Mindfulness Coaching is a newly emerging field. Mindfulness coaches help people reduce stress, limit depression, gain better focus, overcome grief and heal from trauma. During coaching, clients learn how to maintain a mindfulness mindset and use mindfulness exercises to improve their mental health quickly. This article explains what mindfulness coaching is and how to become a coach.
Mindfulness is a practice of paying attention to our physical environment (sounds, physical sensations), as well as, paying attention to our emotions and thoughts. Mindfulness can be practiced during a sitting meditation, but it doesn’t have to be practiced that way. Mindfulness can be something we do in the middle of the day to support better focus, lean into our emotions and disengage from our thinking.
Obviously, some amount of thinking is necessary for us to get though our day. We need to plan, make decisions and weigh risks. However, sometimes our thinking is detrimental to our mental health and even to our physical health. Rumination, for example, is reliving an event that took place in the past and picking it apart in our minds. Much research shows that engaging in rumination is a slippery slope and often leads to anxiety and/or depression. Being mindful of our rumination episodes allows us to wake up from this cycle and move ourselves into a healthier state of mind.
Catastrophic thinking happens when we entertain worst-case scenarios. This type of thinking can activate our nervous system and trigger us into flight or flight. Much research shows that spending unhealthy periods of time in fight or flight has a negative affect on our physical health, especially on our cardiovascular health. Mindfulness of catastrophic thinking allows us to reorient ourselves and practice exercises to soothe our nervous system.
These are just a few ways a mindfulness coach can support clients to live in more ease and harmony. So how does one become a mindfulness coach? Some people who are already counselors or coaches can take the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program. You can participate in a 7-day training in-person for $1700. Link to review details. Another option is to become a Certified Mindfulness Coach through TSD Mindfulness. This program is online and is given over the course of a few months. No prior mindfulness experience is necessary. The cost for this program is $1200. Link to review details.
