"Sana, how wonderful that Allah chose you to be the answer to my prayers.”

Tara Brach, quoting De Mello, said, “It is a sobering thought that the finest act of love you can perform is not an act of service but an act of contemplation, of seeing. When you serve people, you help, support, comfort, alleviate pain. When you see them in their inner beauty and goodness, you transform and create.”

I feel that my journey with Anokhay Coaches and with Maryam Munir has been my experience of feeling loved, cherished, accepted and motivated for the person I am and the innate capabilities I have. The space Maryam creates for her trainees is nurturing, empowering and soul nourishing.

During my training in Anokhay Coaches, I have learned the trauma informed, research and neuroscience based parenting strategies. It has empowered me as a parent, and as a coach.

The foundational presumption of Maryam’s training is that we are all doing the best we can with the knowledge and resources we have. I have learned that a resourceful coach is one who can live by this presumption, and support parents in reconnecting with their inherent compassion for themselves and their children.

I love that Anokhay Coaches training has taught me what it means to encourage myself and other parents to priorities self care, and fill our own bucket first so we can pour from the nourished bucket for our children; that at the core of respectful parenting, is compassionate reparenting of our own inner child.

The knowledge I have received from Anokhay Coaches is holistic. It includes a combination of concrete research based theories, neuroscience , and child psychology. The trauma informed approach has helped me develop my practice as a Parent Coach, and it has further improved my practice as a Psychotherapist. I feel a lot more equipped to facilitate parents in their parenting journeys, and their own mental health journeys.

I genuinely appreciate how my Anokhay Coaches training has connected me with a whole community that’s working towards learning Respectful Parenting. The community helps me stay in touch with the common struggles of today’s parents, and it majorly helps me in connecting with the right clients for my private practice. I can’t imagine any other training providing a platform, and unconditional support to help me build my private practice.

The way the course is designed, it facilitates peer support as a priority. The group of trainees I was with became my source of knowledge, comfort, referrals, guidance and accountability. Having one on one support from Maryam herself adds to the incredible support system Anokhay Coaches builds for all the participants.

From the feedback I have received from my Parent Coaching clients, and from the changes I have experienced in my sessions with parents, or during groups trainings that I have conducted, I can safely say that I find myself to be a competent Parent Coach. My training and facilitation has led me to excel in my skills, and it has furthered my ability to support my individual clients, and also train groups.

I would highly recommend this training for anyone who wants to commit to Parent Coaching as a profession, and are looking for a platform that can help them train as a coach, and help them develop a private practice. Maryam Munir walks with you the whole way, and then some miles to ensure you end up where you want to and where you’re meant to. I am a successful Parenting Coach today, with dozens of group courses and workshops under my belt, because I have had the support to build a strong foundation in my practice. I can not be more grateful for Maryam and Anokhay Coaches.

Anokhay Coaches has changed my life for the better, and forever. This program is not about preaching, teaching, or training; it is about mentoring through embodying the values and modeling them. It is living and breathing not only respectful Parent Coaching but also respectful living. Maryam Munir is the name that brings me tears of gratitude and fills me with a sense of blessing. In my entire 13-year career, I have not worked with anyone who can demonstrate so much vulnerability—a mark of immeasurable courage; she reminds us that she is equally human, keeps me grounded and humble, truly values and deeply respects me as a whole person, and generously trusts me with a lot of space and opportunities to work and spread my wings without ever resorting to anything remotely toxic, derogatory, or having the slightest element of control. She treasures our team with the whole of her heart, and yet, to top it all, she offers full openness and even support if we wish to start our venture. For me, as has been the case with my team members, leaving was out of the question. We all chose to stay. The lifelong learning and growth opportunities that I continue to get from here, although highly important, take a backseat considering the level of trust, value, love, empathy, connection, and freedom I get in addition, which are irreplaceable. Every day, I strive to stay true to our company’s core values: Gentleness, Empathy, Grace, and Inclusivity. Every day, I see my respected mentor, Maryam, striving and modeling them for us. For me, she is a living example of what Brene Brown calls 'Strong back, soft front, wild heart.'

