Healing Movement Blog

Action Learning Set

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 16:25:03 GMT

Learning together

An Action Learning Set (ALS) is a group of professionals who work in a structured way to solve work-related issues using coaching questioning techniques.

“If you think you understand the problem, make sure you’re not deceiving yourself” Einstein

ALS were pioneered by Reginald "Reg" William Revans (14 May 1907 – 8 January 2003). He was a scientist and research physicist working and researching in the Cavendish laboratories in Cambridge with world leading scientists. It was in this research environment that he experienced problem solving and learning thanks to working with 'not-knowing' and through probing and questioning techniques. When he changed career into OD (organisation development) working with industry and public sector like NHS, he took his learning from the science field into workforce development and upskilling.

Revans’ formula: L = P + Q

Through his science research work Revans began to develop his thinking on the role of 'non-expert' in problem solving, distinguishing between knowledge and wisdom. He realised that effective learning is a combination between programmed instruction/knowledge (such as attending a course or reading a book) and questioning. Revans encouraged to focus more on Q and less on P.

Revans believed that an organisation needed to bring together people from different roles, teams and backgrounds. He suggested that we should not emphasise the importance of academic gurus or subject matter experts. Colleagues should work together towards solution finding by leaving the ego at the door and coming together as 'comrades in adversities'.

Rather than waiting for the manager or leader to provide a ready-made solution, people will work on different aspects of problem by understanding it further and investigating it through questions. This is different from standard learning and development because learning is happening close to the action (within the organisational setting), not in a remote way (academic setting).

Why Action Learning Sets?

The benefits of Action Learning Sets include:

Practicing and improving a coaching style of leadership which involves more listening and asking questions and less telling. Leaders as coaches give space for the team members to find their own solutions and a way forward. This is more empowering for staff, and it encourages creative thinking, insights and commitment to the task.

Learning to promote dialogue with others. The word “dialogue” comes from Greek and signifies 'a flow of meaning'. Dialogue happens when uncertainties and questions which no one seems to have answers to are explored. It is about thinking together and not just reporting out old thoughts.

Becoming more reflective, self-aware and intentional – participants need to really think about their questions and how to formulate them for them to be non-biased, non-leading and without any advice giving.

Improving our emotional intelligence (EI), which is the ability to manage both our own emotions and understand the emotions of other people. In an ALS we need to start from a place where we don't know the topic brought to the session, but we need to try to see the situation from the other’s perspective (empathy). Psychologist Daniel Goleman stated that “The most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence. It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions.”

Encouraging skills development in a safe environment, fostering personal and team growth.

Reducing stress levels through sharing and addressing issues in a group.

What is an ALS?

ALS are not about telling others how to solve problems and they are not individual coaching or mentoring (these can happen alongside ALS for individual's development).

We have seen that an Action Learning Set (ALS) is a group of professionals who work in a structured way to solve work-related issues using coaching questioning techniques. Usually the same group meets regularly (6-8 weeks apart usually) and agrees a contract at the start of the process. Confidentiality of information brought to the room is essential to create a safe environment where sharing and learning can happen and trust and rapport are built and maintained.

ALS feature a democratic approach to learning: no one is more important than any other person in the ALS. Whilst people’s expertise is respected, the group is also open to learning from everybody even if they are not a subject matter expert in that profession. This is because they may ask an insightful question to unblock the situation (working from wisdom rather than knowledge). Also, ALS encourage people to learn from each other and from each other’s problems, as these often have common features.

Who takes part in an ALS?

There are 3 roles in every ALS: a facilitator, a presenter and the members:

The facilitator keeps time, ensures the group do not go off track and steers people away from volunteering solutions. Often the facilitator is a coach who will cover this role for the first 2-3 ALS sessions util the group becomes self-sufficient and runs itself. The facilitator will then be selected in rotation amongst the group members.

The presenter identifies a situation they wish to do something about, or they are feeling “stuck” in. They prepare what they would like to say about it including being willing to provide additional context where needed and explaining what has already been tried and with what degree of success. They also agree a plan of what actions to take forward and provide feedback at the next session to outline how this went.

The members use open questions to help the presenter establish the outcome required and possible options ahead. They behave honestly, respectfully and maintain confidentiality. They also refrain from offering solutions.

If you are interested in knowing more about Action Learning Sets or if you'd like to work with me as your coach or counsellor, you can schedule an initial free consultation on info.healingmovement@gmail.com

Disclaimer:

The author assumes no responsibility for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of information provided. This article is not intended as medical advice. Readers should consult their medical professional before making any changes to their lifestyle, including but not limited to diet and physical activity and exercise.

Burnout in therapy

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 10:20:16 GMT

Outcomes of a systematic review

As part of my humanistic integrative counselling diploma, I carried out a systematic review on the topic of burnout in therapists. I will share a summary of my findings with you because these can be helpful to identify causes leading up to burnout as well as interventions and strategies to prevent it not only in therapists but also in other “helping” professions.

What is burnout?

The term “burnout” was introduced by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in the 1970s to describe the consequences of severe stress and high ideals in “helping” professions, such as doctors and nurses. He coined this term when he observed a loss of motivation and commitment in voluntary staff at a mental health clinic.

Burnout is now used to refer to the state of exhaustion and inability to cope in which individuals, regardless of their job, are left due to their stress levels.

In the 1980s American socio-psychologist Christina Maslach developed a burnout theory and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which is the most widely used instrument to measure burnout internationally. Maslach’s theory explains that burnout is caused by excessive stress at work. It is characterised by:

being emotionally drained and lacking emotional resources (Emotional Exhaustion)
a negative and distant response to other people (Depersonalisation)
not feeling competent and able to perform at work (reduced Personal Accomplishment)

Maslach’s theory also explains burnout as being caused by a prolonged imbalance in one of these areas:

excessive workloads
lack of control on one’s work
inadequate job-related rewards
insufficient workplace social support
inequity between job and pay
misalignment between employee and company values

Burnout is also understood to present in individuals who have exhausted their resources due to long-term exposure to emotionally demanding circumstances. This could be both at work and in their personal life, thus extending burnout related factors further than the occupational realm.

Burnout in therapists

Counsellors and psychotherapists are understood to be at a great risk of burnout due to the emotional demands typical of their work with clients.

As far as counsellors and other mental health professionals, studies have shown that burnout can lead to:

high staff turnover
poor clients’ outcomes
physical and mental health disorders such as the development of secondary traumatic stress

Research findings

Through my systematic review I analysed a number of studies focusing on identifying burnout predictors (causes of burnout) and protective factors (strategies to prevent burnout) in counsellors and psychotherapists. Outcomes were analysed to understand evidence and common themes in view of applying these to practice.

Socio-demographic factors: burnout seemed more prevalent in younger therapists. This is explained by younger and less experienced counsellors having high and unrealistic expectations of themselves and their role. Conversely, longer work experience and older age seemed to lead to lower levels of burnout.

Therapists’ psychological traits: perfectionism seemed to be linked to higher levels of burnout. One paper noted that female therapists were more likely to present with perfectionistic tendencies. Perfectionism also seemed to lead to maladaptive cognitive emotional regulation strategies (e.g. self-blame, rumination or catastrophising). Conversely, adaptive emotional regulation strategies (e.g. positive refocusing and acceptance) were found to be protective against burnout. Other studies’ findings suggested that self-compassion, resilience affected the perception of stress and were protective of burnout.

