Women's Leadership Mindset Series featuring Jasmine Kelly-Stephens
Jasmine Kelly-Stephens
Jasmine Stephens Wellness, LLC Holistic Health and Wellness Coach
Hello, I am Jasmine Kelly-Stephens. I was born and raised in the beautiful Caribbean Island of St. Kitts where life was blissful! Just being able to play outside freely for as long as I want and picking fresh fruits such as mangoes, guavas, passion fruits off the trees, was simply delightful. It is amazing how we sometimes miss these simple treasures only when they are no longer available to us.
I was raised by a praying, bible-reading and God-fearing grandmother. She was one of the most intelligent, no-nonsense, and outspoken women I knew even with just an elementary education. She also had a saying or a proverb for most things. Among the many things I learned from Mama--as she was affectionately called--I learned the importance of securing a close relationship with God. Education came in a close second. My life was pretty much church, school and lots of play sprinkled in between. Perfect if you ask me!
Mama instilled in me a strong faith, integrity, and a heart for serving others…these are the core values that I still live by today.
When I migrated to the US at sixteen these core values served me very well especially during the first few years when I struggled as an immigrant. It was my strong faith and the support of family and friends that helped me to rise above the hardships. Despite the hardships, I was able to pursue several degrees including an advance degree, an MBA in Global Management. I was also able to check off one of my bucket lists items by becoming an Amazon #1 best-selling author.
I love being a wife, a mom to my teenage son and my bonus daughter. I enjoy walking, bike riding and gardening. I also enjoy church ministry of which I currently hold various leadership positions. I am an encourager and absolutely love connecting with people.
I was not always a Health Coach. I worked in corporate for numerous years. The compensation and benefits were great and frankly, I was comfortable. But I knew I was destined for more…to serve and help support other women on their health and wellness journey. As a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach, I help Christian women entrepreneurs in an area that is all too familiar—emotional eating.
My struggle as an emotional eater goes as far back as I can remember. I have always had an affinity for sweets with a special sweet spot for a particular treat, which was a delicious blend of coconut, sugar, and ginger. I would buy a few at a time and eat them all by myself when no one was looking. It was not until way into adulthood that I realized I was turning to food for comfort. By this time, I was experiencing weight gain, incessant headaches, and acne. My energy levels were at an all-time low, which negatively affected my level of performance. My emotional eating habit had completely sabotaged my health and wellness goals.
I was downtrodden and knew I had to take back control of my health, although I had no idea what that would look like. One thing I knew for sure was that it was not going to be an overnight success. You see, I grew up during a time when children were only to speak when spoken to and answer when they were called. So, because I was not encouraged to freely express my emotions, I turned to food instead…sweet things to be exact. It became my safe place. There was no one to judge or shame me. Food became my primary emotional coping mechanism, and it was going on for far too long.
I collaborate with women who are exposed to increased stress and responsibility every day of their lives due to the highly demanding nature of entrepreneurship. Food has become a major tool to help them balance that. I help them raise awareness and implement tactics to help them overcome the strongholds of emotional eating so that they can have the freedom, energy, and confidence to walk in their purpose.
I love the work that I do and the trust that I get to establish with my clients. My goal is to create a safe place for them to be heard and seen so they can freely increase awareness around their eating habits. This allows them to get a better sense of why they are seeking comfort from food without judgment, shame, or guilt. Once they can do that, they then make specific changes to help them prevent these cravings, which have been sabotaging their wellness goals. As a result, their lives begin to open as they begin to see the possibilities they never thought of.
I want my clients to reach their health and wellness goals and achieve lasting behavior change…so my goal is to help them focus on taking small positive steps over time instead of making big changes all at once while providing consistent support and guidance toward making these important small changes. It is all about the small wins that build toward enormous success.
Staying abreast of market research in the health and wellness industry has proven helpful and has helped me to make the mindset shifts necessary to stay afloat in the industry. In the wake of the pandemic and the current market, I have realized that consumers have become increasingly concerned with their physical and mental health. They are willing to take a proactive approach to take care of their health. I also believe that beside having a trained professional, my clients are mostly in need of an ally that can provide them the inspiration and empowerment in realizing their potential and achieving the lifestyle changes they want.
Healthy behavior requires hard work, consistent effort, and practical tools to be successful. My job as a Coach is to help facilitate a process of change and help clients develop the tools they need towards actualizing their dreams. I am grateful that I get to hold a space for my clients to grow while staying motivated through small milestones celebrated throughout their healing process; as well as serving and helping them navigate during these uncertainty times.
I truly believe your health is your greatest wealth. Although change and transformation are not a quick fix, the small consistent steps, taken day-in and day-out, will always lead to big results and true success…that essentially create a ripple effect helping the future generation. At the end of the day, we all have the opportunity and possibility to change the trajectory of the lives of those in our sphere of influence. We get to create an impact that could gift them with the freedom from diet culture, body shame and toxic food behaviors.
Jasmine Kelly-Stephens
Holistic Health and Wellness Coach
About Jasmine
Jasmine is a wife and mom to a teenage son and a bonus daughter. She loves walking, bike riding and gardening. She also enjoys church ministry of which she currently holds several leadership positions. She is also an Amazon #1 Best-selling Author. Of all the roles she holds, being the daughter of the King is the one she holds most dearly.
Although Jasmine was highly successful in her corporate career, she felt God was calling her for more. She has always had a heart for helping others, so it was no surprise she chose to go back to school to pursue a certification in Health Coaching.
She is currently a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach where she helps Christian women entrepreneurs in an area where she has had her own struggles. She helps women break free from the strongholds of emotional eating so that they can have the freedom, energy, and confidence to fulfill their Kingdom assignment.