You are an ecosystem. Your mind, emotions and body are distinct parts of the whole of you. And each part can be worked on to affect the whole.

If you continue working flat out, you end up burnt-out and unable to function properly. And an unhealthy body is no place for a dynamic and engaged mind. In the worst cases, losing your health can mean losing everything. I know this all too well because I’ve been on the edge of burnout.  Also, I live with an auto-immune condition so I know how tough illness can be.

But, with the right mindset and lifestyle, I have the tools to be well and manage my wellbeing. I now experience good health, great energy, clarity of mind, and deep calm. Drawing on my experience, as well as my extensive training in physiology and psychology, I have developed an approach to help my clients achieve holistic health.

Rather than only addressing one facet of a person, this approach works with three aspects of our intelligence:  

• Mind intelligence

• Body intelligence

• Emotional intelligence

By examining the shape and patterns of all three aspects, we can become aware of the person’s full nature. That means paying attention to thought patterns, emotional patterns, and physical patterns. Once you understand the nature of the pattern on each level, then you can bring about conscious holistic change. 

To give you an analogy, think of driving around a roundabout but not knowing which junction to take. So, you keep going round and round with no change. Mindset, belief, and behaviour patterns can be just like this metaphorical roundabout.  You need to know which way to go to be able to move on.

For example, for a highly intelligent but anxious person, there’s a good chance that their thinking patterns are logical and looping. They may break their pattern of anxiety every now and again, but ultimately – when under pressure – they return to the same repetitive cycle. When we look at their emotional level it’s common to find that there are similar repetitive patterns in how they feel and how they respond to those feelings. Again, this individual is likely to display recurring patterns in their body. The way they move, the sensations they feel, and how they hold their facial expressions will relate to both their psychological and emotional patterns.

How do people usually improve their mental, emotional, and physical health?

Well, when looking to positively change their lives, some people may choose to work with their body and physical fitness which can help how they look and feel.

Our emotions drive so much of our behaviour and are the place where most blocks are. So, others might work on their ‘centre’ - the emotional mind.

The mental story we hold; the beliefs, perspective and how we see ourselves defines a large amount of life - positive, negative, or simply outdated. This is why many people concentrate on healing themselves by focusing on mental health.

However, change is most effective when we engage all three levels of being. Once we can identify the connections on each level, we can make distinct change by helping them get unstuck and moving forward in a holistic way.

So, how does this apply to the way I work as a coach?

Well, for example, when I work with a business founder and we are uncovering blocks and problems I’ll often ask, “What do you notice in your body? What happens to you physically when you feel stuck or anxious?”

When my client knows their physiological response combined with the emotions they’re experiencing, we discover the deeper levels to support the psychological change. Most people want to change their behaviour and overcome problems, but this will only stick if you uncover the deeper meaning and feeling behind it.

In summary, I look at each area - mind (thoughts, beliefs and perspective), mood (emotional responses) and movement (anything related to your physical being). Whichever area needs to most ‘work’, we start there and integrate the other areas as needed. Remember, everything is connected so the benefits of change in one area will always positively affect the others.