The workplace: high workloads, challenging clients, work-life imbalance and lower individual wellbeing (such as tiredness and nervousness) seemed to predict burnout. Training in trauma-focused interventions and evidence-based practices with relevant organisational support and positive experiences of delivering them also seemed protective against burnout although this did not mitigate against the negative effects of high workloads. Peer support and supervision were identified as protective factors.

COVID-19: specifically on the COVID-19 pandemic, this seemed to have increased burnout levels in counsellors. A study also noted that the greater use of technology for client contact caused by pandemic related restrictions may have worsened burnout levels due to its consequent "telepressure" increase (the need to check and reply to messages quickly).

Evaluation and limitations of this study

This systematic review identified a number of studies which were able to provide an overview of protective factors and predictors of burnout across a wide range of counselling and psychotherapy settings, such as private practice, educational establishments, hospitals/clinics and community services and involving a varied client base including children, adults and families. The diversity in age, gender, ethnicity, experience and training background of the professionals taking part in the studies, including the countries where these were taking place also provided a more comprehensive view of the topic.

As for limitations, not all studies gave information on training provision and organisational/peer/supervisory support available to therapists. Therefore the outcomes can’t be consistently tested against data from all analysed papers. In addition to that, it is also worth noting that supervision is not uniformly required to practice in all countries Also, due to word count and funding restrictions, only one freely accessible database was searched.

Despite this, the study compared well to a previous systematic review on the same topic which analysed fifty-two papers after a search through six databases.

Conclusion and recommendations

This systematic review’s findings have clearly identified a number of burnout predictors and protective factors correlating with previous research. These outcomes are useful to the counselling profession as they highlight the need for work-life balance, self-care, peer support and supervision to mitigate and prevent burnout. This is particularly important if one considers burnout’s negative effects both on counsellors as individuals and on their ability to work effectively and maintain the therapeutic alliance. As the latter is understood to be the most influential factor on therapeutic outcomes, it becomes essential, during and after training, to support the therapist as the most important “tool” of counselling.

If you are interested in working with me as your coach or counsellor, you can schedule an initial free consultation on info.healingmovement@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The author assumes no responsibility for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of information provided. This article is not intended as medical advice. Readers should consult their medical professional before making any changes to their lifestyle, including but not limited to diet and physical activity and exercise.

References:

Aminihajibashi, S., Skar, A-M. and Jensen, T. (2022) ‘Professional wellbeing and turnover intention among child therapists: a comparison between therapists trained and untrained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy’, BMC Health Services Research, 22, pp.1-13
American Psychological Association (2023) APA PsychInfo
Bhagwagar, H (2022) ‘Secondary trauma, burnout and resilience among mental health professionals from India: A review of research’, Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 76, pp.1-10
Boutron, I., Page, M., Higgins, J., Altman, D., Lundh, A. and Hróbjartsson, A. (2019) ‘Part 2: Core Methods – Chapter 7: Considering bias and conflicts of interest among the included studies’, in Higgins, J. and Thomas, J. (eds) Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.0 (updated July 2019)
Brugnera, A., Zarbo, C., Scalabrini, A., Compare, A., Mucci, C., Carrara, S., Tasca, G., Hewitt, P., Greco, A., Poletti, B., Esposito, R., Cattafi, F., Zullo, C.and Lo Coco, G., (2023) ‘Attachment anxiety, reflective functioning and well-being as predictors of burn-out and psychological distress among psychotherapists: A longitudinal study’, Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 1, pp. 1-12
Cook, R. and Fye, H. (2022) ‘Trauma-Informed Supervision and Related Predictors of Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Prelicensed Counsellors During the COVID-19 Pandemic’, International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, pp.1-20
Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M. and Griffiths, P (2020) ‘Burnout in nursing: a theoretical review’, Human Resources for Health, 19(41), pp.1-17
Fleischack, A., Macleod, C. and Böhmke, W. (2020) ‘The Conundrums of Counselling Women in Violent Intimate Partner Relationships in South Africa: Implications for Practice’, International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 42, pp.65–80
Gossmann, K., Schmid, R., Loos, C., Orthmann, A. Rosner, R. and Barke, A. (2023) ‘How does burnout relate to daily work-related rumination and well-being of psychotherapists? A daily diary study among psychotherapeutic practitioners’, Frontiers Psychiatry, 13, pp.1-13
Haidich, A. (2010) ‘Meta-analysis in medical research’, Hippokratia, 14(1), pp.29-37
Holden, C. and Jeanfreau, M (2021) ‘Are Perfectionistic Standards Associated with Burnout? Multidimensional Perfectionism and Compassion Experiences Among Professional MFTs’, Contemporary Family Therapy, 45, pp. 207-217
IQWiG (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care) (2020) ‘Depression: what is burnout?’, InformedHealth.org
Kim, J., Brookman-Frazee, L., Gellatly, R., Stadnick, N., Barnett, M. and Lau, A. (2018) ‘Predictors of Burnout among Community Therapists in the Sustainment Phase of a System-Driven Implementation of Multiple Evidence-Based Practices in Children’s Mental Health’, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 49(2), pp.131–142
Kwon, W., Ha, J., Jang, H. and Lee, D. (2022) ‘The Effects of Perfectionism and Dispositional Self‑focused Attention of Novice Counselor on Psychological Burnout: Moderated Mediating Effects of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies’, International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 44, pp. 283–297,
Kotera, Y., Maxwell-Jones, R., Edwards, A.-M. and Knutton, N. (2021) ‘Burnout in Professional Psychotherapists: Relationships with Self-Compassion’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), pp. 1-12
Lau, A. and Brookman-Frazee, L. (2016) ‘The 4KEEPS study: identifying predictors of sustainment of multiple practices fiscally mandated in children’s mental health services’, Implementation Science, 11(31), pp. 1-8
Litam, S., Ausloos, C. and Harrichand, J. (2021) ‘Stress and Resilience Among Professional Counselors During the COVID-19 Pandemic’, Journal of Counseling & Development, 99(4), pp.384-395
Poklepović Peričić, T. and Tanveer, S (2019) ‘Why systematic reviews matter’, Elsevier Connect
Purdue University (2023) What is primary research and how do I get started?
Rosen, C., Kaplan, A., Nelson, D., La Bash, H., Chard, K., Eftekhari. A., Kehle-Forbes, S., Wiltsey Stirma, S. and Sayer, N. (2023) ‘Implementation context and burnout among Department of Veterans Affairs psychotherapists prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic’, Journal of Affective Disorders, 320, pp.517–524
Sampaio, M., Haro, M., De Sousa, B., Melo, W. and Hoffman, H. (2021) ‘Therapists Make the Switch to Telepsychology to Safely Continue Treating Their Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Virtual Reality Telepsychology May Be Next’, Frontiers Virtual Reality, 1, pp. 1-27
Van Hoy, A. and Rzeszutek, M. (2022) ‘Burnout and psychological wellbeing amongst psychotherapists: a systematic review’, Frontiers in psychology, 13, pp.1-19
Van Hoy, A. and Rzeszutek, M., Pięta, M., Mestre, J., Rodríguez‑Mora, A., Midgley, N., Omylinska‑Thurston. J., Dopierala, A., Falkenström, F., Ferlin, J., Gergov, V., Lazić, M., Ulberg, R., Røssberg, J., Hancheva, C., Stoyanova, S., Schmidt, S., Podina, I., Ferreira, N., Kagialis, A., Löfer‑Stastka, H. and Gruszczyńska, E. (2022) ‘Burnout among psychotherapists: a cross‑cultural value survey among 12 European countries during the coronavirus disease pandemic’, Scientific Reports, 12, pp. 1-11
Wall, J., Kaiser, B., Friis‑Healy, E., Ayuku, D. and Puffer, E. (2020) ‘What about lay counselors’ experiences of task-shifting mental health interventions? Example from a family-based intervention in Kenya’, International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 14(9), pp. 1-14

