Testimonials
I reached out to Mariko after listening to her episode on the
NNM podcast
. I was struck by her journey from conforming to external rules to living from internal truth and desire. I sensed she wasn’t just talking about it — she was living it — and I wanted to learn from her.
My main struggle was shame around my desires. I wanted to integrate them rather than suppress, judge, or fear them. The shame showed up both in social settings and when I was alone. Taboo fantasies, power dynamics, and desires that felt socially unacceptable triggered fear of being exposed, rejected, and judged.
I knew that addressing sexual shame — because it is the most buried — was the fastest way to address all of the shame I carried, and that it would ripple into every area of my life.
Talking openly with Mariko about my taboo desires helped me understand them clearly, especially around power dynamics and the specific details of my desires. I also got to create scenes with her and explore them through role play.
One of the biggest wins was being able to tell others that I am working with a Domme with pride — not as indulgence, but as genuine self-work.
As a result of working with Mariko, I am able to recognize that part of my desire for intimacy can be platonic. I now have a platonic intimate friend and am taking steps to create more. I also tried jujutsu after she suggested that my desire for platonic intimacy and physical touch can be met through soft martial arts, and I intend to take more jujutsu classes. The most exciting win is that I am now exploring a new relationship because I gained the confidence to act on my intuition and be more forward with someone I had known for a while but did not previously have the courage to approach.
I highly recommend working with Mariko if you struggle with fear and shame around your desires and want to not only integrate them, but also turn them into confidence and pride.
Reading The Good Girl Detox Guide felt like sitting with a wise, no-nonsense sister who finally tells you the truth you've always known but were too afraid to name. Mariko doesn’t just talk about becoming a Sovereign Woman—she gives you the actual steps to embody her. This is a razor-sharp, deeply grounded, and radically practical guide. She cuts through the Good Girl conditioning with the precision of someone who has lived through it, reclaimed her sovereignty, and now walks others through the same portal. What I especially love is how specific she is. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “But what would a woman rooted in her sovereignty say or do in this moment?”—Mariko has the answers. She gives you exact phrases, word-for-word responses, and real-life examples that make this guide not just inspiring, but immediately actionable. We cannot step into our sovereignty without shedding the masks and survival strategies we were taught to wear. Mariko’s guide is a roadmap for that exact process—especially for those of us who were trained to stay small, agreeable, and self-sacrificing. If you’re ready to stop betraying yourself in subtle, everyday ways—and start living from clarity, truth, and deep self-honoring—this guide is a powerful place to begin.
Through Mariko’s guidance and the ideas she shares, I began to see the deeper crisis that modern men are quietly living through — not just in relationships, but in how we understand ourselves. Before encountering her work, I thought of disconnection as a personal failure: not having enough friends, not feeling understood, not being chosen. What I see now is that this disconnection is systemic — it’s the result of a culture that teaches men to armor themselves early, to equate openness with weakness, and to mistake silence for strength. Mariko’s teachings helped me name what was missing: emotional literacy, the capacity to handle rejection without collapse or aggression, and the ability to admire strength in others — especially in women — without feeling threatened. Through her voice and example, she models a form of strength that is rooted in listening, self-awareness, and honesty. She helped me understand that healing between men and women won’t come from more judgment or blame, but from learning to take off the armor on both sides — to risk being seen as we are, not as we’ve been trained to appear. Her perspective reminded me that confidence isn’t control; it’s calm. And that intimacy begins when both people feel safe enough to stop performing. What Mariko offers is more than coaching — it’s an invitation to rehumanize connection itself. Her work helped me move from analysis to empathy, from loneliness to curiosity, and from fear to respect. That’s a kind of healing our world desperately needs.
Mariko met me exactly where I was at, patiently listened and pivoted gracefully to support me very clearly. I feld heard, held and seen in a way that was incredibly healing. And then she sent me the most exquisite caring email afterwards to make sure I was okay and to give me great follow-up ideas. She’s a wonderful coach, especially for big transitions.
I want to thank you so much for your extremely powerful workshop. The content was amazing and very well organized! Practical, simple and highly effective! This workshop could be very helpful for domestic abuse victims and survivors. I've attended many workshops, courses and therapy associated with this subject but none match empowering advise and practical techniques. Thank you again! I hope you will facilitate more in the future. Also I loved your win win win charity donation idea.
