I participated in Shalini's 8-Week Mindfulness program, which has launched a regular mindfulness practice for me. I was somewhat familiar with mindfulness practice through my work as a clinical psychologist, but had never learned from a mindfulness expert. Through this course, I learned all 8 qualities of mind, instead of just awareness and compassion that I was already familiar with. I have already started incorporating some of the concepts into my therapy practice, What really caught me by surprise, though, was how incorporating all 8 components opened up my own personal experience. I had always dreaded writing, especially if it involved creative writing. Suddenly I found myself writing poetry about my daily experiences. Who was this person?! Now I continue to use Shalini's guided practices, and love choosing which quality to work with depending on how I'm feeling. I also have joined her Sama Life Circle because mindfulness practice with a group adds another dimension to my practice. I feel so fortunate that the universe brought Shalini into my life. I plan to continue the practice, with the goal of incorporating brief mindfulness practices into my various roles throughout the day.

Sama life circle has been just the restart that my regular mindfulness practice needed. As a parent juggling work and life the micro-practices have been such wonderful addition to my routine. And the twice monthly Sama Life circles have allowed me to be a part of a wonderful group of mindfulness practitioners whose guidance and insights have also helped to grow my mindfulness practice in ways that my solo practice could not. Shalini is a caring and thoughtful mindfulness teacher who offers such a depth of knowledge in the ways to bring mindfulness off of the mat and into everyday life.

I first found Shalini through Mindful Magazine's article '10 Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement: 2025,' which led me to her Substack and later to joining Sama Circles last fall. This has been a true healing journey, and for the past year I have been studying the 8 Mindfulness Skills and practicing the 48 micro-practices more naturally, every day. I find myself asking, 'Which micro-practice matches the challenge I am facing right now?' — finding a practice, doing it, and then moving on with my day. Easy peasy, quick, and they bring me into the present moment. I Return, Listen, and Begin Again. These practices can be done any time, anywhere, on the fly or sitting at home. If I were still practicing as a Nurse Practitioner, I would be recommending these skills to every one of my patients. They are priceless for dealing with the everyday stresses and challenges of life.

I want to thank you for holding this class. I found you and the material very helpful in my continued journey of becoming more mindful and present. I greatly appreciated how you put the class together and the format you used — but the best part of all of this is YOU. You are very practical and kind in your responses to participants, and I appreciated you sharing your personal experiences and how you applied the teachings. I am so glad you decided to take your knowledge and make it accessible to others through your book and this class.

I had a great experience with the Introduction to Mindfulness Course! Even after 6 sessions I found concrete ways to improve my communications and it has already had an impact on my entire family. I highly recommend it.

I've worked with Shalini as her student in mindfulness classes since 2014. To say that she is an inspired, generous, compassionate and wise teacher would be the understatement of the year! Words fail to describe the gifts that Shalini has helped me nurture in my own life and those around me. I owe much of my spiritual, emotional and mental growth in the last 4 years to Shalini's inspired teachings. Her ability to bring mindfulness and the tenets of Buddhism in a secular, thoughtful and science-grounded manner into our community is nothing short of miraculous. I am immensely appreciative, honored and privileged to have had the chance to work with her as long as I have. I will continue taking classes and learning from Shalini for as long as she is willing to teach me!