Working with avoidance

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 15:40:07 GMT

Avoidance is a false economy

I was recently offered a professional opportunity which, on the face of it, looked like a perfect fit. As I started to get involved in it, I soon realised it was not going to deliver what it had initially promised. I knew I had to leave it but all the actions which would have released me from that commitment felt difficult. Although I was stuck, unsupported and dissatisfied, this seemed easier to put up with than the challenging conversations I would have needed to have in order to move on.

Eventually and with the skilful listening, insightful questioning and expert guidance of someone I trust, I decided to leave. I wrote and sent a resignation email and shortly after received a reply to confirm acceptance. I was now free to make the necessary plans to replace this opportunity with something which would truly fit my requirements and provide the professional growth I was looking for.

Avoidance is a false economy

This event encouraged me to reflect on times when avoidance has stopped me and others from moving on and growing. Through my practice of self-reflection and my work with counselling and coaching clients I have often come across this avoidance response: staying in the not-so-ideal current reality seems better or easier that confronting it and changing it.

This is actually a false economy as the longer we stay and avoid making steps to change our situation, the harder it becomes to leave it or improve it. It is a false economy also because by not changing the situation we are in, we are opting for feeling dissatisfied and unhappy for longer rather than dealing with the momentary discomfort that would trigger the beginning of a new and different (hopefully better) reality.

What do we avoid?

Although avoidance can present itself in many different ways such as lack of motivation, fear of the unknown, passivity (the negative version of acceptance), reasons/excuses about lack of time/resources/ability, it mainly revolves around avoiding the commitment to change, add or remove something from our lives.

Some examples of this type of avoidance can be (please note that the list below is not exhaustive):

starting or stopping an activity which could lead to a healthier or more functional life
having a difficult conversation with someone which could improve your interactions or change an unhealthy dynamic
ending a relationship (romantic or with a friend)
moving home
changing job
saying no to a request for your time or other resources

Avoidance and behaviour change

As we mentioned earlier, we tend to chose not to disrupt the status quo because the current state of discomfort we are experiencing always seems more manageable than the unknown new situation we could create if we took action. This is the false economy.

Our decision to make a lifestyle change, have that difficult conversation, end that relationship or move house is underpinned by our beliefs and values. Beliefs are assumptions about the world which we believe to be true, regardless of evidence. Values are the unwritten rules and standards about what we consider “good” or “bad”. They both influence our thoughts, feelings and consequent behaviours, including whether change is possible or even “allowed” for us.

What can we do about avoidance?

Therefore, if deciding to commit to change, add or remove something from our lives is about behaviour, we should work on behaviour change. As values and beliefs influence our behaviour, we actually need to start from there in order to make the change happen.

The basic question when we find ourselves choosing avoidance and being apparently unable to make a difference to our lives is: what is the belief or value at the base of my avoidance response? The work ahead is about exploring why we are behaving under the assumption that we should put up with something regardless of whether it works for us or not. Why we choose to respond to this less-than-ideal situation as though we had no other choice or no other opportunity or resource was available to us.

There are a number of things which can help us with this type of blockage. These are some of the activities I have found helpful for myself and my clients:

A regular practice of self-reflection: this can be done with journaling but also through the introduction of a regular mindfulness practice. With both mindfulness and journaling you can become more acquainted with your inner world and aware of helpful and unhelpful thought patterns.

Working with a counsellor/psychotherapist: through this work you can make further sense of those thought patterns, understand their origin and even start challenging how useful or true they are. Here you can become more at peace with what’s happened so far and gain clarity about what you need now and in the future. You can start to understand what is feasible to change and what may need to remain in your life. In fact, often for practical reasons, it isn’t always possible to change everything in our lives. Through counselling or psychotherapy you can start the work towards acceptance of what can’t be changed and identify what else can support you in this.

Working with a coach: with this work, you can look more deeply at the present moment in order to make changes to it and to plan for the future. Whether that change is fully or partly possible, you can work with a coach to set short, medium and long term goals towards it. If the change you wish for is not possible at all, you can still make a realistic plan of what else can be introduced into your life to support you. The work focuses on moving forward with acceptance, patience and self-compassion.

If you are interested in working with me as your coach or counsellor, you can schedule an initial free consultation on info.healingmovement@gmail.com

Finding out what you want

lulumicheluzzi@gmail.com (Lucia Micheluzzi) — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:06:45 GMT

The 4 steps of coaching

Finding out what you want and acting on it are at the basis of coaching. Through coaching tools and questions, you are encouraged to identify what is missing in your life, what you need more/less of, and strategies to get there according to your overall circumstances. It's a holistic process to bring balance back into your life.

Why is finding out what you want so important? Because it is necessary in order to make the right decisions. If you are not listening to yourself and what you want, need, desire, and if you are not comparing this against what is expected from you by your family, friends, colleagues, managers, and society you’ll always make the apparently right but wrong decision in truth. You’ll be stuck in that loop that sees you making changes, working hard, striving for self-improvement but then always arriving at the same starting point. You will look like you are achieving when observed from the outside but on the inside you will be feeling forever stuck.

Coaching can help you find out what you want. I will show you how by using one of the most widely implemented coaching models as an example.

Grow!

Coaching models are frameworks providing an underlying structure to a coaching conversation. They consist of different steps which have a specific objective thus ensuring the coaching session remains systematic and organised.

The GROW model was developed by Sir John Whitmore and colleagues in the 1980s. It’s one of the most widely used coaching models to date. Its strengths are being task-focused and simple. Because of this, it is effective, quick to use and consequently very popular. Complemented by the right coaching questions and tools, GROW is an invaluable tool in your search for and achievement of what you want from life.

Step 1 – Reality

Although the first section of GROW refers to the goal (G), when I use this model with clients I normally start from a description and analysis of their present circumstances (R, reality). I believe it is important and useful to know where we are starting from. I want to know what your life feels, sounds, and looks like in the present moment.

Here I may also introduce additional tools and exercises to bring further awareness of your satisfaction in life and alignment to your core values. In this section I aim to find out not only what isn’t working but also what’s already going well. Following the principles of Positive Psychology and Solution Focused Coaching, identifying areas of good performance is motivating and facilitates solution finding.

Step 2 – Goal

This information and awareness lead us to consider the goal. What do you want to achieve? What needs to change? Visualising your ideal reality can be useful to answer these questions and formulate the end goal. This exercise helps you get some clarity on what you would like to change or improve. Once you have visualised your ideal reality, I encourage you to “walk backwards” to your current situation and see what's missing from it compared to the ideal version.

