Get under the skin of a woman we like.
You may know her as Saseline Sørensen – former singer, model and TV presenter. Today, Saszeline Emanuelle is a certified psychotherapist, breathwork and meditation guide, sauna ritual facilitator and psychedelic-assisted therapist.
In this interview, she shares how a single session in Costa Rica six years ago marked the start of a new life, with her breath as her compass. She talks about the value of grounding yourself in your body, using breathwork as a therapeutic tool – and what she learnt during a year of celibacy.
We also discuss skincare rituals, screen-free breaks and why “I’m fine” is rarely the whole truth.
Get to know Saszeline better.
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“My journey with breathwork began six years ago when I travelled to Costa Rica to take part in a retreat. I was actually supposed to be working with plant medicine, and I rushed into the very first workshop I attended as the last person to arrive. I just lay down on the mat without really knowing what I was getting myself into. It turned out to be a 2.5-hour breathwork session – and it was completely life-changing for me.
That’s where it all began. Just the act of breathing deeply – it made such a difference. When I got home, I could feel that I had to delve deeper into it. I found out where I could take courses and training programmes, jumped on the bandwagon – and now I’ve been facilitating sessions myself for three years."
“I love breathwork because – without wanting to sound too clichéd – it’s a tool we all have access to. It’s the foundation of life, but also a direct gateway to our nervous system.
I think I’ve normalised living with a highly activated nervous system for many years, without knowing how to shift into the parasympathetic state. Breathwork gave me that experience, and I was hooked. I really feel what it does for me.
I also use it with my clients in therapy. I can see the difference when they speak from their head – as opposed to when they’re more grounded in their body. That’s why we often do 5–10 minutes of breathwork at the start, depending on what’s needed. I see it happening right in front of me: how their nervous system shifts, how their sense of presence changes, and how they start to feel themselves. It grounds us in our bodies – and we experience ourselves in a new way."
“I love breathwork because – without wanting to sound too clichéd – it’s a tool we all have access to. It’s the foundation of life, but also a direct gateway to our nervous system.
I think I’ve normalised living with a highly activated nervous system for many years, without knowing how to shift into the parasympathetic state. Breathwork gave me that experience, and I was hooked. I really feel what it does for me.
I also use it with my clients in therapy. I can see the difference when they speak from their head – as opposed to when they’re more grounded in their body. That’s why we often do 5–10 minutes of breathwork at the start, depending on what’s needed. I see it happening right in front of me: how their nervous system shifts, how their sense of presence changes, and how they start to feel themselves. It grounds us in our bodies – and we experience ourselves in a new way."
"I have a skincare routine that I always stick to. No matter if I get home at three in the morning, I cleanse my face. The skin is our largest organ – I learnt that early on when I started out in the music industry at the age of 14. We did shows, interviews, travelled a lot – always wearing make-up. So I knew that if I wanted good skin, I had to prioritise cleansing and moisturising. I still do that today: cleanser, serum and cream – every evening and every morning. It’s one of the first things I do."
"The most important thing for me when I need to recharge is really just to put time on hold. Put my phone on silent and just be – without having to do anything. It might be with lovely friends in the sauna, or on my own at home with classical music, in bed – without scrolling. Just pottering about – that de-stresses me.
I often do a little breathwork session too, so I can ground myself. I write in my diary to check in: ‘How am I actually feeling?’. And travelling! That’s something special too. Warmth, sunshine, vitamin D – and not having to be anything for anyone."
“We all have good and bad habits, of course, but I try to stick to my good ones. Taking deep breaths, checking in with myself, remembering my skincare routine. The little things where I take time for myself.
And then I pop round to Mette’s – she makes the most delicious soul food! Eating healthily and nourishingly affects my mood and my sense of being alive.”
"I also facilitate sauna sessions, and for those I have a few oils I always go back to. As well as that, I keep some Karmameju products in my bathroom. There’s just something special about essential oils – they nourish the body without being synthetic.
I’ll always come back to lavender. A simple scent that calms me. I could name ten, but I’ll name just one – and that’s lavender."
"I also facilitate sauna sessions, and for those I have a few oils I always go back to. As well as that, I keep some Karmameju products in my bathroom. There’s just something special about essential oils – they nourish the body without being synthetic.
I’ll always come back to lavender. A simple scent that calms me. I could name ten, but I’ll name just one – and that’s lavender."
"I wish more people dared to speak out about how they’re really feeling. Not this culture of perfection – not what we think we’re supposed to be because it ‘sounds’ right.
“‘I’m fine’ is an autopilot response for many of us. But we’re not always fine, are we? Perhaps I’m biased by being a therapist, but daring to say it as it is: honestly and vulnerably. I really feel that we create resonance in our field when we dare to let our guard down.
Ultimately, I feel that we’re all very much alike. We feel and experience many of the same things. So I wish we dared to take off the mask and just be our authentic selves."
“I’m curious by nature and always want to learn new things about myself. Sometimes I get a bit lost in it – I start searching, looking for answers, even though there isn’t always an answer. Then I end up in my head instead of grounded in my body.
For the past year, I’ve been living a celibate life. It has taught me a great deal about what I spend my energy on. I believe we are here for love – to give and receive love. But over the past year, I’ve found that there was nowhere to channel that energy, neither into flirting nor into actively seeking attention.
Here, I’ve learnt that something is happening inside me, within my energy, and how I can use it more purely.
It has become clearer to me what I want and what I don’t want.
So what have I learnt? That love and energy already exist within me. I don’t actually need anyone else to feel it. Up until now, I’ve used that energy a lot in my work with people – which I love. But now that I’m going out on dates again, there are some things that are much clearer to me: who I want to go for and what I feel like doing."
Even if you don’t use aromatherapeutic skincare or products for the home, nature still ensures that aromatherapy is all around us. Trees and plants release invisible plant compounds, phytoncides, which research links to lower stress levels and increased activity in the body’s natural defence cells. This is a beautiful account of forest bathing, nature’s aromatherapy and the scientific evidence behind it.
