5 mindfulness practices in coaching

I started practicing mindfulness as a tool for productivity - keeping my focus on one thing at a time - helped me to do more things in a day than the illusion that I was doing a lot skipping between tasks and meetings.

So since I understood the benefits of mindfulness I share it with my coaching clients and in coaching school when grounding is necessary. If you read my blog you know that I am writing about this from time to time. If you are for the first time here - let’ start with the beggining.

Mindfulness, at its core, is the practice of paying attention to the present moment without judgment. Creating a practice of leading your wandering mind back to the present in a gentle way and with intention. In coaching, it serves as a foundation for fostering self-awareness and exploring limiting beliefs and behaviors. By cultivating mindfulness with them, my clients can become more attuned to their thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, leading to greater insight and personal growth.

Here are 5 ways that I bring mindfulness into a session if the client agrees to try this. Some of my clients even decided to always start the session with such a practice so they can let the day behind and have the awareness on the coaching session:

1. Breath Awareness: One of the simplest and most effective mindfulness techniques is breath awareness. I encourage my clients to take a few moments at the beginning of each session to focus on their breath. I invite them to observe the sensation of each inhale and exhale, bringing their attention back whenever the mind wanders, gentle without any judgment or labeling. This practice helps them to ground in the present moment and cultivates a sense of calm and clarity.

2. Body Scan: This can be very well integrated with a visualisation of letting go. Guiding my clients through a body scan meditation to increase awareness of physical sensations. Starting from the top of the head and moving down to the toes, they can systematically observe any tension, discomfort, or relaxation in each part of the body. This technique promotes self-awareness and can reveal patterns of stress or imbalance that some of my clients may have not been aware of previously.

3. Mindful Listening: In coaching sessions, practice mindful listening by giving clients your full attention without interrupting or judging is something normal for a coach - this is the best way to offer a supportive space for them to explore. Encouraging my clients to speak openly and honestly while I actively listen, tuning in to both their words, the underlying emotions, paying attention to the system. Then I reflect back to them what I hear to ensure understanding and create a supportive space for exploration and growth.

4. Mindful Journaling: With some of my clients I suggest journaling as a daily mindfulness practice to deepen their self-awareness. Encouraging them to set aside a few minutes each day to write down their thoughts, feelings, and observations without censorship and without judgment is a tool for them to process. Doing this can help my clients uncover recurring patterns, gain insights into their motivations, and track their progress over time on their own.

5. Mindful Movement: While we talk about different perspective it is a great way to incorporate mindful movement exercises, such walking or change the place in the room into coaching sessions to promote physical awareness. These gentle practices encourage clients to synchronize movement with breath, fostering a sense of embodiment and presence also changing everything their point of seeing things, therefore the perspective. During an emotional downloading and they feel the need to shake the energy off I invite them to jump around, shake their shoulders or even do a simple stretching exercise - it can help them release tension and connect with their bodies in a mindful way.
   
   From my point of view mindfulness is a powerful tool in coaching. It enables my clients to deepen their self-awareness, manage stress, and cultivate a sense of presence and clarity.
   If you feel like you want to integrate mindfulness techniques into your day to day activities - you can try the easiest one - the coffee cup - guided by my voice here, this can empower you to explore their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors more fully, leading to profound personal growth and transformation. Or any of the examples above and see what works better for you. The important part is to understand that this is a process and if at any point your mind wonders just bring your thought back to present, gentle without any judgments.
   As a coach, bringing mindfulness into sessions allows me to harness the power of practice being present on both parties as a way of supporting clients on their journey towards greater awareness and fulfillment.