SALT
Skills – Coaching & Training
AI* – Ayurveda + Intelligence
LanguagE – English
Translation – The process
Skills
Ayurveda (AI*)
Language
TraNslation
Hello you! I’m Hester.
I stand for grounded strength. My work brings together ancient wisdom, Ayurveda, modern life sciences, and lived experience — for those who have already decided to move forward.
I don’t persuade ambivalence.
I work with commitment.
From that place, we connect with what matters, communicate with clarity, and co-create change that holds — personally and professionally.
South African roots. Street-smart. Curious.
An activist — with a cause.
A rebel — in service of what’s big, bold and real.
Rhinos, road trips, music, and Marma Point massage keep me grounded and moving forward.
About Salt
SALT began as Skills and Language Training in 2003 with the core idea being the 3 C’s – Connect. Communicate. Co-create.
Some of you have been walking Hester Street with me since then.
Today, SALT stands for: Skills. Ayurveda. Language. Translation*.
This is where modern professional development meets timeless insight.
The tools are still practical.
The standards, still high.
The work has become more embodied.
My studies in Ayurveda in India didn’t replace SALT — they strengthened it.
Now we translate more than language:
Pressure into presence.
Performance into grounded staying power.
Knowledge into lived skill.
Inspired by “das Salz in der Suppe” — the element that brings depth and balance – SALT remains.
A small shift in “flavour” with a profound shift in experience.
TRANSLATION*
Not only in language.
Translation is the process of turning complexity into clarity – aligning how you think, feel, speak, and act so it works in real life.
Translation is where internal states transform into
– grounded confidence,
– complexity becomes aligned clarity and action,
– insights turn into something you can live, communicate and work with.
Skills Coaching and Training
Ayurveda Intelligence*
Language
Translation
Co-created solutions
SALT – Skills Coaching and Training
Skills → the tools.
Skills coaching and training is personal mastery with a pinch of Ayurveda “salt”.
It’s about enhancing what you’ve already got — your skills, your choices, your voice, and inter-cultural abilities. You’ll confidently “strut your stuff” while walking, talking and co-creating in other streets.
Personal Mastery = grounded competence
Personal Mastery is about having your feet firmly on the ground when life comes hurtling toward you.
It’s about is about being steady.
Steady inside yourself, inside complexity, inside change, and in conversations.
AYURVEDA – Intelligent Living
Ayurveda → explains patterns and fosters inner calibration. Humans aren’t static systems. We breathe, digest, think, connect, create, and recover in cycles. depending on the moment, the season, and the demands of modern life. When we stop chasing balance and tune into rhythm, regulation becomes natural.
Language and Translation
For non- and native English speakers — professionals, individuals, and expats — looking to communicate with clarity and presence – in international and intercultural spaces.
Ayurveda (Ai*)
& the 3 C’s
Connect
Communicate
Co-create
+
Ayurveda
Ayurveda isn’t an altar on a shelf — it’s a map based on 5000+ years of research.
Ayurveda is a way of sensing the current beneath the noise and noticing who’s rushing, who’s burning, who’s holding steady.
When the Doshas – Vata, Pitta, Kapha – align, everything else moves forward with ease.
Connection becomes grounded.
Communication finds it’s true voice.
Co-Creation stays in the room.
The 3 C’s stop being something to achieve — and start being something you can live and work with.
Connect
Connection isn’t a handshake or a hashtag.
It’s what happens when the nervous system loosens its grip.
Ayurveda Intelligence reads the street before words land — so that connection moves safely within and between us.
Human beings haven’t changed much.
We still need to feel seen, heard, and understood. Connecting through gentle realignment of systems – brings us back to our human-ness – and the conversation can start.
Communicate
Communication doesn’t start with words.
It starts underneath — with regulation, or the lack of it.
Ayurveda Intelligence shows what’s really doing the talking: speed, pressure, irritation, shutdown and those “I’m fine” silences.
Clear communication – the re-learning of voice and words is Personal Mastery. When regulated clarity is in the room, connection and collaboration join the conversation. Clarity is the bonding agent that holds people together.
Co-Create
Collaboration isn’t agreement.
It’s co-creation without anyone shouting directions from the back seat.
AI* also embraces differences. Cultures, skills, temperaments and experiences are welcome. No power games. No shutdowns. No burnout.
When collaboration works, accountability replaces over-functioning and friction.
The car stays on the road – no swerving – only serving — and we can enjoy the journey much more than travelling it alone.
About Hester Street …
Welcome to Hester Street!
A street filled with laughter and chatter, wafts of cooking and insence, music and Ohms, sparkles and street dogs, stories, wisdom and lots of refelection.
Why Hester Street and One Way?
Hester Street is about choosing your direction in the midst of life’s noise — and committing to it with grounded, intuitive strength.
Too many different directions fragment and overwhelm us.
Hester Street is a quiet rebellion against that.
