Zen Coaching is a gentle, powerful and compassionate way to transform difficulties and open up to greater ease, freedom, strength and creativity in life. The coaching training focuses on presence and deep listening from the heart. It is a profoundly nourishing journey into your own heart, as well as into authentic and supportive connection with others. Zen Coaching is an approach to coaching devel
oped by Kåre Landfald, Norway. Since the start of the first training in 2005 in Sweden, 500 persons have completed the full training. The training is from 2013 being offered in Sweden, Norway, South Africa and Poland. This coaching approach is built upon basic mindfulness principles, or conscious presence. It is also based on an exploration of limiting beliefs, and on our true inner resources. The main method is the practice of inquiry – an inner, focused exploration based on specific questions and a supporting listening practice. Zen Coaching is about simplicity, relaxation, inner motivation, joy and vitality. It is about the art of listening to ourselves and others with full presence and an open, welcoming mind. It is an effortless method to find greater peace and presence in everyday life, and to live in harmony with our deepest values, our natural wisdom and our creative power. As all coaching, Zen Coaching presupposes that we are resourceful and good enough as we are,and that we are capable of finding ourselves the answers we need, within our own being. The coach acts as a midwife who meets her or his client with presence, full acceptance, supportive questions and deep listening. Zen Coaching has its starting point in our natural wish to be fully who we are in our true nature, and to be genuine, authentic and sincere with ourselves and others. As a coaching approach it unites the focus on reaching outer goals - a key characteristic of traditional coaching - with a deeper inner focus than what is normally found within coaching. In addition to the modern coaching tradition, some important sources of inspiration are mindfulness as practiced in Zen Buddhism (Thich Nhat Hanh), The Diamond Approach (A. Almaas), Nonviolent Communication (Rosenberg), and The Balanced View Teachings (Candice O'Denver). Zen Coaching is useful in all areas of live, both personally and professionally. As a Zen Coach one can work within the public or private sector, in caregiver positions or in a practice with private clients. All types of problems, challenges and possibilities can be explored through a Zen Coaching approach. In addition it is a powerful approach to attentive presence, inner and outer conflict resolution, and personal development in general. Some examples of where the Zen Coaching approach can be supportive:
In professional life:
- Supporting effective leadership and management
- Engaging in effective communication
- Leading group processes and team-building
- Handling teamwork challenges, such as handling and preventing of conflicts
- prevention of stress and handling of stress
- Reaching professional goals (within economy, marketing, strategy,
organisational changes etc)
In private life:
- Coming to clarity about inner recourses, longings and aims, and to live life fully
- Handling inner and outer conflicts
- Emotional challenges
- Handling psychological challenges related to health issues
- Reaching personal goals related to personal relationships (friendships,
intimte relationships, children, parents, etc )
- Reaching personal goals in practical life situations (economy, place
of residence, free time, personal development etc.) A Zen Coach will on each occasion consider if the client’s goals or challenges are best supported through Zen Coaching, and if necessary refer the client to others with the appropriate professional background. This is particularly so in the case of psychological or physical illnesses. The Zen Coaching training
The Zen Coaching training is currently offered in Sweden, Poland, and South Africa, and is open to participants from all over the world. Participants in the Zen Coaching training come from many different professional backgrounds. One characteristic that all of them share is an interest in personal development, presence, deeper connection with oneself and others, and a wish to strengthen ones competence to contribute to others as manager, leader, coach, therapist, family member or friend. After completing the training participants can start their own coaching practice as a certified Zen Coach if they wish to do so. Some do this, and others integrate the coaching in the work they are
already doing. Again others join the training mainly for their personal development or as a part of a longer and broader education. After the training, participants are invited to join an international network of Zen Coaches for further cooperation, mutual support, deepening trainings and further development. This network is very use ful for those who want to start their own coaching practice. Today the network consists of approximately 250 Zen Coaches, mostly from Norway, Sweden and Poland. The extent of the training
The training looks a bit different in the variuos countries and is divided into different amounts of modules, from 4 to 7 modules (a total of 19-20 days) over the course of one year. In between the modules there are regular listening practice and online classes, in addition to personal listening and coaching practice, are also literature studies. Five books are included as obligatory course literature. Language at the training
The language at the trainings vary, in Sweden and the Netherlands it is simple English. During exercises participants can use their own mother tongue. In Poland it is in English with Polish translation. In Norway it is mainly in Norwegian with one module will in Scandinavian/English
as the teacher is Danish. Content in the training
The training consists of the following main elements:
Basic insights and capabilities:
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Presence in the moment – relaxing into being
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To follow the client’s inner flow
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The art of listening from inner spaciousness
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Active listening
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Life-enhancing questions
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The main principles of Nonviolent Communication
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Teachings about essence and personality
Coaching-tools:
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To see problems as opportunities
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To handle difficult emotions
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Visualization
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To listen to the body
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The coaching wheel
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To define goals and to reach goals
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Supporting Action-steps
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The use of Role play
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Transformation of aggression, shame and guilt
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Coaching into essence
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The structure of a coaching session
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The structure of a coaching package
To work as a coach:
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Ethics
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Marketing
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Practical challenges in establishing a coaching practice
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Our relationship with money
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To handle difficult situations
www.zen-coaching.com
The teachers
Kåre Landfald
Zen Coaching was founded and developed by Kåre Landfald, who is the main
teacher for the Zen Coaching training and leader of the Zen Coaching network. Kåre Landfald holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science and Management
from the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH), and also holds a Bachelor degree in philosophy from the University of Oslo. He worked for the United Nations
and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for four years, and subsequently
for many years as a consultant in the field of international aid and development. He was a co–owner and Director of the Ängsbacka course center (Scandinavia’
sbiggest center for personal development) for four years. He has worked with coaching, organisational development and offering trainings since 2004. He also lived in a zen buddhist center in France for one year, and has studied with many teachers within the fields of personal development, existential therapy and meditation. Amongst his main inspirations are Thich Nhat Hanh, A.H. Almaas, Marshall Rosenberg, Nukunu, Rahasya and Candice O ́Denver. More information also about coaches and workshops see www.zen-coaching.com