With my clients, I use the “SMART” goal approach to ensure their main goal and actions towards it are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. This means that I guide you to formulate a goal which is specific to what you are aiming to accomplish. In fact, the narrower the end goal, the easier will be to identify the steps needed to achieve it. I also ensure the goal is measurable and objective. This will encourage you to look for evidence of your progress, which is extremely motivating. I finally make sure the goal is relevant by checking it’s aligned with your core values and long-term plans.

How the goal is formulated is also important. I ask my clients to describe their goal in a short sentence, set in the present, using positive and clear language. This makes the goal unambiguous and intentional. Good examples are “My goal is to live life with balance by (add deadline)” or “My goal is to achieve promotion by (add deadline)”. I then ask them to say it out loud. Hearing your tone of voice and watching your body language as you repeat the short sentence describing your goal, gives me and you as the client a very good idea of how authentic the goal feels. If it doesn’t, we work together to understand what doesn’t feel genuine about it and make any necessary changes.

Step 3 - Options

The next phase is to consider possible steps (O, options) which can facilitate the achievement of the goal. Having a clear idea of your current reality (step 1) makes it easier to consider options. What’s possible at this time? What’s already available? What else is needed for the goal to become a reality? Solution Focused questions can help you stay in the present by keeping the focus on practical and realistic solutions rather than getting stuck analysing the problem. Basically, your reality is explored for a second time but with the specific aim of finding the best steps to progress towards your goal .

Step 4 – Will do

I am a fan of written action plans. I have always had positive feedback from clients that being encouraged to keep a written record of what actions they have agreed to complete and by when has kept them on the right track and feeling more accountable. At this stage, you agree which of these possible options and solutions you will carry out (W, will do) and record them on your action plan . These intermediary steps towards the goal are also analysed to ensure they are SMART. This activity brings us back full circle to the main goal and allows us to further assess that this is indeed what you want to achieve.

At subsequent sessions, the action plans helps us review progress in the actions agreed and towards the main end goal. This helps maintain momentum and facilitates a more successful end to the coaching process.

How do we know we have found out what we really want?

Working out and getting what you want is a lifetime’s work. It’s possible but it’s not always easy. It’s a skill to be practiced daily in our personal and professional lives. Working with a coach to get you started on this journey is probably the most efficient option. We know that the support of a coach allows individuals to achieve their goals more quickly and effectively than working on their own.

The self-awareness and self-knowledge achieved through the coaching session will then serve you well as you carry on this path on your own. In fact, through coaching, we become more skilled at identifying where we lack balance in our lives. We also become more courageous to act on this awareness. We make space to keep doing the things we love. This supports and maintains our happiness and mental health.

When I ask my clients how they know they are doing more of what they want, they usually tell me that although every day has its unexpected challenges and they don’t always get it right as far as balance, they feel generally happier . They notice they are more patient with themselves and others. They feel a sense of calm and purpose and have regained motivation even in the areas of life where they still feel less alignment with their values. They feel energised and more skilled at dealing with moments of pressure or self-doubt knowing that they have ring-fenced time for nourishing and enjoyable activities.

If you are interested in exploring what coaching can do for you, you can schedule an initial free consultation with me on info.healingmovement@gmail.com

References:

Indeed (2022) ‘How Do You Set SMART Goals? Definition and Examples’, available at https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/smart-goals

Shah, N. (2022) ‘What is Coaching and Coaching Models? – Complete Guide’ ICHARS blog, available at https://www.instituteofclinicalhypnosis.com/psychotherapy-coaching/what-is-coaching-and-coaching-models/

Sutton, J. (2020) ‘12 Effective Coaching Models to Help Your Clients Grow’ Positive Psychology blog, 7 October, available at https://positivepsychology.com/coaching-models/#models

Wheatley, J. and Hawkins, J. (2022) ‘Using the GROW model to make decisions, episode 17’. The Coaching Crowd [Podcast] available at https://open.spotify.com/show/2nimXxS9cqqkhN7xktHhhs

A path towards balance

lulumicheluzzi@gmail.com (Lucia Micheluzzi) — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 08:59:20 GMT

How to stop doing too much

Working out what one wants is not always easy. From my personal and professional experience as a coach, I've found evidence of this especially when working with female clients. The word "want" in itself is almost taboo whilst "should" and "must" are frequently overused. There seem to be a reoccurring emphasis on one's duties to others as opposed to oneself.

Through the honest and transparent conversations of my coaching sessions, I have witnessed women experiencing deeply uncomfortable feelings of selfishness and guilt at the use of the word "want" when in relation to their needs and desires.

The outdated view of women having to put others first seems to still be ingrained in many. This is despite having often been told that we should put on our own oxygen mask first before attending to others. It feels even more imperative to undo this damaging thinking and behavioural pattern when we consider that constantly putting others first and repressing one's needs has been linked to a potential increased risk of certain autoimmune diseases (see Dr Gabor Mate's work ).

Through my work as a coach, I've learnt that doing too much of what doesn't excite us and nourish us, leaves us demotivated, depleted, sad and tired. Of course, I'm not advocating that to find our happiness and purpose we should all resign overnight from our dissatisfying jobs or pack up and leave our families and homes to relocate to an exotic location. Making drastic changes isn't the answer. In my experience, gradual, consistent, strategic and achievable steps are the foundation of any long-lasting change. It's about gently and compassionately adjusting things until the balance is restored.

How do we end up doing too much?

Even the wisest and most self-aware of us can get caught up in the trap of doing too much. I've seen through personal experience and working with clients how easy it is to lose sight of our everyday reality when burdened by the ever-growing pile of our personal and professional in-trays.

I will now take you through what in my coaching capacity I have found to be the most common factors leading us on the road of doing too much. Please remember that I will be generalising and that each individual’s reality is uniquely multifaceted.

Factor no 1 – we have a misplaced sense of responsibility

We direct our care and attention to the wrong recipient/s, to what's not really important. We adopt a misplaced sense of responsibility for (on behalf of) others which inexorably adds to our already overflowing to-do list. In turn, this disempowers others, makes them dependent on us thus creating more work for us and leaving us with little or no time to take care of ourselves.

Please note that what's deemed as "not important" will be different for each of us. An objective review of one's responsibilities is essential and coaching can help with that.

Questions to ask ourselves:

What do I need to prioritise?

What do I need right now?

Factor no 2 – we lack effective boundaries

This is linked to the first factor. Our diary is always available. Even when there is no space left, we find space. We can't say no. We probably don't even know how to say no. If we don't know how to say no, our yes is meaningless. Saying yes to all requests out of a sense of misplaced duty and responsibility gives out the message that all requests are important. If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.

The inability to say no is usually linked to a fear of rejection and of losing connections and relationships with others. By not saying no when our in-tray is already full and by not prioritising effectively, we are actually disconnecting from ourselves.

Questions to ask ourselves:

How can I be more authentic?

What am I saying NO to by saying YES to all requests indiscriminately?

Factor no 3 – we are covering up something or filling a gap

By keeping excessively busy, we are distracting ourselves from something unpleasant or uncomfortable. In my experience, this is often related to something missing from our lives and which we would like more of. It can also be connected to something which is actually present but we haven’t found a way to let go of yet. Basically, there is too much of what doesn’t nourish us and not enough of what makes us feel alive.

