Life Coaching is a 60-minute session during which we will examine the concerns, goals, relationships, or whatever brought you to the session. Ours is a transformational approach, in which mind, body, and spirit may all be addressed to facilitate growth.  Life coaching works best when you provide honest answers to questions about your experiences, your feelings, your emotions and reactions.  Life Coaches use questioning techniques to help focus your attention in order to delve into what may be blocking you (whether it is beliefs, emotions, fears, or more), or to ask objective questions about perspectives—yours and others with whom you are involved.  Together, we determine what you desire to work on in our sessions and which techniques, activities, and even “homework” might be most useful for you to achieve your goal/s.  Mindful Living and Learning’s approach involves practices related to mindfulness—being aware of your thoughts, feelings, emotions, beliefs and the tools to develop that awareness.  Sessions can be as few as one – if you determine you have the necessary tools and understandings to achieve your desired goals—or may continue for a number of sessions to further your understanding or even to address additional concerns.  There is no one-size-fits all approach;  all goals, approaches, and sessions are specifically designed to fit individual needs and desires.  Because of the mindfulness approach, Meditation and Hypnotherapy are available tools that may be offered but are not required.  More information follows to begin to acquaint you with those practices.  Feel free to ask if you have additional questions. 

Meditation is a useful life-coaching tool-used with the client’s permission. Meditation uses breath work, relaxed focus, and possibly imagery (guided or not) to help one relax and be in the present moment.  Meditation may also help the body shift from dominance of the sympathetic system (fight, flight, freeze) to a more relaxed state, thereby helping reduce stress, calm the body and ease related health ramifications of stress, thereby improving focus, creativity, cognition, kindness, compassion, and more.  It can be used as a tool to gain clarity around life-coaching topics or as a tool clients can use on their own to create calm and equanimity in their lives.

 Hypnotherapy can be used in life coaching-with the client’s permission and is closely related process that also uses relaxation techniques (guided imagery, breath work, etc) to bypass the conscious mind and work with the subconscious mind (where all memories, feelings, and emotions are stored) to provide suggestions that address a client’s areas of concern.  Hypnosis can provide suggestions aimed to help in the following ways:  improve sleep, reduce stress, reduce pain, aid with weight loss or smoking cessation, or to improve one’s focus, learning, creativity, coping skills, sports performance, and more.  Most people experience trance-like states regularly, such as when you might drive automatically, arriving at a destination without recalling how you got there, “zoning out” in front of the television, or any of a number of other automatic tasks.

The following address frequently asked questions:

·       Hypnotherapy (and meditation) works for most people, even those who have difficulty relaxing their minds.  Of particular importance is trust for the process and the hypnotherapist.

·       If you do not want to be hypnotized, you will not;  you cannot be hypnotized without your active participation.

·       You cannot be “made” to do anything to which you are opposed, as may be inferred by watching stage hypnotists.   

·       Hypnotherapy does not necessarily “get at the root” of a client’s issues.  Hypnotherapists can provide subconscious suggestions to address the issues, but a person’s subconscious may not be ready to reveal an underlying root cause.

·       What you might feel during a hypnotherapy session includes relaxation, a heavy body, and perhaps a tingling in your limbs.

·       You may remember part, all, or nothing of the session, depending upon your subconscious mind’s willingness. 

·       If worried about unpleasant, repressed memories or emotions, realize that your subconscious and your higher self will not allow you to experience those if you are not ready to handle or address them.

·       Hypnotherapists (and life coaches) believe that your internal/higher self has all of the answers you need.  The hypnotherapist and/or life coach simply provides tools that help you access those answers. We do not make decisions about your life. 

The meditation process:  We will talk to ascertain if meditation can assist with your life coaching goals, and, if so, which form of meditation might be most helpful.  We will start with a meditative posture (sitting, laying down, or even standing), breath work, and maybe some imagery to help you relax.  We may repeat mantras, take a relaxing imagery journey, or other.  You may fall asleep if completely relaxed (and therefore should set an alarm on your phone or elsewhere if we are interacting via Zoom).  Subconscious suggestions are not a part of meditation.

The hypnosis process:  We will spend some time talking, so I can clearly understand your goal for our work together.  Then, I will lead you through a deep relaxation, and provide suggestions intended to address your area of concern.  Finally, you will be awakened to full consciousness, and we will talk about your impressions and questions.

IMPORTANT NOTE

It is important to note that Life Coaches and Hypnotherapists are NOT licensed psychologists, psychotherapists, or psychiatrists and do not diagnose mental illness.  Should you need deep therapy or counseling, please consult a licensed therapist.