Where does one begin when sharing thoughts about someone as singularly amazing as Mariko? I cannot imagine a life without Mariko as a friend, coach, and mentor. Our encounters are grounded in curiosity, respect, and deeply rooted in trust. Before Mariko, I was rowing fast but fearfully with no compass, feeling fatigued and lost. Now I better know where I’m going and living with more clarity, energy, and conviction. Through Mariko’s loving, transformative guidance, I am learning to… …navigate frustrating family relationships by seeing my feelings as a product of my own thoughts—that I am the one creating the distress within myself. …say NO, and gaining tools to help me find greater peace in everything I do—learning that strength sometimes means being boss and sometimes means being vulnerable. …understand the universe in entirely new ways, and finding beauty in the natural world that I didn’t recognize before Mariko. …see knowledge as not just a tool for advancement, but as a path to appreciating life more profoundly. …experience the connections between mind, body, and soul as coordination and not just control in my movement practice. …accept that we can’t control life, but only live within the reality of what we encounter. …reframe the understanding of my sexuality, gender, and orientation, and experience a love affair with myself. …supercharge my sense of adventure and curiosity, and discover how to be more intimate with myself and others, and experience love in new, creative ways—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Part of this learning comes from powerful, blissful private sessions filled with real talk, challenging inquiry, and powerful intervention. It is also the result of participating in Mariko’s “Talk About Sex Like We Talk About Food” community. Few times in my life have I felt so welcome and free. I look forward to continuing to be a part of that growing group of individuals. I believe in Mariko. I trust Mariko. There is NO ONE I hold in higher esteem. Mariko is a gift to me and everyone in my life. Mariko IS joy, light, wisdom, integrity, strength, and love, and she has infused my body, mind, heart, and soul with all of that and so much more so that I can, in turn, pour it out into the world. I see, hear, taste, touch, and smell everything with more richness, truth, and love because of Mariko. Is there any investment more valuable?
The one session that you gave to us yesterday was so amazing! Work itself that you let us through really helped with some deep blocks that we did not know how to overcome. This is a miracle thing that you do. Also, you yourself as a person are a fantastic leader in pioneering couples to new and better places. I really appreciate your strength, your resilience, your clarity, and your gentleness. You are a magician!
Mistress Mariko is a phenomenal life coach and has been instrumental in helping me change my relationship with not only money, but with my own body and mind. I have talked to so many professionals about some of my very specific issues and in response I have gotten everything from blank stares to sheer looks of abject horror. As someone who was once the sort of patient that caused therapists to need therapy, I really appreciate how incredibly sympathetic Mistress Mariko is. She really takes the time to LISTEN to where I'm coming from without jumping to conclusions about what I'm trying to say. She has a gift of turning some of my most terrifying inner monologues into sources of boundless humor and creative inspiration. Thank You, Mistress Mariko, I will save a place for you in the new world order!!
Prior to Mariko’s coaching I had a relationship that I was trying to keep alive, but causing me emotional pain and continual frustration. After receiving Mariko’s coaching, I became aware of three things. First, I began to see that I allowed this relationship to compromise my boundaries and expectations. I never communicated these things, but expected that my partner would innately want to understand them. But after continually seeing this not happen due to a series of similar events, Mariko had me to see that it was my responsibility to verbalize my expectations and communicate when boundaries are crossed. Second, Mariko’s coaching emphasized the importance of writing your boundaries and expectations down. I had always had ideas of what I wanted in a relationship, but it was not until I wrote these things down did I begin to see that the relationship I was in did not align with my true desires and values. Finally, after becoming aware of how my relationship was not in alignment, not only was I able to bring closure to it, but I was able to identify exactly the type of relationships I am looking for. Mariko asked questions that really got to the core of the things that I want and now I am taking steps towards the right direction. Overall, I was really pleased with Mariko’s approach to my sensitive situation. She never imposed her views, but always asked if she could give perspective on how I can view myself, that individual, and the situation itself neutrally. I highly recommend Mariko’s dating coaching program to anyone who may be experiencing communication problems with one’s partner.
