Coaching can often be very cognitive with a focus on thoughts : great coaches go beyond this and explore emotions as well as what is going on in their clients bodies. Our bodies are a source of great intelligence, and can tell us a lot about what we’re feeling and experiencing.
At Optimus curriculum doesn’t just use approaches that are all about the mind. We look at the nervous system with Neuroscience, we look at emotions, client context and environment and we look at the body. This focus on the whole person enables our coaches to work with the individual in front of them as all elements are important. With somatic coaching, you’re considering the entire person, and that means exploring physical sensations alongside thoughts and emotions.
Focusing on the body is key because physical sensations are inextricably linked with our thoughts and emotions. For example, when you have butterflies in your stomach, this can mean you’re feeling nervous, or perhaps excited about something. We can explore physical sensations to get a sense of what we’re feeling and to understand how we’re being affected at a physical level and to go deeper into getting insights and clarity of what is going on.
As coaches it’s important for us to tune into our own bodies before sessions too. Where are we holding tension? Where is our stiffness? We want to get ourselves into a relaxed and open state so we're able to hold space more effectively with our clients. When our cortisol levels are low and we're calmer in our nervous system it helps support our clients to be calmer too.
Often, what we experience can be the result of anticipation. For example, the actual act of smoking might not be pleasurable for us when we do it, but the anticipation of smoking and the reward we think we'll receive can increase our dopamine levels. When we look beyond cognition, we look at all these other elements and we can explore what our bodies are responding to : our bodies store these patterns as well as our brains and often can hold the key to our behaviour and behaviour change.
With an awareness of what’s happening with our bodies you can tap into what we need. Things like shaking (we encourage you to read more about this!), breathwork, yoga and breathing exercises can help to reduce levels of cortisol and activate our parasympathetic nervous systems. Often when we're struggling to solve a problem or think more effectively the best solution is to move our bodies this can often reduce our stress and helps us tap into our emotional and physical thinking.
Somatic coaching methods are linked to the ICF competencies both with the presence of the coach and how they're showing up to the session and under the active listening competency where you explore energy shifts and body language which signal more is going on for our clients. Active listening is also key in looking at what is and isn't being said which can often be picked up by the coach by exploring shifts in energy and body language.
Somatic coaching provides a holistic approach and lets us look at the person beyond their thoughts. There is so much to a person than their thoughts and great coaches are able to be flexible in their approaches to support their clients to get clarity and gain new insights which are key for long lasting behavioural change.
Coaching helps clients find a solution to a problem – right? That’s right. But that’s not all coaches do.
The problems our clients present can be a reflection of something deeper going on. Usually, there’s something more behind a single situation.
As coaches, it’s our job to uncover those layers and unearth what’s happening. Only then, can we create transformative change.
How do we get to the root of the problem? We need to coach the whole person.
In this episode, I discuss how we can begin to coach the entire person in front of us to achieve deeper change.
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New To Coaching? Listen to recent graduates who were in your position and hear their experiences first hand
" There is a huge amount of support from the teachers on the course and really great support in the sessions... And then you've got this bespoke service from your mentor where you can really get into some detail on your own journey in coaching. And then the unexpected big element for me is about finding this community of peers who are going through the same journey with different approaches, a real diversity of professions and expertise and ages and so on" Tess Nixon Speller - Coach & Fundraising Consultant
"It’s opened my eyes actually to all different types of coaching and that was part of the reason why I chose to go on the Optimus course. When you do it in a corporate environment, typically, you come across Grow and some of the other more basic, more transactional type models, whereas having the opportunity to learn about things like positive psychology and neuroscience and transactional analysis and how that all links into how you can approach stuff as a coach has made a huge difference." Chris Roberts - Leadership and Team Coach
Existing Coach ? Discover the impact our training has had on other full-time coaches and how it has benefitted their work!
"The financial impact has been quite significant actually. I am charging way more than I would have been comfortable doing before. I've well and truly more than earned back the cost of the course. So the ROI for me is well worth it. I think as well from a credibility perspective, I am able to work with organisations in a different way and at a different level " Ruth Wood - Executive and Leadership Coach
"It's an outlay, but I've always been that person who loves learning. You'll make back the money with how much you can charge because you're actually somebody who knows what they’re talking about. You're coming from experience as opposed to just making it up as you go along....I met so many different people who I'm still in touch with some of them and then the fact that you've got the alumni. Phyllis Woodfine - Resilience, Mindset and Business Coach
I’m honestly shocked by how useful this training has been. I really didn't think I needed it, but I’ve totally changed my mind on that now. It was exactly what I need and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to maximise their coaching potential.”
I'd say, yes, it's an investment. And you know, everyone has to think long and hard about where you put your time and your money, but the me. If you want something comprehensive, well rounded, you want an experience to be able to grow as a person, to grow as a coach, to be more business minded, and to have a community of people around you and great trainers and mentors. This for me, hands down is the best training out there. And I think just three months down the line, I don't regret it at all, if anything, I'm happy to sort of encourage other people to jump on it and do it, it's really worth it is more than worth it.”
I think if you want to be a coach, work as a coach, be successful as a coach, be confident as a coach, then this is the course for you. It's unlike any training that I've ever done before, it's just great. I never worry about coaching someone now. I feel like I always know where to go. I can respond and I don't go in thinking what I am going to ask them. I can be completely curious and open to what they want to do in the session and it works: it is so much better for them and I just love it. I'm so happy to take the full joy out of it.”
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