Mindfulness Coaching: How it Works, What to Expect, and How it Can Support You
Mindfulness coaching is a type of coaching for people who wish to bring more mindfulness to their lives. Whether you’re completely new to mindfulness or experienced with meditation, working with a trained teacher or coach can help you progress in your practice. I’ll cover the basics of mindfulness coaching here so that you can understand what it is, what to expect during your sessions, and how to find the right coach for you.
Mindful coaching is one of the services I offer, along with mindful counseling (more of a dive into emotions and processing) and relational mindfulness.
What is Mindfulness Coaching?
Mindfulness coaching can mean many things. Where traditional coaching may focus on outcomes and goals, mindfulness coaching focuses on bringing awareness and presence to the process. People reach out for mindfulness coaching for a variety of reasons. They may want to work with some specific stressor in their lives, build a more mindful relationship, or simply learn to build a daily mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness coaching is not therapy. Where therapy often focuses on emotional processing and the past, coaching is focused more on the present and how we move forward. The role of the mindfulness coach is to guide you as you move forward in your life and with your practice. I am an advocate for therapy, and married to a licensed therapist. But it is important to understand the distinction.
How Mindfulness Coaching Works
Every person is unique and may require different support. In general, mindfulness coaching will follow a fairly straightforward structure.
Initial Assessment
You’ll begin with the initial assessment or intake. This step usually involves the coach gaining an understanding of what brings you to mindfulness coaching. You’ll discuss any difficult experiences you’re facing in regards to relationships, stress, anxiety, focus, etc. You’ll then cover the goals and intentions for the sessions together.
In addition, you might be asked about your current habits and challenges. If you don’t have clear goals, that’s perfectly fine! A mindfulness coach will help point you in the right direction. Together, you can investigate the direction you want to move. This initial assessment serves to provide a road map for your time together.
Meditations and Practices
With some understanding of the direction you wish to go with your practice and sessions, the mindfulness coach may offer some exercises. These may come in the form of guided meditations during your session and recordings to use outside of your sessions. You also might be asked to engage in some sort of mindfulness-based practice such as dyads, out-loud noting, or other useful exercises.
Integration Into Daily Life
Obviously we don’t spend all day meditating. The good news is that there are many ways we can practice mindfulness in everyday life. With mindfulness coaching sessions, you’ll learn ways to bring mindfulness to your everyday activities. From family responsibilities and work life to addressing potential triggers and difficulties, your coach will help you create a plan that works for you.
This may include exercises to use throughout your day, such as using awareness triggers. It also may include mindful journaling practices, setting intentions for the day, and grounding exercises before going into an emotionally charged or difficult situation. The idea is to create a mindfulness-based plan of action to specifically address the places in your life that could use a little bit of presence.
Inventory and Reflection
With any coaching, feedback is important. Your coach will ask you what you found that worked for you, and what didn’t. Together you can take an inventory, reflect on your experience, and investigate the best path forward. This may mean adjusting practices, tracking progress in some way, or sticking with something to see if it just needs time.
What to Expect in a Session
During your sessions, you might start with a few minutes of settling/meditation if it feels useful to you. Then you will generally begin with the inventory/reflection step. With your coach you’ll discuss your experience over the previous week, investigating what worked and what didn’t. Your coach will likely ask questions to gain a full understanding before moving on to the next step.
Once you’ve covered what’s been happening, the mindfulness coach may offer some meditation practice. It may be a mindfulness meditation, some sort of loving-kindness or compassion, or maybe a moving practice like walking meditation. An experienced coach will be able to hear you share your experience, and have an idea of what will be useful for you moving forward.
Finally, you will likely set goals or intentions for the week. These will be little baby steps toward a bigger goal or intention you have. Think of them as little puzzle pieces you’re putting together one by one to complete the bigger picture. You will be offered some exercises to utilize, ways to check in with yourself, and resources for your daily life.
A coaching space is open and nonjudgemental. You will be encouraged to share honestly about your experience, and your coach will meet you with kindness and understanding. They aren’t here to judge. They are here to support you.
How Mindfulness Coaching Can Support You
There are many benefits to working one-on-one with a coach. Depending on what you are working toward, a coach may be able to help you in various aspects of your experience.
Emotional Benefits
Working with a mindfulness coach can help you reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety as you learn to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life. You may increase emotional regulation, find some self-compassion, or learn to detach from negative thoughts. I would say the most common emotional reason individuals reach out to me is probably stress and anxiety, and together we’ve been able to cultivate mindfulness and self-compassion in a way that is truly useful and sustainable.
Mental Benefits
We know mindfulness and meditation can increase focus and clarity. We also can learn to work with overthinking, gain an awarness of our habitual thought patterns, and observe thoughts without judgement. We might identify triggers and create a set of tools to help focus, clarity, and discernment.
