I have known Sonali for years and her core personality is one of humility and servant leadership as a teacher. Her teaching style is very nurturing and intuitive in supporting student needs while creating a very safe learning environment. Many areas of my life have improved under Sonali’s instruction. Her yoga classes are very well organized as she provides a flow of instruction guiding student experience. Special need requests are accommodated as the class progresses to the end with calming closure. Sonali demonstrates great mastery over the material and is able to clarify learning for students with questions. I always learn something new or am reminded of something I had forgotten. She consistently meets my expectations of creating a wonderful class experience.
Another area of personal growth I have experienced under Sonali’s teaching involves communication and relationship building skills. She has extensive training in this area and is highly effective teaching it. Under her instruction, students learn how to create emotional safe space that is real and non-threating while building deeper trust. As a result of sessions with Sonali, I have successfully incorporated new skills into my life and have enhanced the quality and satisfaction of my relationships. One specific practice called mirroring was especially helpful to me. I was in a conversation that was quickly escalating with stressful comments and counter-comments alternating between being accusing then defensive. I remembered the mirroring skill and focused specifically on repeating what the other party was telling me. Feeling heard instead of feeling defensive, quickly de-escalated the tension between us. A conversation that was heading for unresolved disaster redeemed itself with a healthy mutual understanding. Sonali’s communication training works in the real world and I highly recommend it.
First, without even considering her business or her work, Sonali herself is a genuine person that anyone automatically warms up to as soon as they meet her. She's also one of those people who will go one step further than most to help others achieve their goals. Her generosity showed when she believed in the first annual FTM Fitness Conference (now TransFitCon) in 2014 and offered a free yoga bootcamp and nutrition workshop. The feedback we received was so amazing that we asked her if she could join us again for the second year and she did. Not only did she teach yoga and nutrition specifically related to the Trans individual, but she also attended other events and activities. It's safe to assume that she's now a part of the FitCon family and enjoys every single opportunity to learn more about the Trans community so that she can tailor her skills to help them on a deeper level.