Interestingly, by keeping busy, not only we stay distracted from the issue, but we compound the problem. The more we add to the in-tray, the less likely it is that we will have time and energy to address the imbalance.

Questions to ask ourselves:

What's missing in my life?

What don’t I want to see?

What can you do today?

There are some simple coaching tools that can help us in our way to identify the issue so we can start addressing the imbalance in our lives:

Tool no 1 – Complete a wheel of life

A wheel of life helps us consider a number of aspects of our lives and assess our satisfaction with each of them. You can find many examples of wheel of life on the internet.

You can also simply draw a circle on a piece of paper and divide it into 8 segments. You can then title each segment with an aspect of your life such as work, personal growth, fun, relationships, family, romance, finance and so on. You can then score each segment with a scale from 0 to 10 with 0 being completely dissatisfied and 10 fully satisfied with this area.

Consider your lower scores and identify what could be changed to improve them. Consider also the higher scores and what is providing the satisfaction in those aspects. What can you do to improve the lower-scored segments? You can regularly review the outcome of this activity to notice your progress.

Tool no 2 – Identify your core values

Identifying the core values that drive and motivate you can help you understand what aspects of your life are not aligned with them. Misalignment with your values can foster an unhelpful sense of dissatisfaction and demotivation in life.

A really useful exercise is to start by identifying your top 5 values. You can use the list provided by James Clear ( here ) for inspiration. Then, for each value, list evidence of how in your personal and professional life you live and work aligned to it. To finish, for each value list what more you could do to carry on living and working by it. This exercise will show you where the gaps and lack of alignment are. You can review the outcome of this activity on a 6 monthly or annual basis to notice your progress.

Tool no 3 – Visualise your ideal reality

Take a few moments away from your busy schedule and visualise what you wish your ideal to be like. Notice all details from what you can see around you to what you are doing and how you are feeling.

Visualising what we want to achieve is not enough to make it happen. Visualisation without action will not bring about results.

This exercise helps you get some clarity on what you would like to change. In fact, once you have visualised your ideal reality, you will need to “walk backwards” to your current situation and see what's missing and what needs to change to move it closer to the ideal version.

What’s next?

The knowledge and awareness that the above exercises and questions give you are invaluable. To facilitate change, action is essential. My suggestions to get started on the path towards more balance are as follows:

Don't do it alone

You want to stop doing too much. This is a change of behaviour and thinking patterns. Therefore coaching here is the best placed modality to help you formalise a clear and achievable goal and stay accountable to someone fully committed to your growth and wellbeing. We know that by working with a coach, individuals achieve faster progress than when working on their own.

Practice self-compassion

Throughout this journey towards more balance, talk and behave to you like you would to a friend. It isn’t easy to undo a lifetime of behavioural and thinking patterns. It takes time and patience. Be forgiving for any relapse and accepting of where you are in your progress.

Please don’t use your new goal as a way to add more to your in-tray. Find the right pace for you and consider each step holistically with the rest of your life and commitments in mind.

Practicing self-compassion has been shown to increase motivation for health fostering habits. This will serve you well in your path to stop doing too much.

Come home to yourself

Learn to get back in touch with how you feel. By doing too much you have probably forgotten to listen to your needs and desires. Ask yourself often “How does this situation/activity feel?”, “How am I feeling carrying it out?” to encourage a renewed connection with your internal landscape.

Mindfulness meditation can help with this as well as with nurturing self-compassion (see above). If you’re new to this practice, I suggest some free guided Mindfulness meditations from the App Insight Timer . The more you encourage awareness with your internal experience through formal practices such as meditation, the more second nature this connection will become. Being in touch how you feel will make it easier to make more congruent and authentic decisions about what’s really important.

If you are interested in exploring what coaching can do for you, you can schedule an initial free consultation with me on info.healingmovement@gmail.com

What is coaching?

lulumicheluzzi@gmail.com (Lucia Micheluzzi) — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 10:31:52 GMT

Maximise your full potential

The simplest way to understand coaching is to think of it as a process . Like all processes, it involves a series of steps leading to the end goal. This end goal is always the client’s realisation of their full potential.

Of course, there is more to coaching the above explanation. Let’s have a look at some definitions of coaching:

“Partnering with clients in a thought provoking and creative process that inspires them

to maximise their personal and professional potential.”

The International Coaching Federation (ICF)

"A collaborative solution-focused, results-orientated and systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of work performance, life experience, self-directed learning and personal growth of the coachee.“

The Association for Coaching

“It unlocks a person’s potential to maximise their performance.

Coaching helps them to learn rather than teaching them.”

The International Coaching Community (ICC)

“Coaching assists a client to bridge the gap between where they are now, to where they would like to be far more effectively than if they worked alone.”

The Coaching Academy

What does that mean?

Summarising all those definitions, we can say that coaching is about a coach partnering with a client to help them maximize their potential . This is done through thought-provoking questioning and activities that tap into existing but often hidden sources of capability and creativity in the client.

Coaching can focus on areas such as career or business as well as other aspects of one’s personal life like wellbeing, health and personal growth.

Coaching is about starting with the goal in mind. The goal is usually to improve or change something about the coachee’s circumstances. Knowing, understanding and believing in your end goal is essential because if you don’t know where you want to go, the coach and you can’t “travel” there together.

What coaching is not

At times, coaching gets confused with other modalities. Let’s consider some of the most common modalities to find out what they may have in common with coaching and makes them different from it.

The main feature that coaching and mentoring, training, and counselling/therapy have in common is the fact that the client needs to overcome a barrier in order to achieve a goal .

Mentoring is a hierarchical relationship where a senior colleague, as a role model, gives advice from a place of greater professional experience and wider knowledge of the mentee’s field of work. This is different from coaching where the coach is not required to be an expert in the clients’ life and where questioning, rather than advice giving, is used.

Like coaching, mentoring focuses on the present and future and is concerned mainly with the achievement of goals. On the other hand, unlike coaching, which is normally delivered during a short-term and structured series of interventions aimed to overcome a specific goal, mentoring usually involves a longer lasting and less structured relationship.

In training , the trainer, like a teacher, is an expert because they know something that the student doesn’t. In fact, training and teaching, like mentoring, are a directive form of development where there is a transfer of knowledge from the trainer to the student. Therefore, the trainer/student relationship is also hierarchical unlike in coaching where the client is considered to be the expert in their circumstances. In fact, the client is understood to already have the answers to resolve their challenge. Through thought-provoking questioning and activities, the coach’s job is to facilitate the discovery of the coachee’s relevant skills and abilities to overcome the issue and fulfil their potential.

Like coaching, counselling and therapy use questions as one of their main techniques. Unlike coaching, counselling and therapy aim to help clients reflect on and resolve issues in the past. As in coaching, a counsellor/client relationship is one-to-one, and it aims to increase the client’s self-awareness. Like coaching, in some forms of counselling, such as the Person-Centred-Approach, the relationship is non-hierarchical as the client is seen as the expert in their own life.

What are the elements of coaching?

The client:

The client is at the centre of the process . It is the client’s agenda that dictates the direction of the coaching process. All the questions posed to the clients are aimed at helping them understand what is going on in their life, what they want to achieve, where they may be stuck. It is about the client and the solution within them which coaching helps uncover.

