Nature-inspired coaching

What is nature coaching?

Nature-based, nature-connection, nature coaching are all different theoretical terms for the basic premise that by spending time consciously immersing ourselves in the outer natural world we can become more adept at getting to know our inner nature.

Although clients are often taken outdoors as part of the process, this is not necessarily the core element. The key emphasis is on developing new faculties for insight and awareness through observing and contemplating the natural world, and perhaps in time a capacity to 'listen' 'hear' and 'understand' the wisdom-whispers that ripple back to our inner worlds.

Developing faculties of perception

Both Rudolf Steiner and Jean Gebser, in different ways, make compelling arguments for an evolutionary aspect to cultural development and consciousness, and that the turmoil we experience today is representative of a shift, or mutation to a different, albeit slowly emerging consciousness - one much better able to handle the complexity and sheer pace of change in today's world, but equally one in desperate need of cultivation.

One core practice both advocate, is immersing oneself in nature with full awareness and presence - in time one is able to experience a shift where the phenomena themselves 'speak', revealing the true language of life.
Steiner called this living or intuitive thinking, and Gebser termed it integral and aperspectival.

Both suggest that this is a form of thinking that is living, moving, flowing - free from the constraints of singular perspectives and even linear time, and yet also one that is incisive, clear, integrative and logically-competent.

My coaching is built on both of the above aspects: bringing nature into the conversation as co-coach and teacher, and developing integrative and clear thinking as sense is made of what is being experienced.

"The gift of thinking was not bestowed upon us for the purpose of a precipitate formulation of thought but for the purpose of searching and seeking.
Thinking as such should be regarded as a process which should remain such for as long as possible. And when a thought has been formulated it should be held in abeyance until we can feel assured that the facts have been turned over and over and looked at from every possible angle.
Very much will depend upon whether a sufficient number of human beings can realise and understand the significance of what has just been said.”

Rudolf Steiner

"The perspective fixates the perceiver as well as the perceived… On one side man who due to this isolating fixation has to stress his I more and more, on the other side the world as an opposite, an enemy which becomes stronger by taking more and more space."

Jean Gebser

Nature as a teacher

• Nature is the co-coach: The role of the coach, in this case, is precisely to facilitate the coachee’s dialogue with their inner Nature, through the connection with the natural elements around them. The Nature Coach’s skills are focused on facilitating self-listening, mindful presence, silent observation, awakening and what I call our “organic knowing,” the innate system that all living beings have to survive, adapt and evolve in response to the context around us

• The natural environment can constitute the setting, both indoors and outdoors. When indoors, Nature can be present by setting up the coach’s studio with objects, plants, sounds, images and natural materials (used during the session), as well as choosing nature-inspired imagery, language and metaphors. When outdoors, the coach will co-construct with the client the choice of the location, based on preferences, needs, season, site accessibility and the evocative and thematic potential of the place itself)

  Diana Tedoldi International Coaching Federation

Nature coaching research:

• The awakening of somatic intelligence is the basis of the coaching process. The body is the core medium of human experiences and learnings. It provides orientation and understanding, being a living fabric endowed with intrinsic intelligence. By awakening the inherent knowledge of the body, we allow the coachee to root the development of their awareness within themselves, activating their natural internal compass of self-orientation, empowerment and growth.
  

• The ultimate goal of Nature Coaching is to heal the ecological, social and spiritual divide that constitutes the origin of the widespread crisis of our social systems today. Nature Coaching aims at recovering the awareness of our interconnection and interdependence with our relational ecosystem, facilitating the best personal and relational adaptations. This way, we can develop responsibility for the impact of our choices on every level of life (inner and outer), along with self-regulating, self-orientation and self-agency capabilities. It’s a path of becoming whole again, within us, and in connection with all the different forms of life around us.

  Diana Tedoldi International Coaching Federation

Nature as a metaphor in coaching

"A metaphor helps us to gain clarity by identifying hidden similarities between two ideas. In coaching, one of the key objectives is often to increase a client’s self-awareness, and nature provides a perfect example of many of the issues that individuals grapple with, like change and resilience. By tuning in more closely to nature, there is scope for clients to tune in more closely to their own, perhaps hidden, nature and to develop a stronger connection to both. We also see first-hand in nature that every day differs from the next, but there is also reassurance in the repetition. A garden builds layers over the years and enriches its space. It also teaches us the payback of effort, as the more you put into a garden, the more you gain, and also that results take time."

Margaret Walsh, 2018