What is a Coach & Do I Need One?

At its core, coaching is a form of personal development where a person with knowledge, skills, and experience supports another person in making changes towards a specific desired goal. Coaching helps us move forward and restores vitality in our lives where we most crave it.

The word ‘coach’ originates from the Hungarian word ‘Kocsi’ - a wagon that provided an easier and more comfortable way to carry goods.

It was later used by English students as a metaphor and verb to describe the work of their tutors, which was to ‘comfort and carry’ them through exam preparation.

I really love how this word captures the way caring leadership and expertise can facilitate growth and provide comfort through the hard work and challenges that come with making positive changes. What I love most is that it normalizes the need, offering, and acceptance of support without attaching guilt, shame, or weakness to it.

A well-chosen coach can have a huge impact on the way you set and approach specific goals and the tools and skills you gain in the process can transform the way you live your life as a whole. Coaching helps you clarify the WHAT? and WHY? behind your desire for change and helps you answer the HOW? of making these meaningful changes.

You need to know that coaching is an unregulated industry, which can make it unclear in terms of what it does and does not offer. It’s important to find someone who is willing to take the time to see if you’d be a good fit for each other. A professional coach must have skills and training that go way beyond their personal experiences, opinions, advice, and preferences. If you are interested in finding a coach, you have the right and responsibility to ask questions and trust yourself to find a good fit.

Most professional coaches will have trained in at least one specific method and are passionate about supporting clients in their own unique way. I like to look at coaching as the art and science of applying a specific set of skills in ways that help you prioritize time and space for YOUR growth.

Science: They know and understand how, why, and when to use skills such as:

• Active listening

• Asking open-ended questions

• Staying conscious of body language

• Resolving discrepancies 

• Adjusting to meet you where you are

• Reflecting feelings/words/body language

• Practicing non-judgement

• Prompting and guiding

• Responsivity

Art: They have an authentic and creative way of connecting you with the benefits of applying coaching skills.

A quality professional coach has expertise in specific areas and is passionate about supporting their clients in a unique way.

For me, my background and experience in education and parenting are what brought me to coaching. I value teaching philosophies that are rooted in honouring children as they are and empowering them in ways that are true to their inherent nature. As a guidance counselor and parent education liaison, I’ve noticed that the majority of adults were not raised or educated with this philosophy and so we haven’t necessarily experienced the benefits of it ourselves, let alone acquired the skills to offer it to the children, students or anyone in our lives. Parents, educators, and adults alike WANT to live in a way that feels true to themselves without feeling completely alienated or exposed. With these values and concerns in mind, I became certified and trained by Dr. Shefali through the Conscious Parenting Method Coaching Institute and continue to stay up to date with research that focuses on using the mind and body connection to optimize the way we live.

As a coach, my intention is to connect my clients to themselves in a really authentic way and then to act as a partner in holding them true to that authenticity so that they can confidently navigate and experience life with more ease and vitality.

Here are some of the skills, experiences, and techniques I bring to my coaching practice:

• Grounding techniques 🪨

• Embodiment practices 🫀

• Mindfulness & Meditation 🧘🏾‍♀️

• Professional Educator & Guidance Counselor 👩🏾‍🏫

• Developmental Expertise 🌱🪴🌳

• Certified Conscious Parenting Method Coach Practitioner 💞

• Culturally Aware & Experienced 🤎

• Reiki Practioner 🙌🏽

• Agent for Change on a personal, community, and global scale 🌎

• Insatiable Curiosity & Dedication to learning 🤓

If you are contemplating change in any way and would like some support in doing so, a coach might be a great option for you.

In order to be effective, coaching does require you to be ready, willing, and open to change. There is an element of feeling seen - ‘As-Is’. Trust and vulnerability are inherent in this process but your coach is able to meet you where you are and apply their skills and compassion to help you gain your own insights about the obstacles you’re currently facing. They also create multiple opportunities to build a skill or change perspective and they pose open questions that allow you to develop the ability to distinguish what you want and why you want it. You’ll get to see what is in alignment and out of alignment in your life. Finally, your coach will help you set goals that are true to you and will work alongside you while you achieve and embody meaningful changes. It’s a really incredible opportunity for healthy connection and growth.

If you have questions about how coaching could work for you, send me a message or request a call here. Stay Curious!

** I value Education, Coaching, Therapy, and countless other forms of growth and self-care. Any growth and learning that is conscious in nature is a positive thing. Coaching is not medical or clinical mental health care. If you are experiencing extremely overwhelming feelings, I encourage you to reach out for the help you need.