In coaching, we believe that the client isn’t broken and doesn’t need to be fixed. Through coaching tools, the client reflects, increases their self-awareness, identifies strategies and solutions and begins to take action. It’s about making changes and taking steps, not fixing.

The coach:

The main role of the coach is to help bring awareness to the client of any words and behaviours which are the symptoms of outdated thinking patterns. This helps the client get unstuck from their current unhelpful and unsatisfying situation and find strategies to move from the current position to a future improved reality.

The coach encourages the client’s awareness to surface by listening to what is being said and to the meanings and feelings behind the words. The coach asks questions to encourage the client to see things from a different perspective and assess their thinking for evidence of its truth. When what needs to change or improve has been identified, the coach will work with the client to formulate a goal, agree the best steps towards it and help them stay focused and remain on track to ensure progress is achieved.

The coach’s agenda is the client’s agenda. The approach of the coach is without judgment and non-directive. This means that a coach will support a coachee towards whatever is the right goal for them (not the goal the coach thinks is the right one). They will not tell the client what to do but will encourage them to work out what the best next step is. They will challenge the client to find alignment in their lives with their core values. The coach’s job isn’t to impart external wisdom but to help the client rediscover their own insight and intuition and let them be guided by it.

How do I know coaching is right for me?

Coaching is the right next step for you if:

you are feeling stuck or like you are going round in circles

you have been noticing self-limiting beliefs and thinking patterns, or a reoccurring imposter syndrome voice telling you something is not for you

you want to look at your life from a different perspective , widen your horizon or see the bigger picture of your personal and/or professional journey

you want to change something and want to take action, even if you may not feel fully ready to take action right now

What does the research say about coaching?

Scientific research about the beneficial effects of coaching is generally very promising.

In a 2015 meta-analysis of existing research on the effectiveness of workplace coaching, clients reported positive effects on organisational and individual outcomes such as leadership and technical skills, self-efficacy, well-being, satisfaction and work performance.

A 2017 case study research within a large (100,000 employee), multinational organisation looked at the results of individual and group coaching in 18 female participants. They reported that the experience of coaching had resulted in:

increased self-awareness : the participants had a deeper understanding of themselves, and of their impact on others

increased self-confidence : they noticed a reduction in their self-limiting thoughts and beliefs

a deeper level than awareness and self knowledge (identity and purpose): they were clearer about their purpose in life

more realistic expectations and increased self-compassion (self-leadership): they recognised and changed the unrealistic expectations that they had placed upon themselves using self-compassion

If you are interested in exploring what coaching can do for you, you can schedule an initial free consultation with me on info.healingmovement @gmail.com

References:

Bonneywell, S. (2017) ‘How a coaching intervention supports the development of female leaders in a global organisation’, International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Special Issue No. 11, June 2017, Page 58, available at https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/

CIPD, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2021) ‘Coaching and Mentoring’ available at https://portal.raisethebar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/coaching-mentoring-factsheet.pdf

Coacharya (2019) ‘Coaching vs. Therapy vs. Mentoring vs. Counselling vs. Consulting’ available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAhv4z97Eb0

Counselling Tutor (2022c) ‘Counselling Theories Compared and Contrasted’ available at https://counsellingtutor.com/counselling-approaches/counselling-theories-compare-and-contrast/

ICC, International Coaching Community (2022) ‘What is Coaching?’ available at https://internationalcoachingcommunity.com/what-is-coaching/

Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A. and Guillaume, Y. R. F. (2015) ‘The effectiveness of workplace coaching: a meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching’, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89 (2). pp. 249-277. ISSN 2044-8325 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12119 available at https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/74522 /

Sternard, D. (2021) Developing Coaching Skills, Moosburg (Austria), Econcise Gmbh

Yoga for men

lulumicheluzzi@gmail.com (Lucia Micheluzzi) — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 15:55:44 GMT

Why it just makes sense

With this month’s Movember and today’s International Men’s Day bringing our attention to men’s mental and physical health, my mind goes to the topic of Yoga for men. Since the beginning of my career as a Yoga teacher, sharing this practice with more men has been a goal of mine. I was (and still am) very aware of the lack of balance in most Yoga classes where the majority of students were and still are usually women. As a Yoga teacher and studio founder and manager, I wondered how we could reach the other half of our potential client base more successfully. What was stopping men from crossing the threshold of a Yoga studio in the same number as women?

Yoga began in India as a men-only practice. Despite this beginning, as Yoga moved to the West, it became and still remains a female dominated environment. Recent stats show the Yoga Gender Gap to be consistent in several countries. Data from Statista’s Global Consumer Survey (April 2021-March 2022) shows that out of all respondents in the UK, 32% of women and only 8% of men occasionally practiced Yoga or Pilates. Similarly in the US, the percentages were 30% and 11% respectively. India was the only country showing a more balanced attendance amongst both groups as 31% and 24%, possibly due to Yoga being deeply rooted in the culture.

My experience of talking to men about Yoga when I first started teaching over 10 years ago was that many were still concerned about Yoga not being relevant to them. Some often mentioned not being flexible enough as their reason for not trying Yoga. I find that the lack of flexibility being a problem preventing class attendance is still a widely spread misconception and not exclusively amongst men. One of the “side effects” of a regular yoga practice is indeed increased flexibility, which is not necessarily a requirement to step on the Yoga mat in the first place. It’s like saying one is too dirty to take a shower. One takes a shower to become clean as one goes to Yoga to become more flexible (in body and mind I'd like to add, but this is a topic for another article).

Yoga is for men and there is evidence of this. If we look at some of Yoga's most influential and inspirational teachers of recent times, we see most of them are men. Names such as B.K.S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois and T.K.V. Desikachar, all responsible for bringing Yoga to the West, can only confirm to the male population that there is a space for them too in the world of Yoga. Andre’ van Lysebeth (1999), a Belgian Yoga teacher with over 50 years of experience, wrote “Anyone (…) can practice Hatha-yoga successfully, for it is not a religion, and it neither demands nor presupposes adherence to any specific philosophy, church or faith. It may be looked upon as a psychosomatic discipline - no more - unique in its kind, unparalleled in its beneficial effects”.

And what about the increased popularity of Yoga amongst athletes and sportsmen around the world? In recent years, international cricket teams such as the Indian and Australian ones, have introduced regular Yoga sessions with some players also engaging the services of a personal Yoga teacher. Yoga is an integral part of the training and recovery of the England Football team who followed the example of Hot Yoga pods for training and recovery adopted by the England Rugby team during the 2019 World Cup in Japan. Moving to the world of tennis, Hot Yoga has also been part of British champion Andy Murray’s training for several years. We could also mention how many martial art studios include Yoga classes in their timetables and how the two practices not only have common roots but also have been elegantly fused together in new styles such as Cameron Shayne’s Budokon .

Why should men practice Yoga?

The question isn’t just about whether men have a place in the Yoga world. It’s most importantly about why they should take the opportunity to make this place their own.

