“My essential self recognizes your essential self and invites it to come out and play.”

Life coaching energizes me just as fully when I’m the coach as it does when I’m the client. I think I’m figuring out why.

I LOVED the part of yoga class when I’d bow to the students and say Namasté, which literally means – wait for it – “I bow to you.” (Go figure!)

Yogis often expand the translation to:

Something sacred inside me recognizes the same kind of something sacred in you and greets it.

The students would return my bow and greeting. Our deepest essences were at ease, happy to see one another. I could feel our mutual blessing.

Much of coaching relies on this same “something sacred inside each of us.” We coaches believe each person’s true essence knows how she/he wants to live and how to achieve that. And we know a lot of tools for helping the client decode that knowledge.

This process works best when we coaches get so clear and still that our own essential selves are audible. That inner wisdom knows which tool to use, when, and how.

But more importantly, our essential selves wordlessly let the client’s essential self know that this is a safe, helpful, and downright fun place where it will be seen and heard. The client’s sweet essence answers and – here’s the best part – blesses us.  Namasté indeed.