When I tell people what I do for a living, most of the them stop in their tracks & Yes you guessed it ask – “what the heck is a Wellness Coach ?“ The best I can do about this is make out a Blog, since Friday is the health Blog day, as most of you would have already noticed in my writing style.
Wellness means different things to different people. For some it might be to create a perfect work life balance. For others it might be to work on their emotional binge eating and with so much technology around some engage with me to just be more active. Wellness is such a broad term.
It is very difficult to fit into a niche especially when clients come with so many challenges, both at the physical & emotional level. For me “Wellness” is being fit & healthy at both these levels. I work with clients to help them become their best at both the levels. Some of the ways I go about working as a wellness coach are –
Identity the client’s needs and Analyze their present situations:It is imperative to first understand as to what the client wants and as a Wellness Coach I always begin by Analyzing the present situations. Only by knowing the present and to a certain extent the past, can One begin to work on the future.Most of the people do want far too many things,but by a good coaching conversation,one can usually come up with the most important needs of an individual.
Work on creating both short & long term goals:Goal setting is critical in any endeavor and it is no different in this case.Short terms goals are important to create change and the shifts which happen in no time. However to make it a permanent habit,One needs to work on a long term goal which is nothing but working at the sub conscious level. Once any changes are done at this level, then at most times it does become permanent.
Ensure the client is motivated & help in developing a New long lasting habit:Motivation is the key and I am a big believer that self motivation is the best tool,with which each one of us can Anchor ourselves. Once we depend on the external motivational factor then it is hardly a matter of time before one runs out of steam.
As a wellness Coach, the most important factor is to ensure that the client develops a powerful strong motivation muscle. Once this is developed, then it is just a step away to work on developing New habits. Working on these new habits at the sub conscious level, one can make it permanent in the long run and this I can say with experience.
If someone approaches me for weight loss, then as a wellness coach my first priority would be to get to know you, find out your strengths and weaknesses and then suggest habits you should build to not only help you lose weight, but to keep it off for good. Therefore you would have figured out that, I personally work in an entirely different level and not as your regular fitness trainer.
Most of the time, I am aware that there is a deep rooted emotional issue, which impacts physical well being in an individual. Since I also work on the emotional area, it is that much more easier for me to comprehend things quickly & customize things accordingly as we move forward
Now weight loss is not the only area I work on with clients. People need help with many aspects of life be it their career, relationships or even personal issues. I believe that a good Wellness coach should be able to work with a client on a multi dimensional platform since we as human beings are extremely complicated. With stress playing a big role in impacting our life it is imperative that I work with a client from all perspectives.
Since I work with individual clients only through Phone or Skype it is that much more convenient to connect with each other irrespective of which part of the globe one is present.Another area which I work on is Group wellness coaching. Here I go to companies and give seminars on Wellness to a group of 25-30 individuals and help them address most of the common, wellness issues.
Therefore in case anyone of you or someone whom you do know, needs to work on their wellness, then you can share this Blog article of mine. Will look forward to hearing from you as to what you thought about the role of a wellness coach was, before you read the article.Do you think a wellness Coach is the need of the hour,especially when people give least importance to their overall well being.Do share your thoughts on my Facebook Page or you can mail me on Coach@satishrao.in