Bringing The Magic of Nature Indoors
Nature resourced us incredibly well throughout the covid pandemic lockdowns. Many of us discovered the power and magic that nature has to make us feel better and restore our perspective. Of course, there are occasions and situations where it is not possible or appropriate to work outdoors with clients and so it’s back to yet another Zoom meeting or perhaps a phone call. Wouldn’t it be great if we could bring some of nature’s resourcing magic to those? Well you can; here is a list of ideas to support both you and your coachees:-
Priming/Before the session
With a little bit of planning ahead your client can enjoy the benefits and insights that nature offers before and between sessions. My clients have found that the invite to walk before our sessions has given them ‘permission’ to leave their computers!
Ideas:
Send your coachee a nature poem/quote to read before your call.
As a bit of pre-work, you could suggest that your client takes a walk outdoors to consider what they’d really like to get from your coaching session, so they get really clear on how best they’ll use the time with you.
Take a walk outside beforehand to get movement and fresh air, even if it’s just round the garden or to the post office.
Could you share a nature video clip to use as a bit of pre-work?
Can you record a short video clip of you outside in a natural setting and send them a relevant message?
During Your Virtual Session
You can also use nature as a stimulus during your virtual sessions. Again, it takes a little bit of planning ahead, but it is well worth it. Having used a nature visualisation at the start of a coaching session has allowed one of my clients to mentally shift from her office environment to one where she is less connected to the ‘corporate system’.
Ideas:
You could offer a short meditation or breathing exercise to ground you both at the beginning of the session and bring in nature imagery to the meditation (5 mins or so is plenty).
Share an image with them; a meadow, a woodland, a beach, describe it sensually, and invite them to metaphorically meet you there for the coaching session.
Ask the client on their pre-session walk to bring home something they were drawn to (a leaf, pebble, acorn, flower etc). In the session you can enquire;
What was it that drew you to it?
How is that relevant for you right now?
Same as above but asking them to bring something that represents their current situation and then exploring that in the call.
Asking them to have a collection of things they’ve found in nature to hand (pinecone, shell, pebble, driftwood, chestnut, quartz etc) then using those with them to do a desk top constellation exercise.
A Supportive Environment
My study has numerous elements of nature in it (plants, shells, Scotland calendar, pebbles, paintings and a blackberry and bay candle). I’m also lucky enough to have a view out my window over green space and with some glorious trees. One client I work with has conkers on her desk, “they are relaxing to touch and remind me of the kids”. Consider what will work best for you. Can you find a way to bring nature to all your senses in your office?
Ideas:
Could you have a goldfish in your study?
Pop an image on the wall of your favourite natural location.
Place some flowers in the room that you are working, even better if you’ve gathered them from the garden.
Have a plant in the room.
Sit next to a window to get the benefit of any view you may have and natural daylight (sideways on is best, permanently facing out a window while working at a lap top can give you a headache!).
If you are on the phone, can you sit in the garden? Or change location out of the room you normally work in? Or sit facing the window?
Have some shells, pebbles, conkers or pine cones on your desk.
Could you light a candle with a nice outdoor scent?
Have some bird song/moving water/waves playing quietly in the background or listen to natural sounds before the call (there’s an app for that!).
An open window brings fresh-air into the room and the sounds from outside (at the moment I can hear birdsong), great for a change of energy.
Lesley holds an MSc in Executive Coaching from Ashridge Business school and she has 16 years commercial experience with Mars. She holds an EMCC Senior accreditation. Read More >
She is the author of ‘Coaching Outdoors; the essential guide to partnering with nature in your coaching conversations’.
Contact by calling +44 (0) 7799 581792 or email info@coachingoutdoors.com.