I’ve been getting these questions a lot – “What is ontological coaching? How does it differ from ‘typical’ life coaching?”
‘Typical’ coaching tends to focus on the client’s Language (e.g. beliefs, narratives) and Emotions, in shifting them to seeing possibilities in actions and results. That’s fine in itself. But, what they may not do, is to also work with the client on their Body.
🧘♀️ Whats’ so important about the body?
We might think the body just carries our head, the “Most Important Thing”.
But, we may not realise that the actions we keep doing & emotions we keep feeling (out of habit) are done in certain body dispositions.
Our body tell us a lot about ourselves.
💡 For example, let’s use hypothetical Jane Doe 👩🦰
Jane grew up not liking how she looked. She still feels self-conscious today especially around people she thinks are more attractive than her.
❤️ Emotions/ Moods: Shame, Anxiety etc.
🗣️ Language: “I am ugly”, “They think I’m ugly”, “Stop looking at me”, etc.
👤 Body: Slouched, looking down, not smiling, sighing, shifty feet, etc.
If we work with Jane to improve her self-confidence only by exploring her Language and Emotions while her Body stays the same, what could happen? More of the same old.
🚀 For clients to more powerfully & sustainably shift to better versions of themselves in their contexts, we need to consider ALL 3 domains –
Body, Emotions, Language. These make up the holistic human being.
📩 Ping me if you’re curious about ontological coaching and how it could benefit your self and your personal and professional relationships with others!