Tucked away, in between the rythmic hustle of life’s day-to-day bustle, are quiet little corners. Spaces where you can pause, breathe, and step out of the noise and give yourself a treat.
Here, you can connect with yourself, communicate with the those around you, and co-create healthy experiences.
That’s exactly the feeling I want for you and me: a space that’s enthusiastically alive with possibility, but also a place to linger, explore, and discover your own sense of calm and clarity.
This is where my work happens – at the intersection of where you are now, and where you want to go.
Step in and browse when you’re ready.
PS – I found my street in New York’s China Town – NYC
The Newsstand
Read all about it!!
Fresh off the curb: stories, street-wise wisdoms, Ayurveda drops, language sparks, music notes, updates, and odd little life lessons worth leaning into.
This is where Personal Mastery gets announced, headlined, folded, stacked,
and sold with a wink — real experiences translated into readable, clickable, slightly unruly wisdoms for modern living.
Step up. Browse the headlines. Click what calls you.
Skills & Wisdoms
This is gold! This is a treasure chest of easy reads that will, most definitely, give you tips and tricks on how to navigate most of your challenging situations no matter where you are, who you’re with, or what you have to do or say. Read.
You won’t be sorry.
Ayurveda & LoMar®
This is where you’ll find dosha drops, marma point and massage moments, healthy recipes
and other such holistic stuff that will simply
make you feel (and do things) better.
Ayurveda in May – The “Eisheiligen” and your Doshas at play.
Language & Translation
Here you’ll find quick reads on English and the wild ways words shape how we live.
Not dusty rules. Not red-pen trauma – but why
a word lands like a slap, why a sentence opens a door, and why tone can change the whole street.
This is the translation (or process) of language turning into life.
Coaching & Training
FAQs
Why this will feel different.
Because it works at the level where change actually happens.
This isn’t mindset coaching, performance optimisation, or problem-solving from the neck up. It’s system-level work — nervous system, voice, choice-making — trained in real time. You don’t just understand more; you respond differently. And that difference holds under pressure.
Is coaching therapy?
This is skills coaching and training, not treatment.
The focus isn’t on diagnosis, healing the past, or symptom management, but on building present-moment capacity — regulation, communication, and choice. Personal material may arise, but it’s always worked with in service of skill, agency, and how you show up in real life.
Why Ayurveda Intelligence?
Ayurveda is a practical system for understanding how different bodies, nervous systems, and minds function under pressure.
Rather than over-diagnosing behaviour, it looks at patterns of movement, energy, and stability — and how these show up in your life and health. On Hester Street, Ayurveda is an applied intelligence that helps you work with your wiring instead of against it.
Why voice coaching?
Because your voice is where your inner wiring meets the world.
It carries regulation, confidence, and clarity long before words land. Voice training develops range, resonance, and responsiveness — so you can speak without strain, hold your ground without force, and stay connected even when the stakes are high. This isn’t about sounding better; it’s about being heard without losing yourself
Why intercultural coaching/training?
Because meaning doesn’t travel on words alone.
Intercultural skills train your ability to read context, navigate difference, and communicate across unspoken norms — without over-adapting or misunderstanding intent. In international and diverse environments, staying grounded in yourself while staying reachable to others is a skill, not a personality trait.
Who is this for / not for?
This work is for people who want to grow.
It’s for you, willing to slow down enough to notice your patterns, practise new responses, and take responsibility for how you show up with yourself and others.
This is not for people looking for quick fixes, motivation boosts, or someone to tell them what to do.
If you want shortcuts, surface solutions, or change without engagement, Hester Street isn’t for you.
Why your commitment is a must.
Skills that hold under pressure aren’t learned once — they’re trained over time.
Commitment creates continuity, and continuity is what allows your system to stabilise, integrate, and respond differently when it actually matters. Without commitment, insight stays interesting. With it, change becomes embodied. No commitment, no desired outcomes. Commitment to your Personal Mastery requires you to regularly show up, and actively integrate your new skills into your daily life.
How much is this going to cost?
Investment reflects depth, continuity, and level of engagement.
1:1 work sits at the higher end, with group and team formats offering different entry points. Pricing is transparent and discussed upfront — because this is a partnership, not a purchase. If that feels uncomfortable, that’s usually information worth listening to.
What’s my return-on-investment?
Clients report more clarity, steadier regulation, and stronger communication under stress.
Decisions become cleaner. Conversations hold. Sustained energy. Over time, this translates into better leadership, healthier relationships, and a felt sense of agency — not because life gets quieter, but because you can stay present when it doesn’t.
How are the sessions conducted?
The work happens 1:1, in groups, with teams, and through retreats.
Each format is designed to meet different needs, but the principle stays the same: experiential, relational, and grounded in practice. Sessions are structured yet responsive, always working with what’s present — in the room, in the body, and in the moment.
Coaching sessions and small group training can be conducted online (ensuring accessibility, convenience and regularity).