Snehja Sanganeria

Snehja Sanganeria talks to Femiliarize about her journey of face healing and yoga as she strives to make it more accessible to people.

Snehja Sanganeria, the Founder of Face Prana and Co-founder of Meraqi Digital, was born and raised in the city of Kolkata. She completed her studies in International Business with a specialization in Marketing from the United Kingdom. With an aptitude for business, Snehja came back to India and that's when Meraqi happened. Meraqi Digital is a partnership firm that has developed into a digital marketing agency that has been in business for 5 years now. Catering to multiple brands across India, Meraqi helps tackle all their digital marketing needs; be it website development, SEO, social media marketing, content strategy, influencer marketing, or media buying, you name it. Supplementing a unique touch to marketing with its plethora of services.

While still in the UK, Snehja was facing a bout of skin issues that saw her constantly frequenting dermatologists. It was then that she came across the concept of face yoga and began practicing with the help of youtube tutorials. She soon witnessed a visible change and decided it was time to learn more. Snehja got certified after her training under the world-leading face yoga expert, Danielle Collins.

Snehja's next step after getting certified was doing workshops with places like the Calcutta Cosmopolitan Club and Inner Circle. Subsequently, she created an Instagram profile for Face Prana and began putting out short videos of exercises people could practice at home. Establishing herself in the market with a fairly new concept, Snehja aims to make people aware of the idea of face yoga and get them confident in it. Even if it meant uploading free videos of the exercises, because this is how she discovered face healing. She saw the positive effects herself as she stopped using more than half of the products recommended by her dermatologist and relied on the natural glow of her skin.

Despite having only been at it for about 3 months, Snehja got the opportunity to exhibit at India Story, where she had the soft launch of her products. She received various inquiries for one on one classes as well. A 28-day face yoga marathon was also introduced after people weren't satisfied with just one session. It got people into the habit as they practiced with Snehja every day for 30 minutes. Word of mouth has been her biggest promoter, even bagging her inquiries from the UK. The most surprising thing that Snehja found was the sheer amount of inquiries that were raised by men. She saw an equal interest in Face Prana by all genders.

"Face yoga not only helps your skin look younger but also helps you sleep well, reduce headaches, increases the blood flow to your muscles, and makes you feel more confident about yourself. All this, for face yoga, is a combination of exercises, massage, acupuncture, posture, and breathing, making it a holistic treatment for your skin. I also teach people how to use tools like gua sha and jade face rollers along with their dos and don'ts. Face Prana offers different packages where people can choose from a combination of classes according to their needs and preferences," Snehja explained.

Moving forward with Meraqi, Snehja faced a rather distinct struggle. It happened when she went out with her partner to pitch for clients or meetings. People automatically assumed that she was an employee and not the co-founder that she is. This was something that changed over time as Snehja tried harder in her pitches and put forth her opinion and viewpoints in a much smarter way to get people to take notice. She worked on herself, from the way she walked and dressed up to the way she carried herself. Then came a problem that arose from the women around her. It was difficult for society to stomach that Snehja was working in the male-dominated tech sphere, meeting clients, hiring, and working in an office. She was subjected to barbs and judgment that often compared her to a woman working in female-oriented sectors like fashion, catering, or decor. Luckily, none of it came from her family, which only helped her turn a deaf ear to these complaints.

This was Snehja's advice for the readers:

"Don't be afraid to start and don't try to be perfect the moment you begin. Being perfect isn't possible because we are constantly evolving and keep on becoming a better version of ourselves. There is always scope for improvement. So don't wait for the right time and start wherever you are, even if you don't have the support."