Behavioral Benefits
Mindfulness coaching can support our behaviors in powerful ways. We might learn to incorporate healthier habits when it comes to sleep hygiene, exercise, or diet. We also might learn to pause and respond rather than react. Many people use mindfulness to help them weigh options and make wiser decisions as well.
Relational Benefits
Relational mindfulness is a deep passion of mine. Whether you want to work with an intimate partner, a family member, or a professional relationship, mindfulness coaching can help you communicate better, be more present in your relationships, reduce reactivity when it comes to conflict, and be more mindful of others.
Who is it For?
Mindful coaching might be a good fit for you if you fit into one of these categories. If you’re not sure, reach out and we can see what we can do together!
Beginners Who Want to Meditate
Meditation is a wonderful practice that has changed my life over the last twenty years and the lives of many of my students. But the truth is meditation can feel hard at first! Mindfulness coaching sessions can help you get you start a daily meditation practice. I have many students as of writing this who tried for years to start meditating, and couldn’t seem to make it stick until they met with a teacher one-on-one.
People Facing Difficulties or Struggle
Whether you’re struggling with burnout, relationship issues, general stress, or a feeling of being stuck, mindfulness coaching sessions may be able to help. When applied directly to specific issues, mindfulness can be a powerful tool to have in your toolbox. Many people reach out to me with a specific difficulty they want to address, and I love this. It shows a level of insight and self-awareness, which makes for a great jumping-off point.
Those Who Want to Make Mindfulness a Part of Their Life
Maybe you aren’t especially keen on meditation, but you do want to investigate bringing mindfulness to everyday life. We run through our lives, often on autopilot. Even without formal sitting meditation, you can learn to bring mindfulness to your work, relationships, family responsibilities, and anything else you have going on.
Couples and People in Relationships
I truly believe our collective practice has been a key to the amazing relationship my partner and I have, and love sharing these practices with others. Whether you want to come as an individual or together as a couple, we can investigate mindfulness exercises for couples, ways to connect with more presence, and how to respond with loving-kindness and compassion.
To learn more, visit my page What You’ll Learn in Mindful Couples Counseling.
Coaching Sessions vs. Self-Guided Practice
I am often asked about the benefits of coaching sessions vs. a self-guided practice. The truth is, my goal is to get my students to a point where they can guide themselves! For many, it can be hard to build a meditation practice or know how to start bringing mindfulness into their lives.
Coaching sessions can help answer questions about meditation like if you are meditating correctly, how to find the time to meditate, and what type of meditation you should be doing. Mindfulness coaching provides personalized guidance when it comes to building a meditation practice, which can give you a clear path to progress.
You also will have support during challenges in your life, someone to be accountable to, and someone to speak with honestly and openly. A good coach will absolutely help you work toward independence in your practice. The goal will be to know yourself, understand your own needs, and know the action that needs to be taken.
Choosing a Teacher or Coach
When choosing a meditation teacher or coach, there are a few things you might want to consider. First is their training. Did this person complete an online coaching certification program or did they attend some sort of traditional schooling to be a counselor or coach?I am not here to say one is better than the other, but consider the individual’s background and training.
On that note, their mindfulness tradition may matter. You may want a coach who is well-versed in secular mindfulness such as MBSR. Or maybe you want someone who is educated in Tibetan Buddhism or Insight Meditation. This is a personal preference, but one that you should consider in choosing a teacher.
Finally, you should consider compatibility. Most coaches offer some sort of free consultation. If you don’t feel like you are a good fit with this person, let them know! They can likely help refer you to someone who is. Even if you can’t explain why, it’s important to say no to sessions if it doesn’t feel right.
Timeline of Sessions and Results
One of the things that can be difficult about mindfulness or meditation is that it takes time to work. I discuss endlessly on my blog and podcast the importance of regular practice. Often, mindfulness practice takes some level of trust. We have to do the work with the trust that the results will come bit by bit.
In the short-term, you may notice small victories or successes. You might be able to take a pause before responding, find yourself taking a deep breath before entering a work meeting, or just falling asleep more easily. These are small signs you’re progressing, and tending toward mindfulness as a tool in your life.
Every student is different. I generally meet with students once a week at the beginning. Some drop down to every other week or once a month once they’ve built a consistent and stable practice. Some go out on their own and check in once every few months. The goal is to get you to a point where your mindfulness practice is sustainable and beneficial.
Getting Started
Getting started with mindfulness coaching can be scary. I remember my first time reaching out to a teacher back in 2010. I was nervous as could be. But the truth is the sessions absolutely changed my practice, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with several amazing teachers since then.
I encourage you to remember reaching out to do a free consultation with a mindfulness coach is not a commitment. If you don’t vibe with them, so be it. If a mindfulness coach is pressuring you in any way, that may be a red flag in my opinion. Try a consultation or a sesssion, and see if it is beneficial for you.