HEALTH HAQ’s Holistic Health Coaching Explained: Part #2
Holistic Health coaching looks different to everyone.
when it comes to my Personal-coaching, I deal with different types of clients with different lifestyles.
The needs & wants are different from each other.
Case 1:
For a young stay-at-home parent, it could be balancing a certain dress size with weekly ice cream night with their kids.
Training them holistically is all about adding small habitual nutrition practices and training programs. because TIME is very limited to spend on themselves.
Case 2:
For an athlete, it might be pushing their limits without screwing up their physique or social life.
These professional athletes who have got a goal can achieve it only if they follow a systematic approach. so for them, the coaching program might look like scripted and mechanical to others.
Case 3:
For a retiree in their 60s, it may be “mobility over medication”—staying off the blood pressure pills and enjoying long walks with their spouse.
Training seniors is one of my favorites because they have got decades of wisdom and ton of time to share – infact most of the time I get coached from them
The point is that holistic coaching is individualized and thoughtful.
Holistic health isn’t about rules or ideals.
It’s about exploration and invitation.
Exploring clients’ worlds to find areas for growth, improvement, and learning. Then persuade them to achieve that growth and learning.
This offers me unlimited coaching possibilities… and a long-term, lucrative and fulfilling coaching relationship.
Where do you start?
Head over to my personal coaching
I can tell you where you need the most help, or where you want to flourish more.
Don’t think of this process as a diagnosis or an interrogation.
Instead, think of it more like an open conversation, sketching a story, and deepening a coaching connection for the betterment of your health & fitness.
The Following is a sample questionnaire that I use almost daily for my clients to rate. This gives them a clear vision of their progress.
HOW IS YOUR ENERGY LEVEL TODAY?
(EXHAUSTED) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (SUPERSTAR!)
HOW PAIN-FREE ARE YOU TODAY?
WORST PAIN EVER -1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10- NO PAIN, FEELING GREAT!
HOW RECOVERED DO YOU FEEL TODAY? (OR, HOW MUCH DO YOU FEEL LIKE WORKING OUT?)
I’M A WRECK- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10- I’M IMMORTAL
HOW CALM AND FOCUSED ARE YOU TODAY?
FREAKING OUT AND FRAZZLED -1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10-ZEN MASTER
HOW IS YOUR MOOD AND OUTLOOK RIGHT NOW?
UTTERLY MISERABLE -1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10-HOORAY FOR EVERYTHING!
HOW MUCH DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH A BIGGER “WHY” OR “PURPOSE” FOR LIVING?
LIFE IS MEANINGLESS-1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10-I’M AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE “BIG PICTURE”
HOW SUPPORTED DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW BY THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU?
UTTERLY ALONE-1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -GO, TEAM!
HOW SUPPORTED DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW BY YOUR ENVIRONMENT?
NOT AT ALL -1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10-IT’S A SHRINE TO MY GOALS
After the initial assessment, I will have a good working hypothesis about my client’s overall health.
So as a coach, I have two roles to play at this point:
Holistic health detective: Investigate.
- Areas that need more exploration.
- Areas my client struggles the most.
Holistic health Escort: Guidance.
- Health HAQ Don’t “fix,” but enhance the client’s awareness.
- Collaborate (with medical practitioners ) to explore where they can seek help—or come up with their own solutions (with some supportive coaching).
In short: I Let my clients tell me what they need to see results.
Holistic Health Domain #1
Physical health: “How do you feel physically?”
Sometimes people can tell me clearly and specifically about their food, exercise, health, mobility/pain, and overall recovery.
For instance, maybe they’ll say “I’m freaking exhausted because I work 12-hour shifts. My knees hurt due to long hours of standing at the job.
I have no energy to cook, hence I eat from the convenience store.
Sometimes they can’t tell me what’s up. Or they’ll say “Meh, okay, I guess.”
If this happens, no worries. I Try some of the followup topics below and see what my client have to say.
If I as a coach is not making progress, I can always focus on a different area.
Potential follow-up investigation.
- Learn more about nutrition struggles: “What’s your biggest nutrition challenge right now?
- Find obstacles to movement: “How do you feel when you exercise?”
- Action-focused thinking: “What’s keeping you from getting the body you really want?”
Holistic Health Domain #2
Emotional health: “How are you doing emotionally?”
This can be difficult to talk about, but it matters.
How my client feels emotionally on a daily basis can impact everything from their nutrition habits to their relationships with others.
Holistic Health Domain #3
Mental health: “What happened last time you were presented with a big logistical challenge?”
This area is mostly about how well their mind is working.
And this proposal helps clients evaluate their ability to problem-solve, focus, prioritize, and put things in perspective.
I will also get a chance to see what their capacity for insight is like.
Do they offer any additional reflections about how they handled the situation? Or how they could have handled the situation differently?
A client who’s not doing so serious in this area could be having a hard time focusing at work or constantly forgetting important things on their to-do list.
So I keep an eye out for signs they could benefit from upping their mental game.
Holistic Health Domain #4
Existential health: “Why do you want to make changes in your health?”
Existential health refers to having a deeper “why,” or feeling like our actions have meaning.
When we have a strong sense of ourselves and what we’re here to do, we feel worthwhile.
Valuing ourselves then affects how we treat our minds, our bodies, and the people around us.
People find meaning in roles as varied as being the best parent they can be to making the world a better place through their work.
The important thing is that the client finds meaning in something.
Clearly understanding motivations, or what’s driving the desire to change, is also important.
We can change without knowing exactly why we’re doing it, but it helps to feel like there’s a deeper purpose to the discomfort we’re facing.
Holistic Health Domain #5
Relational health: “Who in your life is supporting you in this health journey?”
Social support is incredibly important to succeed in a health and fitness journey, so finding out if my client has it, can help me better assess their needs.
If my client has someone in mind they know they can rely on for support, it’s a good exercise for them to “notice and name” that person.
This sometimes helps my client realize they need to ask for support from someone close to them, like a partner or spouse.
Relationships may affect a client’s habits without them even realizing it.
For example, if their partner prefers to watch TV while eating dinner, it may be more difficult for them to eat slowly and concentrate on their food.
Holistic Health Domain #6
Environmental health: “How do your surroundings affect your health?”
Everything from the food in your house to the weather in your city to the political atmosphere in your country is part of your environment.
Being and feeling safe, secure, and supported by your environment enables you to make better choices for your health.
Having access to resources such as healthcare or healthy food is also part of environmental health.
We can’t control some elements of our environment. They’re more structural and systemic, woven into the fabric of our societies.
These are called social determinants of health and include poverty, racism, homophobia, lack of accommodation for disabilities, and displacement (as in the case of refugees).
In any of these situations, it may be very difficult to take steps to change someone’s environment. What can help is to focus on the things you can control wherever possible.
Look at the big picture.
By now you understand how seemingly unrelated factors, like your relationships and work life, might affect your ability to lose fat, gain muscle, and/or improve your overall health.
The social bone is connected to the mental bone which is connected to the physical bone, and so on.
Pull a thread of your life with curiosity, assuming that things are related, and see what it unravels.
So for the best results, —even if you have a super-specific Aesthetic goal.
Exclusive assessment on each domain will unlock the potential possibility of change to achieve Holistic health.
