Coaching and helping people solve their problems comes to her naturally. Karishma Gill, the Empowerment Coach, tells Anjana Parikh, how important it is to bring self-healing, and living authentically and guiding your life with love and compassion is not just a woman’s issue but it is humanity’s call to action.
AL: You are an Empowerment Coach. How do define this profession?
- Karishma Gill
Karishma: An Empowerment Coach is someone who helps you navigate through every area of your life to help you heal and release fear, shame, guilt and blame; to allow you to step into your own power from within yourself and for yourself; to allow self love and healthier beliefs to be a natural part of your life. To make healthy choices in creating the life of your dreams.
AL: Why and when did you choose to become one?
Karishma: A few years ago, I did a lot of soul searching because I was coming from a string of bad relationships and I wasn’t happy with my job. I knew in my heart that I needed to find what my soul was craving for and that was to find my calling in life. I needed to heal my inner scars and to do what I loved and not what society or family wanted me to do.
I have always had a gift of speaking to Angels. To many people, this will sound strange but thanks to leading Angel experts like Doreen Virtue and Kyle Gray, I knew this was a blessing. Through angelic guidance, I came across coaching and knew this was a profession that truly spoke to my heart and soul. I was again guided towards Crystal Andrus, who offered the only program geared for women. I knew instantly this was the program for me, so I signed up.
AL: Where did you do your training?
Karishma: Through the Simply Woman Accredited Trainer (SWAT) program led by Crystal Andrus. This is an online program that is almost like a university level education as it is very comprehensive. The SWAT program truly spoke to my heart.
AL: What kind of skills does a person need to have to become an Empowerment Coach?
Karishma: Becoming an Empowerment Coach is truly a journey. To be such a coach, one needs to also heal and release all anger, shame, blame, fear and guilt. The coach needs to be able to step into their own power and embrace self love and healthy beliefs about themselves and life to be able to coach others to do the same. One must also understand that healing is a journey not a destination and the tools that the SWAT program offers help you on this journey.
AL: Why is SWAT program women-centric?
Karishma: The SWAT program is women-centric because Crystal Andrus believes that it is time to bring healing to the women worldwide. Her vision is to create empowered women and empowered women coaches from all cultures to guide other women to step into their power. Women around the world are not exactly living empowered lives. We may have the same kind of jobs as men do but there is still inequality existing in cultures, work places and even within the family unit. This isn’t about feminism. This is about helping women find healing and self love for themselves. The course is designed to not only heal the woman but to help empower her by making choices that resonate with her soul. When you can heal a woman, you can bet she will bring healing to her family and children. She will raise empowered children who are wise, loving and courageous. When a woman can truly feel safe that she is free to make healthy choices and still have love and compassion for her naysayers, she has truly found self empowerment.
AL: You’ve mentioned that many Asian girls are still pressurised for education, marriage and babies but lack awareness on issues like spirituality, empowerment etc? Can you please elaborate on this?
Karishma: In our culture, there is a silent underlying notion that a woman is nothing without a man. If she does not get married by a certain age then she won’t find a suitable candidate. Or, sometimes that she has to have a certain job or skin colour otherwise she may not have a brighter future than a professional who is a fair skinned. Now, I experienced this intra-racial prejudices growing up. I was a chubby wheat skinned girl and my younger sister was fairer and skinnier than me. I received disdainful looks and remarks from relatives and other community members asking me ‘why wasn’t I as fair as my sister?’ and ‘if I did not lose weight, I will never get a man to marry’. To an impressionable child like myself, this scarred me.
Then it’s about the education. We are usually gently nudged by our parents to pursue professional degrees because that is deemed as stable. I am a talented singer but was never given any support because the impression was that becoming a singer will never lead me anywhere and it was unstable. But just look at A. R. Rahman or Asha Bhosle, not frivolous and they are somewhere! Also, look at how jobs are changing. Businesses are becoming more heart-centred, meaning the entrepreneurs who truly succeed are the ones who have die hard passion for it.
Years later, now being part of the SWAT community of women, I had shared my background story to the hundreds of women. Lo and behold! Not only did the other Asian women in the program relate to my story, the women of all cultures related equally.
That was when, the Asian sisters in the program and I decided to go out into our communities to bring healing to our women. If we had similar stories, there will be tons of others who will be in need of love and guidance.
I would like to help our women to empower themselves knowing they have a choice to do what they love and what comes naturally to them rather than being decided for them. This comes from knowing who you are as a person and making authentic choices that resonate with your heart. It takes courage first to truly own your own purpose and dreams. Given the right tools and support, you can accomplish anything and even reach the stars.
AL: Spreading awareness on women-related issues has been going on for a long time. Tell us how different are your plans in this case?
Karishma: Bringing self healing, living authentically and guiding your life with love and compassion is not just a woman’s issue. It is humanity’s call to action. I have chosen, or more appropriately, have been called to, bring this to our Asian sisters across the planet through my service as a coach. Building a community of empowered Asian women is my vision. These women live their dreams and purpose, live authentic lives, build healthy relationships with their partners and raise empowered children. The SWAT program is already doing this. I am just carrying the torch.
AL: What are those things that you would like to emphasise to the British Asian women?
Karishma: Live authentically knowing who you are as a person. Think, act and speak from a place of love and compassion where you become a shining light to everyone around you.
AL: Being positive when things are well is easy, not so when you are going through a low phase? What is your advice?
Karishma: Expressing gratitude for all that you have around you. Gratitude immediately shifts our thoughts and feelings towards what is good in our lives. When we are down, we are not able to see what we truly have that may help us move forward. Immediately practice gratitude for what you have around you. This centres and connects you to your soul. When you start to feel better, the choices that you make from a better place lead to better solutions.
AL: What/ who is your aspiration in life?
Karishma: To guide people to live their life’s purpose