Patil herself spreads kindness throughout the Miami Valley in many ways, by offering free yoga classes, joining the Women’s Board of Dayton Children’s Hospital and hosting programs at Bharat FM.
Patil, who has lived in the Dayton area since 2009, grew up in India surrounded by yoga, thanks to her parents, Laxmankumar and Shantadevi Sannellappanavar.
Her father helped to bring yoga mainstream and started one of the first university yoga departments in the world in 1975, she said. He was the first yoga teacher deputed from the government of India to Moscow, in the late 1980s. Patil would spend four years of school there, watching the disintegration of the USSR.
What’s more, her mother was one of the first in the world to earn a doctorate in the literary aspects of yoga.
Her father – now in his 90s and still actively teaching yoga – also founded the Utsahi Yoga Foundation, dedicated to spreading the advantages of yoga and providing free yoga training. The foundation has had thousands of students from around the world, Patil said. She, too, has offered sessions throughout the area to hundreds of students through the foundation.
“I can say from my own personal experiences that yoga can help in every phase of life,” said Patil, adding that embracing yoga as a lifestyle allows its practitioners to receive many benefits.
She also is a volunteer for the Hindu Community Organization of the Hindu Temple of Dayton, located in Beavercreek, offering free yoga classes there as well as throughout the area and online.
Patil, 47, was nominated as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem by Mahesh Bett, who first tried yoga after signing up for one of the courses she offered. He then learned about her other deeds and how willing she is to help those in need.
“You don’t feel like you’re a stranger when you’re in the midst of her company,” said Bett, of Dayton.
Bett also learned about the other ways that Patil volunteers in the community. Patil joined the Women’s Board of Dayton Children’s last year because she wanted to make the jobs of the health care providers who serve the community every day easier and help children receive the best possible care. The board has raised millions of dollars for the hospital over the years.
Patil also is a volunteer host at Bharat FM, which offers music and original programming focusing on the Indian community. Of the multiple programs she created for the Cincinnati-based online station, two of the most popular are Connect for a Cause, interviewing individuals and organizations working toward the greater good, and Decoding Victory, speaking to people who inspire others.
Patil, who lives in Kettering with her husband, Shrinivas, and their children, said that her profession is as a computer science engineer primarily focused on health care information technology, but her passion is being “a community member who loves to give back in every possible way.” She prioritizes efforts that add value to her community, family and life.
She focuses on being positive and said that we all have the ability to impact others. Taking even a few moments to help or listen goes a long way, she said.
“Small things always matter,” she said.
About the Author