Keisha Allen-Smith has a solution for anyone feeling burnt out by life’s daily pressures. It’s an holistic approach to wellness achieved through eight interdependent “dimensions”: emotional, physical, occupational, social, spiritual, intellectual, environmental and financial. Ms Allen-Smith thinks it is particularly helpful to females, many of whom are “overworked” and “overwhelmed” by their jobs and the time spent caring for others.

At a workshop held last week, the spiritual life coach and author stressed why it is important that women prioritise their own wellness instead.

“When talking about wellness I look at it in more of a holistic way and so that's why we focus on the eight dimensions, taking a deep dive into all of those areas for ourselves and getting a picture of our current reality and setting intentions of where we want to be,” said Ms Allen-Smith.

It’s a theory she puts into practice in her full-time job as director of staff development and instruction at The Berkeley Institute and as chief education officer of her own company, Target Learning and Love and Light Empowerment, which offers academic coaching for students, personal and professional development workshops and coaching sessions to businesses, groups and individuals.

When it comes to wellness, the “right balance” looks different for everyone. Ms Allen-Smith’s advice to the women who participated in her Wellness Reset Workshop was to select two or three dimensions they thought would have the greatest impact on their lives, and make improving them a priority.

“All of them are interconnected, so when you're not balanced or doing well in one area, it could affect another and when you're thriving in an area, it affects other areas. So we look at all of that comprehensively,” she said.

It’s a trusted method that Ms Allen-Smith first used to her own benefit but then considered how it might be helpful to others.

“My full-time job is in education. I do staff development for teachers, and the teaching profession is one of the most stressful professions. They often say that if doctors and lawyers had to deal with 20 clients at one time, it would be a struggle,” she said.

“Years back, I decided, instead of giving a workshop on pedagogy or instructional methods, let me do one on wellness and self-care. It was so well received. It was just so amazing to me how much it was needed and that's what prompted me to continue, along with the other work that I do, to offer workshops in that space.”

Ms Allen-Smith sets aside a “power half-hour” every day and recommends her clients do the same.

“I am very intentional when I get up about doing some type of movement ― making sure I walk, or do yoga or just move my body in some way ― and then I use some of that time for meditation, for prayer and gratitude, things that I need to fill myself so that I'm ready for the day.

“Throughout the day, I take short breaks just to do some deep breathing and breath work. Because we're in go-go mode all day, we have to make sure we pause and do short, small exercises that help to calm our nervous system to help maintain our balance.”

Ms Allen-Smith’s passion for “empowering people to manage stress, increase their energy levels and improve their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing” has been heightened in recent years.

The pandemic, the high cost of living, the strain on people working multiple jobs are among the many challenges that have led to an increase in depression and anxiety worldwide.

“For women, there's an unspoken extra workload for us. As parents, it’s small things like keeping abreast of everybody's schedule, handling the emotional needs of our children, figuring out what's for dinner, what do I need to buy to top up the groceries or being the chauffeur for your children, everywhere they have to go,” she said.

“All of these little additional things are extra [jobs] that a male might not necessarily have to deal with and although it's part of our routine and we do it just because it has to get done, it adds stress to us that’s kind of ignored and unspoken.

“And then when we get to those middle years not only is it our children, but sometimes many people are caring for ageing parents.

“It does become overwhelming, and it's easy for us to put ourselves last and everything and everybody else first.”

With her help, people learn the importance of prioritising themselves so they have the energy to care for their loved ones.

“I think on a personal level, people are just not finding the time to prioritise their inner wellness.

“I have a book, [77 Ways to Reduce Stress and Energise Your Life], and it talks about these things, and it includes a habit tracker to help people track their progress.

“What I’ve noticed is that we kind of know what to do, and we're doing little bits of it, but the biggest problem is being consistent.

“Through my workshops I give knowledge and awareness, but I also help people track their progress.

“I have them set small goals, and work on being consistent so that they can feel the impact of doing these things on a regular basis, because ultimately, that's how we're going to get there.

“Success comes when they're able to do that consistently and feel the benefit.”

• For more information visit https://linktr.ee/loveandlightempowerment or follow @keishaempowers on Instagram and @keishaallen-smith on Facebook and LinkedIn