The main reasons why the aforementioned sports professionals and teams have decided to unroll their Yoga mats are to do with improving physical performance, avoiding injury and lengthening their career . Yoga helps keep one’s body young by making it strong and supple. The stronger the muscles, the more powerful a bowler’s throw can be. The better the muscle condition, the quicker the reaction time to get to that ball on the tennis court. The greater the flexibility and agility, the faster a footballer can run across the pitch.

Yoga builds simultaneously flexibility and strength through holding poses whilst keeping a steady and relaxed breath. This involves a kind of integrated movement so that whilst a set of muscles is stretched, the opposite set is worked and core/stabilising muscles are engaged to hold the pose. Long and toned muscles are believed to have better blood flow and therefore increased oxygen supply for healing and growing in addition to more efficient lactic acid removal. Flexible muscles allow for a wider range of movement at the joints, which decreases risk of injury and increases the power of one’s movements (this equals to better performance in sports and a functional and healthy body in everyday life).

The life of a professional sportsman can be stressful for the mind as well as the body due to the extremely demanding training and rigorous lifestyle to stay in top condition. In addition to this, there is the pressure of competitions. Yoga’s relaxation, concentration and meditative practices can assist athletes in effectively managing stress levels and in maintaining a strong and calm mind when facing a difficult match or a gruelling training session.

“What’s in it for me?”

At this point the men whose jobs don’t involve kicking or throwing a ball in front of millions could be asking themselves why Yoga is relevant to their lives. Here it’s worth reminding men who practice sports or take part in any other kind of recreational fitness activity that, even though they are not professionals, they’re still at risk of injury. The concept of “weekend warrior” is widely known amongst physiotherapists and sports therapists who often count amongst their clients, recreational sports players whose injuries are usually caused by lack of preparation and conditioning. Therefore, the attitude “If it’s good enough for Murray, etc… it’s good enough for me” should apply.

Sports performance and injury prevention aren't the only reasons that should attract men to Yoga. Research shows that cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as ischemic heart disease and stroke, are the leading causes of death in the male (and female) population worldwide. The exact causes of CVD aren’t always clear, but there are many factors that can increase one’s risk of developing it. These are high blood pressure/hypertension, inactivity, smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, being overweight or obese, family history of CVD, ethnic background (in the UK, CVD is more common in people of south Asian and an African or Caribbean background), age (CVD is most common in people over 50), gender (men are more likely to develop CVD at an earlier age than women), diet and an excessive alcohol consumption.

A reassessment of food and drink consumption with the help of a professional is always a good place to start as well as a more holistic change in lifestyle. Cardiovascular exercise can be beneficial too especially to help lose extra weight and lower blood pressure. A well balanced Yoga class can complement other forms of exercise to stretch and condition the body, avoid injury and improve performance. With the addition of some faster paced vinyasas (sequences of poses suck as the sun salutation) a Yoga class could also provide a complete workout in itself, including cardiovascular exercise and stretching. If we consider that CVD has also been linked to chronic stress, the practice of relaxation, concentration and meditation can benefit students by giving them practical tools with which to face the pressures of life more successfully. In addition to that, the adoption of a healthier lifestyle can also help decrease the risk of cancer. This is particularly important when considering that the leading cause of cancer deaths in men is due to lung and prostate cancer.

Research also has shown that men are three to four times more likely to commit suicide than women . This has been put this down to a number of reasons. One is that men are less likely to open up to friends or doctors about mental health issues. Men also tend to show symptoms of depression differently from women which can lead to a missed diagnosis. To cope, they may turn to semi-socially acceptable behaviours like drinking, watching too much TV, and aggressive behaviour which are too often dismissed as “normal” male behaviour rather than a warning sign. Finally men’s suicide attempts are often more violent and therefore more effective in their aim before anyone can intervene.

Yoga is widely recognised as a successful modality in assisting people affected by depression and other mental health issues. The practices of breathing and meditation together with physical postures can help calm and settle the mind, reduce stress and encourage a more positive and focused outlook. Basically, Yoga, as an adjunct therapy to other mental health support and the adoption of healthier lifestyle habits, can be a useful tool in the treatment and prevention of mental health issues and a number of physical diseases in men.

What can we do to get more men on the mat?

I wondered if there was a solution to this when I was setting up my studio. I remember asking myself when I last saw a man on the front cover of a Yoga magazine. I regret to say that, to date, the prevalent image on most Yoga publications and advertising is still that of a woman. How can a man associate himself with Yoga when most of the images relating to this practice are of blissfully smiling ladies stretched in impossible postures on pink mats? I’d like to add that this stereotypical image of the “ideal” Yoga student has at times also put me and other female students off.

Some years ago, I gave some business cards to a friend, asking him if he could hand them out to his clients. He was a self-employed gardener and therefore got in touch with a variety of different people every day. His answer was “Of course I can! I see a lot of old ladies during my work!” I was left speechless…his words reminding me that we still had a long way to go to show the world the innate inclusivity of Yoga. Fast forward to now, more than 10 year later, and I can say that although the aforementioned statistics don’t sound very promising and still show a considerable Yoga Gender Gap, I have attended many Yoga classes where the male participants were in higher numbers than females. I think the trend is changing, albeit slowly.

I have taught Yoga to men and realised that even the keenest ones have at times felt like the odd ones out. Our job as Yoga teachers is to support these brave men who have the courage to step out of their comfort zone and into the Yoga room and who aren’t afraid to come face to face with other people’s misconceptions or their own inner critic. The longer lasting change usually happens slowly, like the work of a wave smoothing a rock. Each man in our Yoga class is the next wave, hopefully bringing others after him.

References:

Cancer research UK (2022) ‘Cancer mortality for common cancers’, available at https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/mortality/common-cancers-compared

Capouya, J. ‘Real men do Yoga’ 2003, HCI, Florida, U.S.A.

Cunningham, S. (2021) ‘Euro 2020: England players relax in specialised Yoga pods to help deal with heat of battle’, Inews, 21 June, available at https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/euro-2020-england-gareth-southgate-hot-yoga-pods-1054982

Devi, I. ‘Forever young, forever healthy’ 1955, A. Thomas & Co, UK

Fleck, A. (2022) ‘International Yoga Day – Who’s practicing Yoga?’, Statista Blog, 21 June, available at https://www.statista.com/chart/27653/yoga-men-and-women-by-country

Mesure, S. (2013) ‘The the to Murray’s success: Hot Yoga!’, The Independent, 27 January, available at https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/the-key-to-murray-s-success-hot-yoga-8468368.html

NHS (2022) ‘Cardiovascular disease’, available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cardiovascular-disease/

Schumacher, H. (2019) ‘Why more men than women die from suicide’, BBC, 18 March, available at https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190313-why-more-men-kill-themselves-than-women

The Minded Institute (2022) ‘Yoga for depression’, available at https://themindedinstitute.com/yoga-for-depression/

Van Lysebeth, A. “Yoga Self-taught” 1999 Weiser Books, USA

WHO (2020) ‘The top 10 cases of death’, 9 December, available at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death

Living the life of a Yogi

lulumicheluzzi@gmail.com (Lucia Micheluzzi) — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 15:30:33 GMT

Yoga and diet

“Many people have the idea that a Yogi is a starved and haggard man, a skin and bone specimen.

