Hello I’m Kish

It wasn’t until she was a teenager that my daughter discovered what I did for a living. She knew I worked from home and then a friend told her what a talented coder I was, that I’d coded in Cobol and Pascal. It was a revelation to her. To her, I was ‘just’ mum. And I was a busy one.

I was constantly rushing, constantly juggling. I delivered at work. I nurtured at home. But I had no boundaries so there was no space for me. I was simply functioning and felt lost as an individual.

Nobody teaches us how to manage this overwhelm. The onus is on us to work it out.

Over the years I’ve learned how to value myself. It’s been a long, long, long journey. It’s not easy but valuing myself allows me to enforce boundaries. I am now fully present at work. I’m fully present with my family. I am fully present as myself.

In my early career, I worked as a programme manager for BT. It was a challenging, corporate role. My children were small and I lobbied to work from home. This was 1988 – no internet, no mobile phones – and I was the first person in BT to do it. BT got some great PR from it, and I unintentionally became a trailblazer. I just wanted ten more hours to spend with my family.

Whilst at BT I was asked to attend a coaching course and it opened up a new world for me. It just clicked. I’d found my vocation. I took the leap and switched coding for coaching. As I built my business, I continued my personal mindfulness journey.

Coaching and Mindfulness have given me the power of self-reflection and of self-awareness. Both enable me to make better choices. I know what depletes me and what energises me. I was born in Zimbabwe of Indian origin and have spent most of my life in the UK. Culture, diversity, inclusion and community are important threads that weave who I am and how I interact with people.  I now sing in a choir, love contributing to my book club and run my meditation groups.  Having joined the rowing club I’ve now rowed 22 miles down the Thames and kayaked 35 km through Venice. Rowing enabled me to be part of the crew that rowed the Queen’s barge, the Gloriana, for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. For me, rowing is not just exercise, it re-energises me for the week ahead.

Volunteering has introduced me to a wider network with more opportunities. It has led me to be a director at the rowing club and a visiting tutor at Henley Business School.

I live fully. It wasn’t always like that but it is now.  My regular practice of mindfulness has opened up opportunities and enables me to sail through tough waters with more stability and calm. I’ve learned the importance and value of boundaries and I am better at everything I do because of it. I passionately want to share that with you. 

I’ve been running my business since 2006, coaching individuals and teams within organisations. Having transformed my own life with mindfulness, I now offer it to my clients. It’s such a powerful tool. It’s especially rewarding to see the impact of practical mindfulness on working parents as we build the resilience to cope when life is hectic.

You can’t change everything now. But you can change some things. And change motivates more change. And you can start in just one minute.  Take a look at my coaching and my practical mindfulness courses to find one to suit you.