Introducing the Sovereign Teacher Series
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.
And we're honored to begin with Sarah Cicero, a psychotherapist, yogi, and teacher whose work bridges clinical psychology and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.
SS: Sarah! Who are you? Better yet—we know your credentials—who are you beyond your practice?
Sarah: To be honest, I don't really feel there is a 'me beyond my practice.' My practice is so dynamic and expansive, it kind of covers everything that I do at this point. Whether I'm on or off the cushion or the mat, it's alive in my heart.
But that being said, when I'm not working or teaching or formally practicing, I love to play! I read a lot, I sing and play music, I write, I go on little adventures in the city, I spend time with my dogs and partner and friends, I go for long walks.
I'm also a huge nerd, but we can talk about that later.
SS: We love that here... How did you find your way to meditation?
Sarah: I remember being drawn to yoga and meditation when I was very young - I was obsessed with Ganesh and used to wear this little pendant necklace everywhere and pray with it, despite being raised Catholic.
I started doing yoga when I was quite young as well. I didn't know anyone who practiced (I was like 8 or 9), but my parents got me a book of asanas and I would try to copy them at home. The book also had some short meditations written out, and I did those too.
SS: Was there a turning point when practice became something more?
Sarah: In my late teens and early 20s, I experienced some really difficult losses and traumatic events, and that was really when I began to meditate and do yoga 'for real'.
It felt like, all of a sudden, a switch had flipped, and my life depended on these practices in a way they never had before. The stakes were raised and everything changed for me.
SS: We must know, how can one work toward a daily practice?
Sarah: I've found that joy, embodiment, curiosity, and consistency are the cornerstones of a strong practice (for me).
I used to struggle to practice daily, because I was prioritizing being "perfect" over being consistent, and now I haven't missed a day in years.
SS: And what tradition has shaped you most?
Sarah: I follow the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.
This tradition emphasizes how everything and everyone, ourselves included, are up for transformation into something far beyond what we can currently perceive, and also provides the exact steps we can take to achieve that transformation.
SS: What turns that path on for you?
Sarah: It's very logical, which I appreciate, but also profoundly beautiful and rooted in a deep love for all beings.
I was always the kid—and then the adult—who wanted to have magic powers, and this ability to alchemize ourselves and our world feels like magic.
SS: What does "presence over performance" mean to you?
Sarah: Reclamation of power. Who are we even performing for? Everyone and everything else is holding up a mirror into our own internal world.
The moments where I feel like I have to perform are such rich opportunities to tune into what's actually going on, what I'm actually feeling or needing, and then to meet that need or move through that feeling with compassion and without shame.
Performance reinforces the belief that we have to hide, and distracts us from the point. Presence empowers us to be seen, and it empowers us to do what we're here to do, on a deeper level.
SS: "Who are we even performing for"… Thank you Sarah <3
Practice Loving-Kindness with Sarah Cicero—her Metta Meditation is available now.