The heart of Coaching for me is the (re)connection of the coachee with Nature, as well as the (re)connection with his or her most authentic own self ? Nature, in terms of personal uniqueness, talent, skills, resources, ideas, intuitions, solutions, presence and awareness. Nature creates the opportunity to listen to your heart and soul. I believe the goal of Coaching is to close the ecological, social and spiritual gap that is at the origin of the widespread crisis of our social systems today.

My coaching focuses on restoring awareness of our interconnectedness and interdependence with our relational ecosystem and facilitating the best personal and relational adjustments. In this way, we can develop:

• Responsibility for the impact of our choices one every level of life (inner and outer)

• Self-regulating, and self directing abilities

Coaching in nature is a path to becoming whole again. Whole from within, and whole with all the different life forms around us. Changing our perception of the impact we have on nature is urgent and essential, and nature coaching is one of the ways we can optimize this awareness.

Nature acts as a second coach. In this role, nature helps to facilitate the coachee's dialogue with his inner- nature, through the connection with the natural elements around him. My skills as a nature coach focus on facilitating self-listening, attentive presence, silent observation, awakening and what I call our 'organic knowing', the in system that all living things have to survive, adapt and to evolve in response to the context around us

Coaching in nature can be done both online and outdoors.In my online coachingssessions both the coachee and i are walking in nature nearby. But my preference is to really coach outside in nature, together with the customer

I determine the choice of location, based on preferences, needs, seasons, accessibility of the site. Numerous scientific studies from the1980s to the present show the positive impact of experiences in-contact with nature on our physical and psychological well-being. These positive effects translate into an improvement in the coachees' ability to cope with their difficulties, developing their sense of self-efficacy, awareness and self-realization.

The added value of coaching in nature

Coaching in nature offers a powerful added value compared to coaching within four walls:

• Walking in nature helps you to quiet the mind. Nature is calming, and therefore you will be able to listen better to your inner feelings.

• As you walk, you are in a moving state, all that is stuck in your head, will then also easily come into motion.

• A conversation that takes place during a walk, offers space for moments of silence and reflection. Eye contact is not always a necessity, and the client will find it easier to express issues that are sensitive or painful.

• In nature you are walking in a place that is not familiar. This allows you to literally and figuratively set foot on new paths, which makes you more receptive towards new experiences, insights and ideas.

• Due to the calming effect of nature it is easier to have more extensive sessions, without it being too overwhelming.

• In a two-hour session, you achieve more than two sessions of an hour, because you don’t lose time in setting up and closing off. Coaching in nature therefore provides the opportunity to achieve a very profound outcome in a short period of time.

We are not separated from nature

I belief that humans are not separated from nature but are part of it. Nature has her own natural laws. Her own pace of moving, growing and changing. It is an intelligent and complex ecosystem, driven by an enormously vital life force. He who neglects the laws of nature, breaks the connection with the wonderful rhythm of life. It then no longer “flows.” This may result in feelings of loneliness, incompetence, frustration or hopelessness. People then tend to act from a place of needing to control. They act from the mind instead of their spirit or heart. But this way, life will not flow, in fact, we are only stagnating things more.

If you want to live and work from a natural flow, you must respect the laws of nature, of your nature and that of the nature as a greater whole. That requires letting go, trusting, and trying to do nothing. The strange thing is that this is often experienced as unnatural. We are (also in coaching) very much used to action, doing and solving.

The best leader is the follower

“The best leader is the follower” wrote the Chinese philosopher Lao Tse already in the 6th century before Christ. Follow the intelligence of nature, let yourself be led by the universal, transpersonal principles of nature. That is true leadership. That is the path that leads to an inspiring workflow and a happy life. And how do you learn these laws of nature? By observing them, again and again. Consciously observing your own actions, your tendencies and the effect you have on your environment. This is what we do when we coach our clients. We ask questions like: What do you feel? What do you experience? When does it flow, when does it not? What is holding you back? Awareness is the key to change. That which is seen and brought to light, will automatically change, at its own natural pace, without pressure. Providing that the time is exactly ripe.