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About

Introducing Santosha Rose

Santosha Rose is a place to try new things, to learn about yourself and the world and to meet inspiring people. I created it to share my passions of yoga, exploring ideas and creating community. You may have come here for just one of these things or you may be excited to find out about everything Santosha Rose has to offer. Or maybe you don’t even know yet, but you were curious to find out more. Whichever of these describes your motivation, I’m so pleased you’re here, and I hope you find everything you seek.

You may be wondering where the name came from, so I wanted to share the meaning behind this. Santosha Rose is a fusing of two elements that have danced and entwined through my journey and represent important elements of what I want to create.

Santosha is a Sanskrit word that translates as “Contentment.” It means a strongly rooted happiness and joy that is not contingent upon life going smoothly, as it comes from a part of us that is not affected by what happens in the outside world. For me, practising Santosha has given me a feeling of happiness in being alive, a deep sense of gratitude and an ability to accept what is happening every moment, rather than creating suffering by wishing it were different. I have used the practice of Santosha to show me a light in dark times and to stay grounded while everything seems to be changing around  me.

Rose is a beautiful flower that blooms abundantly throughout the summer in gardens across England (& the world). My personal origins are in Yorkshire, England, a county that is symbolised by the white rose, dating back to the 14th Century. For me, roses are also a powerful call to presence and the phrase “stop and smell the roses” reminds us to slow down and appreciate the wonder of life. I also love the juxtaposition of the soft, sweet petals that to me symbolise beauty with the hard, sharp thorns that I think symbolise truth.

Is Santosha Rose for me?

If you’re still reading, then chances are the answer to that question is YES! But just to make sure, here are some things that might resonate if Santosha Rose is right for you…

  • You would like to welcome more connection, belonging and joy in your life
  • You’d like to meet amazing people who will uplift, encourage and support you
  • You want to live a life that is more engaged, fulfilling and courageous
  • AND… you’re a human so sometimes you find this pretty challenging
  • You have had glimpses of the person you can be on your best days and you’d love to have that person around more of the time,

Learn about Sam

My name is Sam Alexander-Vasey and I am the creator of Santosha Rose. I think of myself as a melting pot of different worlds that come together to make Sam. I am hugely grateful and humbled that I get to be a yoga teacher, immersive workshop leader, reiki healer, mentor and coach. I am a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance and completed my initial yoga teacher training at a beautiful residential training school in Rishikesh, India. I studied a holistic curriculum covering meditation, breathing techniques, physical yoga practices, philosophy, anatomy, yogic nutrition and Ayurvedic health. I am particularly interested in exploring how yogic principles, practices and lifestyle can be used in the West as a way of creating greater peace, fulfilment, belonging and joy in a world that sometimes feels set up to put these things perpetually just beyond our reach.

I consider myself to be an eclectic nerd with a vast range of interests and passions, and I see my life as something between an adventure and a science experiment. I am an avid learner on topics ranging from history and philosophy to mental health and social justice to leadership and personal finance. Everything I learn that feels resonant is then tested out in my own life and is gradually distilled down to the things that work for me. I get huge fulfilment in using these experiments to help others to navigate the challenges of this human life and love it when things I share make a positive difference to the lives of others.

The core that runs through everything I learn, test out and teach is a deep and open curiosity about the world and about our human experience of it. 7 years ago, when a mental health crisis brought me to my knees, I asked the question “Is this it?” I knew the effort it would take to “recover;” to get back to where I was. But where I was wasn’t actually such a great place to be. I was exhausted. Depleted. Hustling. Every day I used tremendous energy to keep putting one foot in front of the other, without really knowing why. I was running in the hamster wheel of a life I did not choose, and which did not fulfil me. I made the decision not to recover from mental ill health, but to transform from it. No matter how you found me or the path you took to get here, know that I am reaching out an open palm to you now and inviting you to do the same.