The Sama Mama Mission

Welcome! I’m Stephanie Sandleben (she/her), Functional Medicine Health Coach, pelvic floor health, and yoga expert.

I’m devoted to helping women feel alive, connected, and confident in their bodies. My passion is empowering women at all stages of life to restore their bodily and emotional confidence and help them reconnect to their own innate wisdom.

For 20+ years I’ve offered healing support in many forms—hatha yoga, reiki, postpartum doula support, and pelvic floor care.

And now I’m thrilled to offer my clients Functional Medicine Health Coaching designed to support women living with chronic illness and autoimmunity.

Everything I’ve learned about my humanity has been from my own health journey.

Living with gut dysbiosis, recurring SIBO, Hashimotos, and mold-sensitivity taught me to say “no”, to reach out for help, to rest, and love my body no matter what.

I am a Health Coach trained by the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy.

I support wellness for women with autoimmune and chronic illness, as well as during the transitional times of pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and postmenopause.

I’ve taught yoga to students in all walks of life—yoga studios, corporations, and music festivals—and completed many teacher trainings.

I am trained as a postpartum doula through San Francisco’s Natural Resources and certified in Pelvic Floor Yoga ™  with my teacher, Leslie Howard. Recently, I became a certified Mama Tree Prenatal Yoga teacher with Jane Austin.

I created my own offering of 1:1 Pelvic Floor Care and specialize in pelvic floor health utilizing somatic practices like yoga, functional movement, breath awareness, and compassion practices to help alleviate pelvic floor dysfunction. 

Training & Qualifications

  • Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach

    Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, Inc.

    Online | 2022-2023

  • Mama Tree Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training

    Jane Austin, Mama Tree

    Online | 2024

  • Franklin Method ® Pelvic Floor Fascia Trainer

    Led by Eric Franklin

    Online | 2021

  • Somatic Experiencing™ Courses: Activate Your Inner Jaguar, Mother’s Circle, Jaguar Parenting: Tune into Children

    Led by Kimberly Ann Johnson and Ale Duarte

    Online | 2018-2020

  • Pelvic Floor Yoga™ Teacher Training

    Led by Leslie Howard

    Oakland, CA | 2014

  • Natural Resources

    Postpartum Doula Training

    San Francisco, CA | 2014

  • Svastha Yoga and Ayurveda, Yoga Psychology for Personal Transformation

    A.G. and Indra Mohan

    Chennai, India | 2011

  • Reiki Level One, Two and Masters certification

    Padma Gonzalez and Maria Soalise, Usui Shiki Ryoho

    New York, New York | 2007-2010

  • Prajna Yoga, Sessions I—III for 200 hour teacher training

    Tias and Surya Little at Prajna Yoga

    Boston, MA and Santa Fe, NM | 2007-2009

  • Yoga Union 200 hour teacher certification

    Alison West, Amy Matthews and Deborah Wolk

    New York, New York | 2004

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About Stephanie

I’m making a home in my childhood town in Arizona after living for 20 years on both coasts.

I left home at the age of 18 eventually landing in NYC. My husband and I spent a decade living as freelancers in a rent stabilized apartment until our daughter was born, then several years in the Bay Area soaking in the golden light of California. 

It’s amazing what mothers can do.

Healing from a traumatic birth while caring for an infant full-time almost took me out. My birth injury sent me on a healing journey that included yoga-therapy, pelvic floor PT, Somatic Experiencing, and meditative compassion practices.

I am most lit up when talking about pelvic floor health.

Creating space for women to open up and receive support for issues like incontinence, pelvic pain and prolapse is my happy place. You are not alone. 

Movement is my medicine.

I started dancing at the age of 3 and haven’t stopped moving since. I was introduced to yoga by my mother as a means of quelling teenage rebellion. During my first trip to India (I was in my 20s, accompanying my Sufi Sheikh father) the spark to teach yoga ignited in my heart and has never gone out. 

Yoga is what helps me make sense of the world and connects me to a presence that is larger than myself.

 
 

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