A good metaphor for coaching. Dancing, flying a kite, guiding, exploring, and surfing all seem to work in certain situations and not in others. A metaphor to capture transformative coaching - presence, empathy, courage, somatics, connection, non-judgement, agility and conscious awareness.
In a call with my coaching supervisor, she asked me to use my body to describe my coaching. I immediately went into warrior pose. Strong grounded base, arms outstretched, gaze looking toward the future, forward-moving, dynamic, powerful. I became present to what I was feeling in my body, the sensation of the earth beneath my feet, a warmth and sensation of movement coming from the ground, into my legs and abdomen. Eyes soft, yet focused.
Now, use your body in another manner, my supervisor suggested. My immediate reaction was to move to see where I would end up, but wisdom stopped me. I realized that the new request had begun a train of thought, questioning the request, wondering where I would end up. I paused, went back fully into my body, into the grounding of the earth, into the sensations I was feeling from my toes to the tip of my head. From this place of presence, my legs stepped together, knees slightly bent, toes, balls of my feet and heels sensing the ground, arms naturally at my side, back straight, shoulders slightly back and relaxed, gaze forward, head light, as if a string were pulling me up from the crown of my head. Mountain pose.
How is this like coaching? she asked.
I am the mountain. I am present, I am the babbling brook, I am the singing bird, I am the quiet tree, I am the still rock, I am the soaring eagle, I am the dark cave, I am the wandering path, I am the sunning snake, I am the lumbering bear, I am the fragrant flower, I am the warm sun, I am the swaying grass, I am the caressing wind, I am the cool moss, I am the reaching peak, I am the rolling foothills, I am the listening space, I am the mountain.
That which is seeking is what you are seeking for: gnōthi seauton (Know Thyself).
