Adventure to Peace
WHO AM I - REALLY?
Together Towards Peace
Together with committed clients, Helena embarks on the exciting and challenging journey towards self-discovery and peace.
With practice and patience we can learn to disregard the noise and remember how precious we all are. Seeing your own potential can feel both liberating and heavy. We are human with the potenial of being magnificent.
Working with Helena often contains a combination of yoga, coaching and a splash of adventure. You pick a mix that works for you.
Helena was born and raised in Sweden and believes life is an adventure sprinkled with learning opportunities. She received her Master's Degree of Laws from the University of Stockholm and worked in the banking and insurance industry until she moved abroad with her family. Helena now lives in Greenwich, Connecticut and works as a certified Positive Psychology Coach and Yoga teacher. She is a curious world traveler and a strong athlete. Rarely does she miss out on an opportunity to learn something new!
CREATE YOUR - BEST YEAR YET
This is the signature program that leads to a more successful life of meaning, engagement and pleasure.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Mary Oliver
By allocating time to observe ourselves without judgment. Understanding our strengths and values. Clarifying our purpose. We create a way.
Designing a Best Year Yet plan gives you a road map towards a more value inspired life, based on your strengths and deepest longings. Step by step you align your external world with your internal calling. You feel excited, happy and light. Life starts to flow. Eventually, a sense of calmness and ease starts spreading. Inner peace is possible.
Contact me to start a private practice.
YOGA - THE ART OF LIVING AND LOVING
Have you ever watched a child deep at play? The intense focus and complete immersion, without any obvious purpose except to learn. Helena calls that Seriously Playful Yoga. For some reason, many of us lose that ability as we get older. We might feel confused and lost. Maybe disconnected. Who am I, really? Differentiating between our personal identities and our true nature can be hard. In yoga we study and learn more about the self, the object and the process of perceiving. It’s a fascinating journey.
“The highest form of spiritual practice is self-observation without judgment” Swami Kripalu
The practice of yoga originates from India and is thousands of years old. Yoga is about controlling the thought waves in the mind. The mind is like an ever-flowing river, filled with rocks and bumps. The purpose of yoga is to train the mind to step out of the river and help break the mind’s cycle of happiness followed by pain and suffering. In order to overcome this, yoga teaches us to slow down the waves in the mind until the mind-lake is calm without any waves and we can see clearly our true nature - radiant Awareness.
We do this by learning about the yamas and niyamas. We practice asana and pranayama. Eventually we learn to direct the movement of the senses inward - pratyahara. In dharana we learn to collect the flow of consciousness into a single direction. With time and practice this becomes effortless - dhyana. Eventually, we may enter into the state of samadhi, which is the intimate joining of self, object and the communication between them.
Helena is currently studying with Patty Townsend, the developer of Embodyoga®, which is a radical and inclusive approach to the ancient science of yoga. She is also trained in Children's Yoga, SUP-yoga, Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra, Five Element Yoga®, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and meditation.
Sign up for one of the public classes or contact me to start a private practice.
Mondays at Greenwich Botanical Center - 9:30am Gentle Yoga, 10:45am Chair Yoga and 11:30am Vinyasa Yoga. Drop in or sign up online or by calling Lisa Carmona at GBC, 203-869 9242.
LIFE - POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY COACHING
Just like in sports, having a coach that believes in you, encourages you and keeps you accountable, allows you to get to the next level. Most of us like to play at the top of our ability. Winning is not enough. We want to feel flow.
“Success is the peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” John Wooden, Basketball
In positive psychology coaching, we focus on designing a more fulfilling life by finding your values and using your strengths. I work with the SPIRE model, developed by Tal Ben-Shahar, Megan McDonough and Maria Sirois at the Wholebeing institute. I also find the character strenghts from the VIA institute, Values in Action, to be very useful. Coaching is a customized conversation between two equal partners that leads to personal growth and empowers you to get what you want by thinking and acting more resourcefully. A coaches job is to ask thought-provoking questions that inspire the client to maximize their potential.
Contact me to start a private practice.
SWEDISH - CONNECT TO YOUR ROOTS
Born and raised in Sweden and living most of my adult life abroad, has given me an understanding of the challenges and opportunities of what an international lifestyle may bring. I find staying in touch with my roots to be important. Sweden is part of my identity.
“No matter where life takes you, don’t forget where you came from” unknown
One way to keep the Swedish traditions and language alive for me has been to teach at the Swedish School of CT. I also work with children and adults individually, to practice the language, learn the history, songs, food, and other parts of the Swedish heritage that are relevant to the student.
Contact me to start a private practice.
TESTIMONIALS
Helena's intuition, creativity, sense of fun and adventure and, most importantly, her dedication to her own growth and education enables her to take clients where they didn't fully realize they were yearning to go. Helena lays track for transformation. She's a gift. - Sandra Swider, Director, The Leadership Circle, 2019
Helena brings structure, clarity and enjoyment to both her ProjectMe program and yoga courses where she successfully combines positive psychology coaching skills and significant depth in yoga experience. Her style is professional, engaging, practical, generous and clear. Helena is confident in her teaching process, insightful and supportive of participants - especially adept at helping them reach personal goals. She's a good communicator, very helpful and giving. In my opinion, she is doing the work she's meant to be doing. - Deborah Ewan, 2019
Fairly recently I attended my usual lunchtime yoga and was pleasantly surprised to have a substitute teacher that I loved - Helena Svedin. I asked about the classes she teaches and have been telling everyone I know about this amazing yoga teacher. We moved to Greenwich two years ago and I have tried several yoga studios and have not had luck finding the level of practice I had in NYC until I found Helena. - Jennifer Rolles, 2018
Helena creates a positive environment in a beautiful space at the Greenwich Botanical Center. Classes emphasize core strengthening and balance. I look forward to the optional morning walk through the woods for both exercise and camaraderie. - Jan Linskey, 2018
Helena is a great instructor, aware of our different ailments and keeps us on track. My chronic lower back pain is less because my back is stronger as is my core due to Helena’s Mindful Mornings with walk in the woods and yoga. Thank you, Helena! - Joanne Maciejewski, 2018