Mariko was truly a joy to work with, and a remarkable coach to meet. Having never before sought to work with a coach, Mariko's calm, direct, and encouraging approach was a perfect fit for me. With her innate ability to distill all she heard from me, and offer incredibly perceptive insights while keeping our sessions gentle and fun, I feel we made remarkable progress in our sessions together. The improved sense of clarity and confidence I experienced so rapidly after working through our sessions and the exercises devised by Mariko was both exciting and empowering; a remarkable feeling to achieve in such a brief period of time. I will not hesitate to keep in touch with Mariko as I feel her input, skills, and the coaching space she creates will be endlessly valuable in my ongoing journey as a freelance consultant and working mother.
Dearest Mariko, I want to write you this E-Mail out of gratitude for our sessions and the talks we had on the topic of sexuality and business. I am deeply grateful for the time, commitment and love you dedicated to my growth, development and empowerment. I felt so seen, heard and acknowledged by you. Since I studied Sustainable Business I have often felt like a weird person in conventional business contexts. There are parts of me that reject the usual way of doing business, a way of business that burns people out, destroys nature and lets no room for intuition, flow or unconventionalities. You helped me understand those parts and to welcome them with a lot of humor and love. There is as well this deep desire in me to make business differently, especially when it comes to building my own juicy business. Your coaching is full of curiosity, acknowledgement, love and powerful advice. It felt so good to be heard by you and your reflections were medicine for my empowerment. You are a badass business woman and as such your advice was priceless to me. After our sessions I felt encouraged to stay true to my unique way of doing business, to who I am and I started to feel like a Goddess instead of a Weirdo. You made me believe in my unique gift for the world: A way of doing business that is in alignment with nature, my own personal truth and power and the collective Feminine. I’m feeling confident now to rise my prices. I see my own worth and the worth of my work and I believe in the change I can do in the world. The way you interconnect the power of sex with building a successful business is magical. I loved the depth of your sessions, the joy and laughter and the tears we cried together. Thank you Mariko for your beautiful coaching!
I met Mariko via social media when I was going through the most difficult personal time in my life feeling disempowered and lost in my relationship. She did an awesome job coaching me through my relationship issues and showed me how to reveal my own self worth when I needed it most. She had the knowledge and ideas I needed to grow, learn and make changes that were due to be made by me at this time of my life. Right out of the gate our conversations showed she cares and wants to share her knowledge. After some time zeroing in on what I needed we came up with a great plan together. We focused on self love and self worth. It just worked, the assignments and suggestions made by her made everything fall into place and perspective. Mariko showed me the way to empower myself and make achievable goals in a way that I could relate to. Many changes are still ahead in my life but I now know i have the tools and power to make the changes I need to make to be happy. I am so grateful to know Mariko and I know she will be there for me.
Feedback on Mariko’s presentation at George Washington University on “leadership skill that empowers yourself and others” (Feb 2024)
The message that I identified with most was brought by Mariko Sakai. It is not often that I have a successful, professional person, or anyone at all, stand in front of me and tell me that I am special. She told the entire class that we are all leaders, and that we are the only ones who have the right ideas for our own lives. While I have known these things in my head, it's different to know something than it is to believe it. While I'm still working on full belief, Mariko's message, and the accompanying exercises have certainly helped propel my belief forward. I felt that the message she communicated was incredibly powerful and focused on individuality, but also had relevant applications to the Communicating the Vision Step. She really emphasized the respect that we should all have for one another's uniqueness and differing opinions. This is invaluable when trying to communicate a vision to people who hold opposite opinions and come from many different backgrounds. In the future, I will always be thoughtful of just how much I don't know about the people I am trying to communicate with, and communicate thoughtfully and appropriately.
I was impressed by Mariko Sakai's presentation. She emphasized the inextricable relationship between communication and leading change, and explained how being a good listener plays a huge role in the communication process. By comparing the effects of good and bad listening in communication, she made us realize how to communicate with each other efficiently. In particular, she organizes classroom activities that allow us to take on roles to experience first-hand what it's like to have an experience for both good and bad listener exchanges. It made me realize that communication and listening are very important aspects in making changes. I used to think that how to convey exactly what I wanted to say to others so that they could understand me better was the key to communication. However, after listening to her speech, I started to listen more carefully to others' ideas, and to respond and evaluate what they say.
