Analise Sesay Common Healing

Age || 25

Company Name || Common Healing

Job Title || Co-Founder + Director / Healing Artist + Educator

Years Living In New York || 5 Years

Social Handles || @commonhealing (ig); @commonhealin (tw); @anaoftheclouds (ig/tW)

Company Website || Common Healing

What did you want to be while growing up?

An astronaut. I let that dream go once I realized math and science weren’t really my thing. I got bogged down by practicalities and trauma as I moved through my teens into young adulthood. I lost connection to myself. I tried to pursue ads and PR because that was one of the few professional paths I was aware were available to me. I got to college and those were my least favorite classes, while I was really activated by my race and gender critical theory classes and my entrepreneurship studies.

The last three years or so have been a journey back home to myself. I spend more and more time with my authentic energies. I love it here.

How do you define success?

I am surrounded by love. I can nap in the sun whenever I want. Eat a lot of fruit. I have the space to move with purpose and intention. No pressure or ulterior motives drive my work. I have a stable foundation. I own land and my home. I cultivate or trade a decent portion of the food I consume. I have the ability to travel and spend a good amount of time with my London community. Kids one day.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned since starting out?

Once you start, the creation takes on a life of it’s own and you propel one another forward. It starts to cultivate its own energy with the energy it collects from those who interact with it. I don’t have to carry all the weight.

What is your go-to motivational quote?

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” - Audre Lorde

Courtesy of Common Healing; London Pop-Up

What made you interested in starting this healing space?

When I moved to London, I wasn’t able to find any alternative wellness spaces that resonated with me like I had access to in Brooklyn. There were some really dope yoga studios, but as far as spaces with a range of healing modalities that doubled as an activist/organizing space, I wasn’t aware of any. So I decided to open my own.

I opened the popup with my co-founder Suki Staples. We met at a talk at TriYoga that erupted into a heated argument after the lecture unveiled masked racism in the room. Suki came up to me after saying she resonated with something I’d said to clap back at this woman who was being really horrific. In time, we realized we had similar visions for a brick and mortar healing space. She even knew of this small co-op yoga studio I practiced at near my apartment in Brooklyn. A few months later, I came across this commercial space a short walk from my house. I called her to see if she thought I should go for it and she said wait a few months and I’ll do it with you.

We intended to experiment with this popup space since we had the ability to rent for a few months at a time. The three months there were filled with incredible lessons and inspiration. We discovered some kinks and decided to rest for a few months after the popup to come back to the drawing board in preparation for a long-term space. Then the pandemic hit.

Both of our lives dramatically changed. I wanted to create a space online but Suki didn’t have the space since her attention was needed elsewhere. She gave me the go ahead to launch the second initiative. I’ve been researching black radical education and black economic development for a few years. It felt really natural to launch a second iteration of common healing in the form of a radical learning space. Then the uprising began in the U.S. and it felt even more necessary and aligned.

Do you have a personal motto?

‘Just do it’ keeps coming to mind. Not in the corporate Nike sense but in a more subconscious way. I don’t think too much before taking major leaps. If something excites me I just go for it.

Which women inspire you?

My mom. Audre Lorde. Fannie Lou Hammer. Mahalia Jackson. My friends. I have so so so many incredible female friends in different corners of the world that inspire me every day. They way they love, the way they heal and expand...Magic.

How do you overcome moments of self-doubt?

Ooof, back to my friends. I’m so blessed to be able to be extremely vulnerable with them, sharing exactly where I’m at. There’s no masks and it’s extremely refreshing because that wasn’t always the case. I’d say in the last few years, I really found people who I connect with on a soul level. When I’m feeling low, they have an arsenal of reference points to counteract the negative self-talk, all while validating what I am experiencing in that moment. I love them so much.

How do you balance your schedule?

I really struggle to establish routines and stick with them. I’ve often relocated which shakes up my reality and requires periods of adjustments. I move intuitively and sometimes chaotically. I hope to plant some roots this year. I’ve been on a journey to ground myself and I think I’m getting there.

How do you handle situations where you feel overwhelmed?

I take a step back. I take deep breaths. Go for a walk or take a shower. Phone a friend. I tend to shut down when I’m overwhelmed so I have to pull away so I can gain clarity.

What has been the most rewarding thing since starting out?

Seeing common healing take on a life of its own. Hearing that people have connected in Mexico City through common healing over a tattoo a month after we’ve moved out of the popup in South London…that was big for me. In ways, it feels common healing mirrors the life I’ve created for myself. In-service, responsive to the times, international, genuine and dynamic. There’s qualities of myself stored in common healing but like I said, she lives and breathes on her own in places I’ve never even been because she also stores qualities of the community sprouting from her. That all feels really good to me.

What advice would you give to other women trying to create their own life?

Meditate on how you want to feel. Once you’ve tapped into that feeling, and I mean really tapped in, a comfortable warmth may fill you and maybe even a smile has taken over your face. Ask yourself what your mission is. What is your dream life? What does your ideal day look like? How do you want to spend the majority of your time? You won’t get all the answers in that one moment, I think the date we gather on the journey is critical and informs our expansions, pivots, etc. But what comes up in that space of contemplation is valuable and worth your pursuit.

What is your creative process like in terms of coming up with classes and community outreach?

I feel really blessed to be operating online right now because the overhead costs are significantly lower than when we operated a brick and mortar. Like 20 times lower or something. There isn’t this pressure of rent due on the first of the month. That drove all of our decisions, forced us to move quickly, kept us up at night. Now that there isn’t a massive financial pressure, I can move with purpose and intention.

I don’t really feel like I’m making any decisions right now. I just tap into this inner guidance system that has all the stops plotted. The intention provides a destination. That’s really esoteric but I think what I’m getting at is: I go with what resonates from my home frequency. So there's patience, pausing, and surrender required. I think holding on to the illusion of control is the death of creativity, at least in my personal experience.

What are some of your goals moving forward for your company?

I mean, straight up? I want to buy land for a farm retreat where I can grow food and medicine and host resident artists and activists.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.