well as us humans, I began to make changes to my lifestyle. The sustainable and holistic ethos of Standing Light is a direct reflection of how I live my life as well as my mission to teach people how to live a more sustainable and holistic life that not only deeply lights them up, but also helps our planet.
Can you tell us a little more about ‘Light Coaching?’
Life throws darkness and shadows in our path on a daily basis, but when you look at a shadow, it just means a bright light is shining somewhere nearby. Through very personal and deep one on one sessions, I help my clients discover their own inner light, with the end goal of transforming them into someone who powerfully stands in their own light, becoming a standing light. I’m a certified health coach, yet calling myself a health coach didn’t feel complete to me. It wasn’t until I spent time at a Zen Buddhist Monastery led by Thich Nhat Hanh in France, where ‘Light Coach’ was channeled to me and I moved forward through mediation in developing a coaching methodology that felt fully aligned to me.
Through my Lightsyle Immersion Program, we integrate deep inner work, sustainability and health coaching to create a life that truly lights you up.
You have called many different places home, how has this affected your views?
From the moment I was born, I’d hear six different languages within the same conversation at times. My mother being half American and half Lebanese, and my father being Swiss yet raised between Colombia and Venezuela, immersed me into a multi-cultural upbringing. So from an early age, I understood that the boundaries of the world are simply an illusion, and that in fact we are all connected – we are ONE. So as I embarked on my life path, which led me to live in Arizona, London, Los Angeles and New York. My understanding that we are all ONE only grew stronger as I observed people from all walks of life dealing with the same innate yearnings and struggles.
I realized that most systems are set up to lead us away from ourselves and our planet, directing us to a lifestyle that is very emptying and fleeting.
Through my observations and many years of self study my desire to help people realize the bigger picture again became my life’s mission.
Photo: Courtesy of Standing Light
Has being in New York affected the growth/direction of your business?
I truly believe everything happens for a reason, so it wasn’t a surprise to me that as soon as I realized the name of my company (Standing Light), my path shifted me from LA to NYC – the U.S. City of Lights.
I moved to New York two years ago and I founded Standing Light seven months later. Since then I’ve spent equal amounts of time back home in Switzerland and here in NYC, so it’s been very interesting to watch Standing Light grow between such drastically different places. Being in New York has forced me to be that much more conscious about my actions.
In a city where everything is so readily available and just one click away, it’s so easy to live a very unsustainable and wasteful life. Teaching myself how to compost in the city, how to grocery shop sustainably and how to stay centered in the city that never sleeps was a very interesting journey, but I couldn’t be happier now.
I plan on spending much more time in New York this year and growing the business here in a more grounded manner.
What advice can you give those who are looking to take on a more positive, healthful and sustainable lifestyle?
It’s not easy, but nothing in life worth having is. It took me a while to develop ways that truly light me up and keep me moving forward in living what I call a Lightstyle – an enlightened way of life, especially in the city.
Yet I truly believe that if and when the desire is strong enough to make a shift and take that leap of faith towards your higher self, the universe opens up and starts to work FOR you. Once we open ourselves up to a more conscious and awakened life, we become aware of the magic all around us.
One thing I love to do with my clients is make one shift in every aspect of their life – spiritually, sustainably, and health wise. So for example, we will integrate meditation into their daily spiritual practice; make a pledge to use as little plastic as possible for sustainability and cut out processed sugar for their health.
Photo: Courtesy of Standing Light
Implementing small acts of change like that go a long way, not just for the individual, but also for our planet, and it’s so fulfilling to consciously add what I call Light Pillars to your daily routine! What is next for you/Standing Light?
This year is a big year for Standing Light. I am working on two books right now and am about to launch my Lightstyle Immersion Program, which is a one on one 2.5 day retreat in my NYC home where we dive deep into designing a life that truly lights you up. I’ve come to realize that the easiest way to learn is through experience, so I’ve designed this program where you and I spend 2.5 days together doing deep inner work, meditate, I teach you how to cook healthy meals, how to shop sustainably and I offer a unique set of options to choose from to add into your daily program depending on what you want to focus on.
I’m also launching my YouTube channel where I’ll be sharing tips and tricks on how to live a more sustainable, conscious, and light-filled life!
To lern more about Salvade and Standing Light’s many resources, visit their website.To schedule a Light Coaching session with Leyla email her at info@standinglight.com.
-by Johanna Silver
