We’re looking forward to introducing you to Lee Haines. Check out our conversation below.
Lee, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
Some are feeling that they are not enough. Even some people who look like they feel confident on the outside, may be battling with insecurity, and feeling like they’re falling short, as a parent, or partner, or a work professional. Many are keeping up with appearances/masks and secretly feeling inadequate and insecure. A big part of this feeling of lack, is that they feel they are not enough, which also comes from a feeling of abandonment, loneliness, and a lack of deeper connection with Great Spirit. I help guide others through an elemental wisdom process to balance the masculine and feminine energies within, and then also working with the inner child, earth energy, and the connection with their soul purpose through the wind ancestral connection. I guide others through yoga, meditation, cleansing, and ceremonial ways to help surrender, to relearn what is needed in that moment of their life, to feel whole within. This isn’t a bandaid for wounds or loops that reappear, this is healing work that is viewed through a new lense in life, so that patterns are not repeated.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Lee Haines, and I am the founder of Udjat Yoga and Mystery School, a sacred space for spiritual seekers of all levels to reconnect with their bodies, minds, and souls. My journey began through my own healing—losing over 100 pounds, overcoming scoliosis, arthritis, and emotional trauma—which led me to discover the transformative power of yoga, qigong, sound healing, and ancient elemental wisdom.
Udjat Yoga is more than a studio—it is a community and mystery school rooted in ancestral teachings, trauma-informed practices, and embodied spirituality. Through classes, workshops, ceremonies, and one-on-one coaching, I guide others in reclaiming their inner balance, aligning with the elements, and remembering their sacred essence.
What makes my work unique is the integration of multiple lineages: Egyptian symbolism, indigenous earth wisdom, and modern somatic healing, woven into accessible practices for today’s world. My mission is to help people not only heal, but also awaken their highest potential and embody their truth.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
What often breaks the bonds between people is unspoken pain—whether that’s betrayal, misunderstanding, pride, or the inability to be truly vulnerable. When we stop listening with compassion, or when ego overshadows love, the threads that connect us begin to fray.
What restores those bonds is presence and truth. Healing comes when people are willing to soften, to communicate openly, and to see each other through the lens of forgiveness and humanity. In my experience as a teacher and healer, I’ve witnessed how practices like breathwork, ceremony, and shared vulnerability can reawaken connection. At the core, love and honest presence are the medicine that bring people back together.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me what success never could—it brought me face to face with the rawness of life and revealed truths that no achievement ever could. Success often brings comfort, applause, or recognition, but it doesn’t strip you down to your essence the way suffering does. My most profound lessons came when I willingly stepped away from comfort and into conditions that tested my body, mind, and spirit.
When I went to volunteer with an indigenous tribe, I expected challenges, but I could not have imagined how much the experience would transform me. The lack of what I once considered “necessities”—a shower, food, clean clothes, or even the basic comfort of a home—forced me into a different way of being. I remember being in a small house during the peak of summer, the air thick and hot, with no running water and barely enough food to sustain the day. The desert sand seemed to cover everything, making it impossible to feel clean, and the simplest routines of modern life disappeared. For four days of initiation, I was immersed in this raw reality, stripped of everything familiar. It was in that stripped-down state that I began to receive messages—visions from God, encounters with beings beyond this world, and prophecies about history and the future. These transmissions, gifted through ceremony and the historian of the village, were not just mystical experiences; they were reminders that when we are emptied, we become open to a higher wisdom.
Over the past five years, as I returned to stay with the tribe for weeks and even months at a time, this lesson deepened. I lived without water, without baths, without the comfort of soap or the routines that once gave me a sense of control. Sometimes food was scarce, and life felt undeniably hard. Yet in the midst of that lack, I witnessed something that shook me to my core: joy. The people around me smiled, laughed, and shared. Their faces carried a light that did not depend on what they had, but on who they were and how they held life in their hearts. I realized that fullness does not come from abundance of possessions, but from the abundance of spirit.
Suffering became my greatest teacher because it showed me the sacred truth of resilience and compassion. It taught me that humility is a strength, that the human heart can remain open even when the body is deprived, and that connection—to spirit, to community, to love—is the real nourishment that keeps us alive. Success may celebrate outcomes, but suffering shapes the soul. And through those moments of struggle, I carry the reminder that even in the most stripped-down conditions, the heart can remain full.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
1. Healing Is Quick and Easy
Many people are led to believe that one class, one ceremony, or one coaching session will “fix” years of trauma or disconnection. True healing is not instant—it is a journey of layers, patience, and integration.
2. You Have to Look or Be a Certain Way to Belong
The wellness and yoga world often subtly promotes an image: slim bodies, perfect poses, expensive clothes, or a “zen” lifestyle. This lie alienates people who don’t fit the mold, when in reality, yoga and healing are for every body, every background, and every story.
3. Spirituality Means Escaping Real Life
There’s a myth that being spiritual means being blissed out all the time, avoiding hardship, or bypassing struggle. In truth, spirituality is about meeting life fully—shadow and light—without pretending pain doesn’t exist.
4. Success Equals Followers or Certifications
The industry often sells the idea that more followers, more trainings, or more external recognition equals mastery. The deeper truth is that wisdom comes from lived experience, inner work, and authenticity—not from the numbers on a screen.
5. There’s Only One “Right” Path
A common lie is that there’s a single best diet, practice, or spiritual path. Real growth comes from listening to your body, your ancestry, your inner compass. One size does not fit all.
The heart of the truth is: healing and transformation are deeply personal, messy, and real. They can’t be boxed into quick fixes, aesthetic ideals, or rigid formulas.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I am connected to the elements, to Spirit, and to the simple truth of being alive. Whether it is through yoga, meditation, ceremony, or sitting under the sky listening to the wind, peace arrives when I remember that I am part of something much greater than myself.
I also feel peace when I see the people around me—my children, my students, my community—soften into presence and healing. Witnessing their hearts open, their bodies release, and their spirits awaken reminds me that my purpose is being fulfilled. That is peace beyond words.
There is also a sacred peace that comes in the still moments after a ceremony, when the fire has burned down and the songs have quieted, and I feel the presence of ancestors and guides near. It is in those moments that I know I am exactly where I am meant to be—rooted, aligned, and whole.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://udjatyoga.wordpress.com
- Instagram: @iamlee.udjat.evolution
- Youtube: Udjat Yoga
- Other: @udjat_boutique -Crystal Malas
Image Credits
Lee Haines- credit of images
