Tanya Ali Jalani on Awakening, Mental Health, and the Human Side of Healing

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This week, I sit down with the luminous Tanya Ali Jalani, breathwork facilitator, sound healer and the founder of Soulchemy. Tanya's story is one of profound inner awakening, cultural reinvention, and the courage it takes to dismantle the conditioning we inherit. It is a conversation for anyone who has ever felt wired differently, struggled in silence, or longed for a deeper connection to themselves.

Cultural conditioning and the weight we inherit

Tanya grew up in Iran before migrating to Australia at age six, carrying the weight of cultural expectation, displacement, and early mental health struggles. We talk about how the conditioning we inherit, from family and from culture, quietly shapes our identity long before we have the words for it. For Tanya, that included the hidden emotional load so often carried by immigrant and Middle Eastern families, the things that go unspoken and unprocessed across generations.

At twelve, she knew something inside her felt different, but did not yet have the language for depression, trauma, or the emotional storms that shaped her early life. It is a tender, honest place to begin, and it sets up everything that follows.

The awakening that changed everything

Tanya's life changed dramatically six years ago during a deep meditation retreat, where she experienced a spiritual awakening so powerful it rewired the way she thought, felt and moved in the world. We talk about that profound before and after, what it felt like to come back into ordinary life changed, and how an experience like that becomes the foundation for the work she does now.

Soulchemy, breath and sound healing

Through her Soulchemy method, Tanya combines breathwork and sound frequencies to shift the body into deep relaxation and release. But she is just as interested in what happens afterwards. We explore why breathwork can activate dormant energies, and why responsible aftercare and integration matter so much. A practice this powerful asks for care, not just intensity.

Depression, mental health and staying human

Tanya speaks openly about the days she still has to work hard not to dip. We get into the difference between everyday sadness and clinical depression, and why she approaches her work through a lens of responsibility, integration and emotional safety rather than chasing peak experiences. As she puts it, spiritual highs mean nothing without staying grounded and human. We close on the rituals and practices that help her stay steady, the unglamorous, daily work of actually feeling well.

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Hosted by Sigourney Cantelo.