Aikido
"That is Aikido---to set a goal and to improve day by day." Morihei Ueshiba
My coaching style evolved out of creative and mind/body practices done over many years. Quite often, for people to get the most out of coaching, beginning a creative or mind/body practice in tandem with life coaching will be very helpful. If you like, I can help you identify and begin one of these practices, or find something else that speaks to your heart. I offer these examples of what I have done on my own personal growth journey.
What is Aikido and how does it relate to life coaching? What I do as a coach is connected to my study of Aikido even though I do not specifically teach Aikido to my coaching clients. I do emphasize that a mind/body practice (of any type) is a very helpful tool in one's toolkit because it develops so many of the skills needed toward personal growth, such as concentration, mindfulness, discipline, body awareness, inner balance, and much more. Aikido is a traditional Japanese martial art that means “the way of harmony with ki.” “Ki” is the universal life energy—that which animates everything in the manifest world. You can feel your level of “ki” by simply noticing how much vitality you have. We all know what it feels like to be “low energy” vs. to feel filled with vitality.
Aikido’s founder used the framework of physical conflict (martial arts) to explore how energy flows and works, and how individuals can connect with it. Aikido involves techniques, movements, and breath work to help a person to find greater connection to the energy that pervades the universe, and work with the energies of life, especially conflict and negative circumstances and emotions. Continual training leads to the integration of body, mind, and spirit.
I aim to help people connect to a sense of vitality, and to identify areas that create blockages. As an Aikidoist I have an eye for transforming conflict and negative circumstances into something that is life-giving instead of life-draining.
If you would like to learn more about Aikido, please visit Still Mind Aikido
