Saucha was developed from a place of recovery, healing and lots of motivation. Whilst overcoming a devastating breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatments Theresa Keen began her own personal journey back to wellness. With a found passion for making natural soaps and lots of initial encouraging feedback from yoga students, the brand was born.
Inspired by yoga and powered by plants, all Saucha products are hand crafted using natural and sustainable ingredients, they are vegan and cruelty free meaning they’re good for you and the world in general!
A portion of all proceeds already goes to Breast Cancer Haven, a national charity based in London and now a portion will also go to our campaign Yoga Stops Traffick.
Theresa is also set to head to Mysore in March 2020 to teach and share her soap making skills at the Odanandi girls house, with the aim to help the girls generate their own income and boost their independence.
You can find more information on Saucha and the magnificent work they do at
Read on to learn all about self love, guided by yoga philosophy and giving back….
Why has your company chosen to support our global campaign Yoga Stops Traffick?
I first heard of Odanadi from the yoga students at KPJAYI Ashtanga yoga school in Mysore where I spent 10 months with my teacher. We had done some cooking fundraisers there and have been looking for a way to get more involved and share something with the women and girls in the safe houses that will have a lasting impact. I’m very keen to teach a skill that could lead to an on-going source of income for the women and realise a personal desire to give back to a city that has hosted so many yoga seekers.
What is your role within the company?
I am the founder of Saucha as well as its sole employee. My husband Adam is also involved and incredibly supportive.
What does your typical ‘work day’ look like?
In addition to Saucha, I work another full-time job at a wellness centre in London that programs yoga, pilates and other practices. When it comes to Saucha, there really is no typical day except that it takes place either in the early mornings, evenings after work or at the weekend. Balance is something I continue to practice around.
How did you come to the practice of yoga?
I started yoga in the late 90’s and have to admit although I’d always had an interest, it was when my friend Tony came back from Australia where he learned Ashtanga and showed me the postures, I was hooked right away. I had been a runner, so the importance of the deep breathing of the Ashtanga style really worked for me, I felt clean and strong and it changed the course of my life.
What impact has regular yoga had on your mind & body?
Having a daily 90-minute Ashtanga practice for nearly 15 years has made me able to focus my mind more when I’m at work and in social situations. Being dedicated to an early morning practice means that I’ve chosen to live a lifestyle that supports that, which means early to rise and early nights, a simple diet and basically living a quiet life with less consumption. At 55 my body feels strong, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and had a mastectomy, my yoga practice helped me maintain a mental strength and physical recovery whilst I underwent 4 operations in 2 years.
Which is your favourite yoga pose?
For years I struggled with back bends, I actually hated them! And funnily enough through my struggles with them, they are now my favourite! I was told years ago to think of them as front stretches, and now I can actually feel that in my body. At our school in Mysore you can’t move on to the intermediate (2nd series) of postures until you can stand up from back bend, so I spent 9 months there only on the primary sequence, as well as almost 10 years of practice it took me to be able to do it, but at the age of 50 I did it!
How else do you practice ‘self care’ in your life?
I’m not great at making myself stop and I always seem to have at least 3 projects on the go, but for me taking a bath has always been a way to stop and unwind, I light a candle and enjoy one of my gorgeous scented Saucha soaps and watch my breathing for a good 15-20 minutes. I’m a Pisces so that may be why I love the water so much.
Who/What has been your biggest inspiration?
My husband Adam is a Mysore yoga teacher and my biggest inspiration. He has shown me the yoga lifestyle in all ways. This was long before yoga became a media phenomenon. Adam has encouraged me to keep up my physical practice while teaching me about conscious consumption. There was a time when I would spend money on fancy yoga clothes and Adam brought me down to earth to remind me that our yoga practice is 24/7 not just when we’re on the mat.
What do you think is the biggest issue facing the global yoga community?
I understand the intention of yoga as to be mindful of the sense doors and live a more wholesome and skill-full life. I think the biggest issue facing not only the yoga community but humanity as a whole, is that we can get way too caught up in chasing/craving things and status. Even amazing things like our practice can be used in ways to explain away things we’d rather not face and deal with.
What’s on the horizon for your company?
It’s all about enabling self-care. I have plans to develop more body care products and expand into products we use at home that impact us. It’s been an incredible learning experience with things like identifying new stockists and then getting them to take a chance on a smaller entrepreneurial start up.
What message would you like to give to everyone taking part in Yoga Stops Traffick 2020?
Being part of Yoga Stops Traffick is an excellent opportunity to give something back to girls, women and to Mysore, which is the birthplace of all modern yoga in the world today and from which so many of us have benefitted. I’ve witnessed how women in India are not treated as equals and dependent on their power from others. We all need to go beyond awareness and spreading the message on social media to taking action and directly support women and girls to access their own power. We have so much here in the West. I hope all yoga students passing through Mysore will carry their practice off the map and into the world to help those who welcome them to India.
