Yoga and Meditation for Deeper Coaching Transformation

UPDATE: Join me for online yoga classes! Learn more and register here.

One of my favorite moments in coaching a team is when, after doing a visualization exercise, I lock eyes with someone in the room who looks as though they are saying, “thank you for giving me permission to think with my heart.” These transformative moments are everything for me and when I know I am doing what matters.

In 2013, after a fulfilling 15-year career leading marketing and business development teams in law firms I started my own business getting back to what I always loved – coaching. I am a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach with the Co-Active Training Institute, a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, studied intercultural education in grad school, and trained executives on going global.

I was cautious not to be too woo-woo or too closely connected to the life coaching circles but that deep connection was exactly what I wanted for me and for my tribe and the clients who showed up for coaching. I connected very quickly to the heart-based philosophy of coaching and my coaching practice thrived. I found resonance with teams of lawyers, startup founders, and CEOs.

Then I went on a yoga retreat to the Sivananda Ashram in 2017. I learned that I was still holding on to so many expectations and I learned how to let go and find more of what is possible when that happens. (You can read more about the yoga retreat in my blog post here.)

I wanted this in all of my life experiences. I continue to grow and learn every day and the yoga retreat was one of the more profound experiences that helped me get to a place of deeper learning and connection to my values.

I have been practicing yoga most of my life in some way. My practice became more intentional in my late 20s and has evolved over the years. Just in the past few months I have had some injuries that limited my mobility and forced me to slow down so my practice has evolved again. I have often thought of becoming a certified yoga instructor but it was never something I made a priority.

Now, with a new focus on how I can help others thrive through leadership coaching and full transformation I am excited to share that I started the YogaWorks 200-hour teacher training program on January 10.

The connection between coaching leaders and teams around culture and in high growth environments is so closely aligned with what I have experienced in yoga and I am excited that this training will allow me to add a deeper layer of transformation for my clients.

Wellness is not just about eating right and exercise. Wellness is about mindfulness, slowing down, listening to our hearts, being intentional about the choices we make and how we live, and allowing ourselves to listen to the universe.

As fate would have it, at Parlay House last Thursday, the night before I started my yoga teacher training on the night of the full wolf moon, yoga and meditation expert Bex (Rebecca Urban) led the group in a meditation and shared the words that I once shared with my son. When he was little and we were hiking he said, “Mommy, we are nowhere.” I replied, “We are here. Now. What do you notice about being here.” This reminder to be present, this reminder to connect to what I have and what I can share with others to ground them and help serve my community of leaders, executives, and entrepreneurs is exactly where I need to be.

There is an old Zen saying that if you don’t have time to meditate for 20 minutes then you need two hours. What it means is that we need to slow down to speed up. In these rushed lives that we lead, it is harder to get ahead if we never stop to listen to ourselves and check in. The space that I have created in my life through yoga and meditation is something I am excited to share with all of you.

If you don’t see me on the weekends for a while, that’s where I’ll be. I can’t wait to share this part of my journey with you through coaching to help us all come to a deeper place as leaders with an expansive view of what’s possible for us now and for the universe.