There’s no shortage of advice in the wellness world. What’s rarer is finding teachers whose practice is lived—not performed. People who embody the work they share.
Today, we’re introducing the Sovereign Teacher Series, a recurring collection of conversations and guided practices with meditation teachers, therapists, movement practitioners, coaches, and sound healers whose perspectives have shaped our own relationship to presence.
Each week we’ll share a new teacher, a guided meditation from their practice, and reflections on what it means to live with greater awareness in a world that constantly pulls us away from ourselves.
This week it’s Leticia Freitas, a dedicated, community-oriented student and teacher. With 500+ hours of yoga & meditation training, her greatest joy has been helping people uncover their mind as a way to transform their relationship to the world.
Hii Leticia, welcome. First off, beyond your practice, who are you?
Leticia: I live with my adorable cat and partner in Brooklyn, work a remote job with wonderful people, and like to find ways to enjoy the world with friends. I don't think of my practice as outside of any of that anymore. Everything in my life is the perfect conduit for me to practice joy and take care of the world.
What first brought you to meditation?
Leticia: It was August of 2023, at the end of a chaotic summer. Relationships ended, nights were long, and exhaustion of the cyclical-nature of life was hitting. So I pretended that August was my “new year,” and I wanted to try something new for the month.
Meditation came to mind because I had a friend doing it and it seemed to be doing something to her. I’d say the turning point was a mix of curiosity and desperation for something to be different. The external search for relief was good because it meant I was ready for something to land, and luckily it brought me to realize that there wasn’t anything outside of me that was actually going to make me happy besides Me. And thus, the practice of loving myself began.
What does your daily practice look like now?
Leticia: I meditate every single day before I do anything else, and I practice yoga asana a few times a week. It wasn’t always like that though, my practice used to be more sporadic. I’d study Buddhism because I liked learning, but I’d practice whenever I could squeeze it in or had the energy to. Looking back I know all of those small efforts led me to having a consistent daily practice now. Which includes sitting on the cushion and holding that mental posture throughout the entire day.
What does 'presence over performance' mean to you?
Leticia: I think about this a lot when I’m teaching. I never want to teach by the book JUST because the book said it. Of course, it’s good (and necessary) to teach from knowledge that is passed down from teacher to student, but I try my best to teach from the heart and from experience, even if it’s messy or not all figured out. And not only when teaching but also when interacting with anyone at all.
To me, presence over performance is powerful, and a way to be that can build genuine community and support real transformation.
What do you hope people take away from your meditation?
Leticia: The feeling that taking care of others is a true act of self care :) It is a core philosophy in the Buddhist teachings that the way you treat others is what is coloring your perception of the world, which why compassion is an important skill to cultivate. Because the habits I have with other people most definitely translate to the habits I have with myself, so it’s important to practice kindness as a radical act of self care, knowing that taking care of others is also taking care of the parts of me that I see in others.
Everyone is your mirror, and the more we understand that, the more we will want to take care of others. And the more we take care of others, the less we will perpetuate the habits that are creating harm in this world.
SS: The habits we have with other people become the habits we have with ourselves... That's so perfect, thank you Leticia.