They are mistaken. A Yogi takes great care of his body”

Devi, 1953:55

I don’t remember exactly at which point of my Yoga teacher training I become aware of Indra Devi but I have a very clear memory of the effects her books had on me. As I read through her original 1950s texts, with their yellowed pages which contained surprisingly contemporary, down-to-earth and accessible advice, I remember wondering how we could still be getting it so wrong when 60 years earlier we already knew so much about what was beneficial and detrimental to our health.

Born Eugenie Peterson in Riga, Latvia, in 1899, Indra Devi was admitted by the legendary guru and Yoga teacher Sri Krishnamacharya into his school in India in 1937. This made her not only his first woman student but also the first ever Western person to join an Indian ashram . Because of this, she became known as “The First Lady of Yoga”. She was encouraged to teach by Sri Krishnamacharya and her contribution was invaluable in the global diffusion of Yoga until her death in 2002. Indra Devi is also known for her “celebrity” students. She taught Hollywood film stars, who found Yoga beneficial to their work. Some of her pupils included Miss Swanson, Robert Ryan, Greta Garbo, Jennifer Jones and the violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

Does Yoga affect what we eat?

When Indra Devi started her training in India with Sri Krishnamacharya, her teacher imposed on her certain rules, which included changes to her eating habits. As she was already a vegetarian and teetotaller, the biggest change she had to make was to give up her much loved coffee. For most people in the western world, taking up Yoga doesn’t mean making any major lifestyle changes. In fact, Indra Devi herself reminds us in her writings that someone taking up Yoga doesn’t necessarily need to follow a special diet. Despite this, it has been noted that some people start to prefer healthier and more natural food options as they progress in their Yoga journey. If the old saying “you are what you eat” is to be believed, one’s food preferences should indeed change according to one’s level of physical and mental purity.

Some research has found evidence of this. For example, Yoga, as a meditation-based practice, has been seen to encourage more presence and awareness in everyday activities including eating and making food choices. Regular Yoga practitioners have also been found less likely to engage in disordered eating behaviour. During my Yoga teacher back in 2011, I became curious to understand the possible connection between Yoga and healthier food choices. Therefore, I decided to carry out an informal piece of research amongst my students and Yoga teacher colleagues. I devised a short questionnaire asking about eating habits in order to compare possible differences in food choices before and after the start of a regular Yoga practice. I had noticed a change in my eating habits since my Yoga practice had started taking a more stable and frequent presence in my routine and was keen to see if others had experienced a similar shift.

From the replies I received, it transpired that everyone who completed my questionnaire had a strong preference for healthy and fresh food (this didn’t always mean a vegetarian diet). Another interesting point was that all the teachers who replied showed a considerable change in eating habits (moving to an almost or a completely vegetarian diet) since their Yoga practice began. Interestingly, one of the students also commented that although they ate meat, they never fancied it after a Yoga practice. Despite not being representative of the wider Yogic population, the results of my informal research aligned with the previously mentioned studies and pointed to the fact that Yoga may indeed influence food choices.

“The foods that increase life, purity, strength, health, joy and cheerfulness,

which are savoury and smell good, substantial and agreeable,

are dear to the sattvic people”

Bhagavad Gita, chapter 17, verse 8

A Yogic diet is normally understood to be vegetarian and characterised by plenty of sattvic foods. In Ayurveda, a traditional Hindu system of medicine, sattvic foods are pure, wholesome, without preservatives and artificial flavourings. These foods sooth and nourish the body, promote physical health, calm the mind and sharpen the intellect. Examples of these foods are fresh fruit and vegetables, pure fruit juices, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fresh herbs, organic dairy products and herbal teas. A sattvic diet is understood to be easily digestible and increase one’s vitality and energy.

In addition to the choice of food, during her training in India, Indra Devi was also given other advice about how and when to take the food to maximise nutritional absorption and not to overload the body unnecessarily . These sound still very relevant and intuitive today:

A light breakfast is preferable, as the body doesn’t need a lot of energy after the night’s rest. A heavy breakfast will draw blood from the head to the stomach and this will impair concentration.

The last meal should be eaten before sunset, after which it is advisable to only drink water or juices.

Each mouthful should be thoroughly chewed so that it gradually disappears rather than being swallowed. In fact, during slow chewing Prana (life energy) is believed to be absorbed by the nerves of the tongue.

Water should be taken half-hour before or after a meal so that it doesn’t disturb the process of digestion by diluting the gastric juices. Water should never be too cold as this can prevent the flow of digestive juices to the stomach (Ayurveda believes that ice cold foods and drinks extinguish Agni, the digestive fire).

In order to digest properly, the body also requires a sufficient amount of oxygen. A regular Pranayama (breath control) practice is recommended.

One’s mental attitude when eating a meal is also an important point to consider. Food should be taken in good company and in pleasant surroundings and if taken in a state of anger or upset it can become toxic to the body. Mealtime should be harmonious and positive: “bless your food and enjoy it” (Devi, 1953:53-64).

“In every situation, we should adopt a considered attitude.

That is the meaning of Ahimsa”

T.K.V.Desikachar

With the above in mind, I’m not writing this to encourage the reader to adopt a vegetarian diet or change their eating habits in any way. We always have a choice and any imposition on our will, as well meaning as it may be, would go against the Yogic ethical principle (Yamas) of Ahimsa (non-violence). In fact, Ahimsa refers to acting with thoughtful consideration and without causing harm both towards ourselves and other beings. As a Coach and Yoga teacher, my work is also influenced by the value of autonomy. I encourage my clients and students to make informed choices. This means finding out facts and evidence from reputable sources and considering those against what people feel is best for their optimal health and wellbeing.

I’m a great believer that there isn’t one size that fits all when it comes to diet, exercise and other lifestyle choices. As with everything else in life, I believe moderation and common sense are essential. Indra Devi demonstrated exactly this point when talking with a friend about her new eating habits adopted as part of her training in India: “-But if you were to suddenly crave for beefsteak, what would you do?- he insisted. -Eat one- I replied to his surprise.” (Devi, 1953:58).

References:

Desikachar, T.K.V., (1995) 'The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice, , Rochester, U.S.A., Inner Traditions International.

Devi, I. (1953) 'Forever Young, Forever Healthy', London, Morrison and Gibb Ltd.

Devi, I. (1959) 'Yoga For You', London, Thorsons Publishers Ltd.

Klein, J. and Cook-Cottone, C. (2013) ‘A systematic review of yoga for the treatment of eating disorders’, International journal of yoga therapy, 23, pp. 41–50.

McIver, S., O’Halloran, P. and McGartland, M. (2009) ‘Yoga as a treatment for binge eating disorder: A preliminary study’, Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 17(4), pp. 196–202. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2009.05.002.

Martin, D (2002) ‘Indra Devi, 102, Dies; Taught Yoga to Stars and Leaders’, New York Times, 30 April, available at www.nytimes.com/2002/04/30/world/indra-devi-102-dies-taught-yoga-to-stars-and-leaders.html

Smith, H. (2007) ‘Peek Into The Life Of Indra Devi, An Inspirational Global Yogi’, Yoga Journal bog, 28 August, available at www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/philosophy/indra-devi/

Svoboda, R. (2004) ‘Ayurveda, Life, Health and Longevity’, Albuquerque, The Ayurvedic Press.

Swami Saradananda, (2007) ‘Teach Yourself Yoga’, London, Hodder Headline.