What is Nature Enhanced Coaching?
In essence, Nature Enhanced Coaching utilises the transformative power of the outdoors to facilitate
introspection, resilience, and personal growth, guiding individuals towards a deeper connection with
themselves and the world around them.
To explain what nature enhanced coaching is, I have to tell you a little about myself. I became a serious hiker around 14 years ago when recovering from a broken heart and a ruptured cruciate ligament! Spending time in the great outdoors was wonderful rehabilitation for both; 1 mile walks became 5 mile walks became 15 mile hikes and both my knee and my spirit got progressively stronger.
The further I hiked, the more I got lost and so it was time to start taking navigation a bit more seriously, which led to bronze, Silver and gold national navigation award scheme (NNAS) awards and eventually qualification with the mountain training Association (MTA) as a Hill and Moorland leader.
Psychologically, what I began to notice when out hiking was a change in the perspective that I had on the problems I had taken walking with me. I would notice a change in my emotional state without having to do anything other than keep putting one foot in front of the other. As I started taking on bigger walks, such as hiking Kilamanjaro and a number of other 4000 metre plus mountains, I began to experience what Carl Jung described as numinous experiences – a sense of connection to things bigger than myself.
Natural environments became places of sanctuary and respite for me; they became places where myself and my partner could have conversations that felt far too hard to have at home; they became places where myself and work colleagues could laugh and be creative about the work problems that had had us stuck for months. Being outside in environments that were in flux, changing and evolving – that could be warm, still, clear and blue one minute, to cold, raging, foggy and silver grey in minutes – is a great reminder that change is constant if we’re in places that allow us to really experience that.
Allying these experiences with powerful techniques and ideas from the worlds of behaviour change, coaching and psychology provides a unique package that can help you grow into the changes you want to make.
Contact me if you’d like to learn more about outdoor therapy or a walk and talk session in the Peak District.