In our Sakara Spotlight series, we’re turning the tables on some of the amazing and accomplished souls that have chosen the Sakara Life program to fuel and fulfill their busy, beautiful lives.
One such woman is Emily Fletcher — a former Broadway star and performer, whose grueling schedule and chronic stress led her to a 180 career switch. Emily then developed a set of mental tools called the Ziva Technique, that completely transformed her life. Her unique twist on meditation marries the spirit behind mindfulness with the research-backed approach to clearing away the mental clutter in order to be a better employee, parent, friend, and lover. Her three-pronged technique is research-backed to light up different areas of the brain, and aims to alleviate the strain stress has on our mental well-being.
Today, she leads a thriving online workshop that, beyond catching the eye of Dr. Mark Hyman and other medical leaders, is guiding thousands of people to use meditation in a practical way. We are honored that she has extended her practice of crowding out the clutter by nourishing her body with Sakara— she and her mama are weekly subscribers, and as a new mama herself (of a baby and the book, Stress Less, Accomplish More), we’re in awe of her passion to honor her body, mind, and spirit every day. Follow along her day of baby bath time, breath work, and book launches.
Name: Emily Fletcher
Astro Sign: Sun and Moon in Aries
Occupation: Founder of Ziva Meditation, Creator of the Ziva Technique (A trifecta of mindfulness, meditation and manifesting), Mama
Location: New York City
Favorite Sakara Meal: The Truffle Salad + any of the fun colored mylks!
Morning
These days, my alarm clock is the sweet sounds of my 8-month-old son, Jasper. We start with his breakfast, which is 30 minutes of nursing. Then I begin the day with tongue scraping to remove all the toxins released overnight (in Ayurveda, this process of getting rid of toxic residue from the mind and body is called ama) and drink some water - hot in the winter, room temperature in the summer. To wake up my body a little bit, I do 10-15 minutes of yoga and/or Ayurvedic exercises to get the energy moving before sitting down to do my morning Ziva Technique - mindfulness, meditation, and manifesting. This is the only non-negotiable part of my self-care routine. Everything else I’ll mix and match based on the season and what feels charming to me at the moment.
After my meditation, I either do 5 minutes of gratitude journaling - because like all of us, nature likes to be acknowledged and thanked or I will read a lesson from A Course in Miracles. Afterward, for exercise, I enjoy an ever-changing rotation of the 7 min workout app with Erin Stutland’s affirmation based movement, Physique 57, or The Class by Taryn Toomey.
For breakfast, I have a yummy superfood smoothie and take all my supplements, including a prebiotic/probiotic, and vitamins C and D. Nourishing my brain and body like this makes a huge difference in my performance day to day.
I’ve been blessed that my mom has come to stay with me and helps watch Jasper while I have been deep in book launch-land and running Ziva through this period of massive growth. I love that I get to walk to work on the days that we have our team meetings at the Ziva studio in Soho. Every day is so different. Lately, my schedule has been focused on guest-ing on various podcasts, and some fun TV segments.
Afternoon
If the demands of a workday start to weigh on me, I’ll take a "breath break." I inhale for the count of 2 and exhale for the count of 4. Simply doing this on the way to the bathroom can create a reset on your day. Some of my students that suffer from anxiety rely on this to keep an attack from coming on.
I typically bring my own lunch to work. While I’d love to be able to cook all my meals, right now between Jasper and birthing a "book baby" (which became a bestseller in its first week!), my time is really limited. Thankfully, I get Sakara delivered and it’s been a total lifesaver for me. I joke and say that my body is about 80% Sakara right now.
If I’m not eating Sakara (rare), I follow an Ayurvedic diet based on my personal dosha (or body type) and I bring it in a glass container. I like to eat as many greens as possible (cooked in the winter, raw in the summer). I do my best to have a protein, a fat, and some sort of fermented veggie too, for gut health. These days Jasper will join to have his lunch while I have mine. Shout out to Grandma for bringing him to the studio.
Around 3, the zivaTEAM meditates together. The second sitting of the day with The Ziva Technique is *the* thing that gets us over the post-lunch slump and re-energizes everyone for the second half of the day.
Evening
After a full day of work, I’ll walk home to my apartment. I love walking home through NYC especially on late summer nights when I get to walk west into the sunset. It is a great way to switch gears from work and walk through the door ready to be present with my husband and son.
Once I arrive, I’ll prepare dinner or eat some more Sakara (not kidding about the 80%, y’all). I am so thankful to have a healthy food delivery service so I don’t have to compromise on health just because life is requiring a lot of me right now.
Around 8:30PM comes Jasper’s massage and bath time. We use cold-pressed, organic coconut oil for the massage then bath. Then, more nursing while I listen to podcasts or work from my phone.
I usually have a surge of productivity around 10:30PM. While not ideal, this is my most useful work time because it is uninterrupted. I write, answer emails, and make sure my schedule is primed for tomorrow.
Before I settle in for bed, I take out my Five Minute Journal and write 3 amazing things that happened and 3 ways I could have made the day better. I check my calendar for the next day so I feel mentally prepared, then set my alarm at least 30 minutes early so I have time to do The Ziva Technique in the morning. Bedtime falls around 11:45PM. Sometimes I listen to podcasts in bed (phone on airplane mode) or even read an actual book.
xo,
Emily