Mariko Sakai’s activity on good listening vs. bad listening left a strong impression for me. The contrast between the two resonated with me. Bad Listening—a feeling of meanness and disrespect—struck a chord. It’s when we half-listen, interrupt, or dismiss others’ words. We become impatient, judgmental, and self-absorbed. In this space, empathy is little, and connections fray. Good Listening, on the other hand, what I personally feel more comfortable with. It’s about presence, and openness. We seek to understand, validate, the speaker. Good listeners fostering trust and growth. Mariko’s perspective nudged me to be more mindful. To pause, truly hear, and honor the vulnerability in others’ words. I’ll carry this awareness forward, trying to be a better listener. Because I have personally experienced bad listening and hope not to encounter again by doing better myself
I really enjoyed Mariko Sakai's lecture and activities regarding empowering employees. I lead and manage a cohort of twelve undergraduates at my job, and I'm often trying to get them to take initiative and turn into leaders. No one wants to lead change with you when you're not a good leader, so discussing and practicing the most important trait of listening shifted my perspective a bit. As an example, I failed at leading a new project last semester and couldn't figure out why. I organized a step-by-step guide to the project and shared it out with my team. I knew everything that needed to be done and told them what to do. However, I see now that this should not have been my top priority. The interpersonal skills Sakai discussed would have made me a better leader if I had focused there instead of task delegation. In the future, I will take input and listen more to my team instead of being a "dictator-like" leader.
I was a big fan of Mariko Sakai's message during the empowering vision lecture. This may be because she had the most interactive presentation but I think she also had a very humanizing message, which can be rare when talking about business and organizations. Conflicts have the potential to arise every day in both a business and a social setting and understanding how to effective navigate them is an essential skill. I think a key component of her message is that in order to ensure a person is empowered by your vision and is willing to give you their all, you need to be able to treat them like a human and work through conflict constructively.
Without a doubt, Mariko Sakai's messages resonated with me the most. I really enjoyed Ms. Sakai's message on communicating effectively with others and how listening is an essential skill to have both as a person and a leader. Ms. Sakai's method of changing how we speak to others in a respectful and understanding manner while still allowing our voices to be heard is something I found to be very useful in everyday life and in the workforce. Her lesson helped me understand Leading Change by understanding how to better communicate the change vision in order for people to understand what you want and what needs to happen to make a change. A key aspect of implementing a change is communicating with others, and thanks to Ms. Sakai, I was reminded that communication also includes listening. When dealing with opponents or those resisting change, listening to their viewpoints and complaints is important to know where those individuals stand and what steps need to be taken next to enact the change.
The speaker I resonated with most was Mariko. Following our class, I had actually began to implement her action questions into my daily life as a way to better communicate my concerns with those around me. By creating an "action plan" or "ask" within my question, this made it easier for my colleagues and friends to understand, in more depth, what types of requests I was making of them. Rather than my request be based off of a feeling, it is centered around their actions. While it does make things a bit more awkward because I am giving them specific details of the things I believe they could do differently, this has been a lot more effective in how those individuals are responding to my concerns. I think her method of active listening, and listening to listen, altered my perspective of Leading Change, because so often when we discuss creating a vision where we are the ones making the statements, and the recipients are asking questions. However, by learning how to ask questions and make requests within those questions, it provides a new perspective to ponder on, in order to better understand how individuals feel about partaking in change.
I found myself resonating with Mariko Sakai's message regarding leadership the most. When discussing leadership, she remarked, "The ability to inspire the desire to act, in oneself and others, for the greater good, by engaging our hearts." This shaped my understanding of Leading Change because it showed me that good leadership cannot simply be learned from a book. Instead, one has to tap into their human emotions and feelings. I often hear about office "horror stories" involving poor superiors. Sakai's message gave me hope, proving that if more people see leadership through the same lens as her, then workplaces can become much less toxic environments for many. When thinking about the kind of leader I am, I will take into account Sakai's perspective and remember to not only apply concepts I have learned about leadership but to also follow my heart.