How To Find Calm in the Chaos
With Athena Ko

What does being “well” mean to you?

Being well is to be balanced spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.

What inspired you to move away from a career in finance and enter the wellbeing space?

It was the realisation that so many people are unwell in plain sight. My work is much more needed here than being another finance person. The world does not need another banker. The work I do now feeds me and nourishes me – and it enables me to pursue something that brings me more joy.

How do you support clients in finding peace, clarity and calm during their busy lives?

I empower my students to understand that the best healers are within themselves; most students find their teacher within. I am not there to teach them anything – I simply guide them back to themselves, and help them to tap into what is infinitely amazing inside. It is an empowering, rather than a student-teacher, growth-follower, relationship.

Can you explain the power of sound on the body and mind?

As humans, we are conduits of sounds – we are more than two-thirds water, so we are great conductors of any vibrations. Physically, when sound happens, we enter “attunement” – our bodies start reacting to the tones, rhythms and sequences of the music, and we engage with the rhythm of the sound.

The reactions vary with individuals – but you can see eye twitching, snoring and a lot of involuntary movements. Some are more severe than others, especially if there is physical trauma involved – the body never lies. For most of us though, the physical body is just tired – so we just go to sleep. And that goes back to the purpose of the practice: to find the teacher within, through sound that drowns out all the noise.

On a mental level, when we start to switch off the conscious mind, we enable our vagus nerve to calm down, and we can listen to our intuition. Our demons usually accompany the thinking mind, rather than coming from the heart or the gut – and it is the thinking mind that drives us to dark places. So if we can calm the mind we can bring forth all the good to serve us.

What is meditation, and how can we master this practice beyond the studio?

Meditation is simply witnessing your own thoughts – and understanding that you are not your thoughts. There are different ways of realising that: just like your heart beats and your gut digests, your mind thinks. These are all functions of various organs that allow you to have a human experience; however, you do not identify with them. You are not your heartbeat, you are not your digestion, you are not your thoughts.

Your practice extends beyond lifestyle and in fact is used within one of London’s leading mental health facilities, Nightingale Hospital, to support patients on the psychiatric ward. How does sound support mental health?

Firstly, sound healing is a meditation practice – sound is a form of mediation; and meditation practices are proven to give you resilience and allow you to step back from the mind – the never-ending “monkey mind”. And, in conjunction with medication, it is proven to be very effective to improve patients’ symptoms.

As we enter a busy festive season, how do you recommend we stay balanced and calm?

Try to stay within your routine and be within your regular rhythm. The holidays are, if you practice non-attachment, just another day: Christmas comes every year, holidays come every year, so approach it just like any other day. Secondly, try to avoid having any expectations for the day. We are all conditioned to think that Christmas is a magical day of family, calm, peace and joy – however, this can be a sure way of setting yourself up for disappointment.

What do you do to feel grounded?

Bring awareness to the breath – and, if I have the time and capacity, I take a walk in the park without my phone.

You enjoy travelling for wellbeing experiences – what countries and places have inspired you the most in developing your practice?

Bhutan – it is genuinely the happiest country in the world because they have none of the distractions that we have, and the people there are content and happy. But to be very honest, we do not need to go to faraway places to be inspired – if you bring your awareness back to the breath, anywhere is a spiritual and inspiring place to be. It’s all inside, not outside.

What’s your idea of the perfect morning?

Does it exist?! I like to get up, feel gratitude – which includes being grateful for being here and having these experiences – do my practice, have my children around me, pancakes, Sunday papers, perfect!

What are your three beauty products you’d never be without?

Augustinus Bader – The Rich Cream for winter.
Aevi – facial oil.
Meditatif Serenity Oil – it is a wonderful product.

If there was one thing we could all do to live more peacefully, every day, what would that be?

Meditate – or just bring awareness back to the breath.

To experience Athena’s transformative practice, amongst a full-day agenda of wellbeing classes, consultations and treatments, join us at The Beauty Triangle Festival on Saturday 25th January 2025 at 180 Health Club. Tickets available here.