In one of my batches as a Parent Coach of Anokhay Parents, a mother joined who had three older kids, married, and one much younger kid. Her older kids had encouraged and helped her enroll in this program to seek help for the youngest child. Everything felt so new to her that in our first session, she was quite uncomfortable among a group of ‘strangers’ and didn’t even want to open the camera or share anything. I empathized with her and put no pressure to engage, as I understood how each one of us can have a different experience in a group, and it matters. I checked in with her separately after the session. And just within the next two sessions, she was much more comfortable sharing and talking. It brings me tears of joy and gratitude to have been able to create a space where I try to prioritize a sense of safety for each participant by eliminating shame and ensuring empathy and compassion. Becoming a trauma-informed Parent Coach has been a deeply rewarding experience and has brought a sense of purpose and fulfillment. I get to witness the inspiring shifts, subtle and prominent, in the amazing moms and dads that come with a sincere commitment to do good by their kids. They come looking for solutions and getting instructions on the ‘how-to’ of parenting, and they leave feeling heard and seen, less burdened, and more hopeful, and especially the ‘mom-guilt’ begins to loosen its tight grip. After just one free 30-minute discovery call with me, mothers have enrolled in our Anokhay Parent (AP) programs. By the end of AP, parents often recognize the value of self-healing, and many of them quickly enroll in our healing program, Anokhay Mentors. It is an absolute sense of pride for me, and humbling at the same time, to receive heartfelt praise and generously complimented feedback with words such as ‘We all deserve a Nabila in our lives,’ and ‘I am a different mother because of Nabila,’ ‘She is a blessing from Allah Subhanwa Tala, she makes us a better person,’ ‘I actually enjoy my kids’ company now!’ and many more. I believe this trauma-informed training program, ‘Anokhay Coaches,’ is way better than all other such programs offered elsewhere because of one significant element: There is no place for shame, only empathy. In our training, our mentor, Maryam Munir, made it the highlight, encouraging us to be aware of the times when we find ourselves short on empathy. And that only meant taking care of ourselves first and finding ways to bring it back before we engaged with our clients or group participants. I can say with much pride and wonder that, with time, I have found that my capacity to be empathetic is quickly expanding, and it has become rare that I cannot feel instant empathy for the parent in front of me. Maryam Munir, in addition to creating a safe, shame-free space for each participant, has this rare innate ability to break complex scientific concepts into the simplest of words. She can creatively explain ideas and give practical examples of how to apply the skills in multiple ways. The fact that the program is founded on research-backed scientific evidence and Islamic principles makes it uniquely solid and, with Maryam Munir’s wisdom and empathetic, compassionate, and creative delivery, I believe it becomes a precious gem.

Okay! Here's the truth: I never thought I could be a coach, or that anyone would pay to listen to me (yup, I had to work hard on my self-belief... lol). However, I was obsessed with the teachings of Maryam and the whole concept of respectful parenting. One thing I clearly knew was that I loved spending time reading and researching about this subject.

I remember that very hesitantly I DMed Maryam, asking if she could guide me on which institution would be best to learn what she has learned. She sent a few references, and in the last line, she mentioned, 'I am thinking of starting my own course soon. In case you would like to be a part of it.' And OMG! I just knew I am not going anywhere else. I told her I could wait as long as it takes to be a part of it. After all, good things take time. And rightly, this was the best thing that ever happened to me!

I am in love with her unconventional way of teaching. She not only shared knowledge about the subject but, most importantly, she shared her years of experiences, which is the real treasure! Her non-judgmental behavior makes you feel so safe that it allows you to open your heart out, especially the vulnerable side of it, enabling you to learn even more!

I always tell her, the kind of faith and trust she shows in us, 'kaash iska aadha bhi gharwaalon se milta, toh kya baat hoti!' (I wonder if I got even half of that from my parents, how different things would be).

And now being a coach myself, it has added so much more meaning to my life, not just as a mother but also as an individual. When parents come back to me saying that my course has changed their lives, that's priceless! Listening to their deep wounds, I feel their pain. When parents share their wins, I get a sense of fulfillment within! It is a journey of self-discovery that we embark on together, holding hands and healing ourselves, coming out better and happier. Better selves, better moms, better us. Yes, let me warn you, the last session is going to be the hardest. Goodbyes are the hardest; you'll need to carry a tissue roll.

In the beginning, I just thought this course would help me coach others, but with time, I have realized this course will help me transform generations and build a society we all want.