Blue Health Coach Training

Welcome to The Blue Health Coach™ Training Programme. Bringing together over 15 years of coastal coaching skills development I decided that it was time to offer Blue Health Coach Training and to widen the network of Blue Health Coach™ Practitioners.

Image above from Unsplash

Background

Like many people I have always found the coast a place of solace to clear my mind furthermore I’ve frequently shared deep conversations with others at the tide’s edge. In January 2009 I made a conscious choice to bring my business to the coast, and subsequently to put water (for me “ocean”) front and center of my professional coaching practice… in order to acknowledge the pivotal role it holds.

To begin with, I’ve been an environmental activist for a good 30 years having joined Surfers Against Sewage in my early 20s – as a water lover their Cornish origins and campaigns for clean recreational seas resonated with my heart having been raised with a strong will to protect the environment and wildlife.

An Evolving Practice

The more I coached in blue space the closer the relationship between the health of my clients and the health of the marine environment became.  It was evident that the coast was offering more than just a scenic space to play, learn and discover.  As my own practice was evolving I researched more and more about environmental psychology and the neuroscience of blue space.

The arrival of the book Blue Mind in 2014 added a way of communicating what many of us “water people” intuitively knew… and I committed to supporting the work of my friend Wallace J Nichols as an advocate and regular spokesperson for the Blue Mind movement.  As time moved on the Blue Mind Groundswell evolved and working tirelessly to change the way we communicate about water.

Beyond the science and ethos… a hybrid coaching approach developed – Blue Health Coach Training was happening for me in real time and leaning into philosophical discussions became an opportunity to gain deep insights into bias. I learnt a new language – one of “landscape metaphor” and created beach-wisdom coaching approaches inspired by the ocean and the transitional space the seashore provided. The lines between marine conservation and social wellbeing became blurred. Blue Health Coaching was born and the ripples continue to permeate every aspect of my life.  It wasn’t until 2017 that I decided to begin to develop Blue Health Coach Training to share with others and in 2020 I ran the very first Blue Health Coach Training course accredited by ICF and recognised professional development for Coaches.

Unity and Connection

Water is something that unites us all… we are drawn towards it for so many reasons from recreation to contemplation.  The dynamic equilibrium of our coastal seascape frees our mood to flow, we transcend the rigidity of the social constructs we have designed and instead we become the analogue creatures we truly are.  It is in this space we really see one another and ourselves.  It is here we realize that far from being disconnected from our environment – we are in fact deeply inseparable.

For those ready to step up…  Blue Health Coach Training awaits you – we are building a tribe of Water Connected Coaches.

  • Imagine developing a new level of devotion for the marine environment and how that sense of intimacy could translate in the way we care for ourselves and one another.
  • Contemplate how awakening the senses to curiosity, awe and a lightness of spirit such as that we experience at the coast could change the way we create and communicate.
  • Wonder about how a shifting landscape could reflect the individual soul opening up ways of expressing ourselves more transparently.
  • Envisage a world where we were conscious of our footprints and fully present in the here and now.
  • Suppose you had the potential to change your thought patterns, ride a different wave…

We need to  join the dots!

As coaches we are accountable for our influence within the ecosystems we nurture. We are guardians of wise-decision making and our role is to creatively inspire our clients to make ethical choices.

The ocean reminds us that all actions have a wider ripple effect and we as Blue Health Coaches champion ocean empathy. In fact… “disconnect” is the biggest threat to our ocean – and to humanity.

  • On the water we are reminded to be present and playful yet mindful of our surroundings.
  • Near the water we  slow down and take time to breathe and captivated by the sensory experience of the natural world taking time to breathe.
  • Under the surface of the water we are awed by the complexity, diversity and beauty of life.
  • In the water our body is held and suspended we are both immersed and truly connected.

Everyone will gain benefit from time in Blue space… that said… the support of a certified Blue Health Coach™ will transcend expectations through providing skilled light-facilitation.

Who is this programme for?

This programme is only open to those who actively pursue a lifestyle that positively impacts the blue planet.  Designed primarily for Coaches and change-makers who either already work in blue space or wish to bring their professional practice to water-side locations… coastal or urban.

This is a hybrid modality to blend with your current skillset. It is likely you will already have experience working with facilitating personal change and be applying a range of skills having attained certifications / qualifications in one or several of the following:

Coaching, Yoga, Talking Therapies, mBIT, Somatic Practices, NLP, Water Sports, Nutrition, Creative Writing.

What is involved?

An outline of the course is below.  The programme involves (in addition to coaching skills development), cold water therapy, yoga and breath work.  This is not an exhaustive list of the areas we will explore together but it gives an idea of themes.  The approach is facilitative and highly experiential so you will need to be there to truly embody what it means to become a Blue Health Coach™.

Blue Health Coach Training Programme

1. Into the Blue

  • Ethics – the good the bad and the ugly – and the psychology of giving back
  • ICF alignment – informal / professional coaching
  • The Blue Mind philosophy and groundswell and exploring Blue / Green Tribes and Culture
  • Blue Ecology – an ecosystem approach to coaching (navigating world views)
  • Holding space – what does this mean, really, when in partnership with nature?

2. Blue Health Tools and Concepts (Blue Insight) 

A liquid approach to embodied cognition. Discover how language and sensations can more easily emerge from our instinctive and intuitive water-connection and how to shift attention to dramatically change perspective.

  • Analogue Qualities – liminal lifestyles / source code
  • Landscape Metaphor – external and internal worlds
  • Liquid language – transitional speech patterns for fluidity
  • Story, personal narrative, lifecycles and beach philosophy
  • Coaching the 8 senses (territory, movement, mind and embodied wisdom)
  • (Blue) Mindfulness – waves, energy and resonance
  • Sound, scent and sensation
  • Breath – ujiiya breath and apnea
  • Status, awe and compassion

3. Blue Health Science

Enhance your awareness of the origins of Blue Health from evolutionary science and human geography through to the very latest neuroscience and AI.

  • Cognitive – making sense of the world
  • Emotional + Psychological – mood and mental health
  • Social – compassion, communication and play
  • Physical – the nervous system and physiology
  • Spiritual – art, poetry and ritual

4. Water as Medicine

  • Creating truly meaningful action in blue spaces
  • Ocean empathy and ocean literacy
  • Near, in, on and under – experiential activities – behavioural modelling
  • Social prescribing – blue insights, collective projects / research

Blue Health Coach Community and Ongoing Development

The retreat-based training and events are part of Blue Health Coach™ development and there will be Zoom hubs, check ins, opportunities to work on Blue Health Coaching projects and research plus global meet up opportunities and of course we advocate close links with (and support for) the Blue Mind groundswell.

There is a license to sign (an ethical code for using Blue Health Coach™) and ongoing license fees are donated directly to Blue Health Causes agreed by our Blue Health Coach Collective (causes are reviewed annually). We work in service of The UN SDG 14.

Our Cornwall UK programs run at Bedruthan Hotel in Cornwall with a maximum of 8 places available.  More information will be sent to those invited for the next wave and those who enquire.

Ready to dive in?  Click HERE to secure your place right now!

I cannot wait to share learning space with you and bring these coaching tools to a wider audience.