Helping people reconnect with what makes us human.
For more than two decades, Shirin Etessam has been creating stories, communities, and experiences that help people feel less alone. Today, through the Leela Method Practice, her writing, and her speaking, she invites people to reconnect with presence, play, and authentic human connection.
Learn More About SpeakingYou've built the life. So why doesn't it always feel like enough?
There comes a point when achievement alone stops answering the questions we're really asking. You can build a meaningful career. Surround yourself with people you love. Check every box you once imagined would bring fulfillment. And still find yourself wondering why life feels more like something to manage than something to experience.
Shirin has spent years listening to that quiet question — not because people are doing anything wrong, but because somewhere along the way, many of us learned to prioritize productivity over presence, performance over play, and accomplishment over authentic connection.
What if the answer isn't becoming someone new? What if it's remembering the parts of yourself that have been there all along?
The work has always been the same.
Long before the Leela Method Practice, Shirin's work centered around one simple idea: helping people feel less alone.
As a writer and producer, she told stories that invited people to see themselves in new ways. As a community builder, she created spaces where women could connect more deeply with themselves and one another. As the author of Free to Be, she encouraged readers to move beyond external expectations and reconnect with the wisdom within.
Although the projects looked different, the thread running through all of them was the same: creating experiences that help people return to what matters most.
That journey eventually led to the Leela Method Practice, a place where ideas about presence, play, curiosity, and connection become something you don't just understand, but experience.
Meet Shirin
Photo of Shirin Etessam
Shirin Etessam is the creator of the Leela Method Practice, a writer, producer, speaker, and community builder whose work explores what it means to live a more present, connected, and fully human life.
Throughout her career, she has built communities for women, created film and television projects, and written about the inner journey of reconnecting with ourselves. Her book, Free to Be: A Six-Week Guide to Reclaiming Your Soul, offers a practical path toward greater fulfillment by helping readers move beyond constant striving and rediscover a deeper sense of presence and purpose.
Today, Shirin shares her work through speaking engagements, writing, and The Leela Practice, inviting audiences and participants alike to experience life with greater curiosity, joy, and authentic connection.
Ready to reconnect with what makes you fully human?
Whether you're interested in the Leela Method Practice, booking Shirin to speak, exploring her work, or simply starting a conversation, we'd love to hear from you.
Contact Shirin