A Coaching Model Created by Mea Blauer
(Transformational Coach, UNITED STATES)
The blooming lotus coaching model is holistic model which means that it takes into account the completeness and wholesomeness of human beings, mind, body and soul. It has as its basis the understanding that we all are complete beings on a journey of growth, evolution and self-realization. The clients looking for support from the coach using this model are looking to be supported on a journey of personal transformation which entails focusing on being different, on fully expressing the desires of the human soul.
The blooming lotuses have a double meaning. The first refers to the client itself, a blooming flower, full of potential to become a magnificent thing of beauty, shining its splendor in the world. Each client may be where they are in that process (a bud, in the process of opening, or fully open), and wherever they are, it is always appropriate. The opening of the lotuses represents the natural and organic progression of the client’s growth and transformation. The second meaning refers to where the client is when they enter the relationship with the coach. The coach will always acknowledge and support the client in exactly where they are and as they need it. In this coaching model, the coach will sense the full potential of the client, and together they make that potential a reality.
The client
In this model, the client is the lotus. As described above, the client enters the relationship with the coach exactly where they are. As they enter the coaching rapport, there is an understanding that the client is looking to grow into their full potential and they are looking for support, encouragement and holding of that vision from the coach. The petals of the lotus, as they open represent the client’s self-realization, living their life purpose, using and acting upon their unique gifts and abilities, and expressing and living life’s full joy. All this is supported by the client’s values which are the stem that goes into the ground and their beliefs which are the roots of the lotus.
The coach
The coach is the soil which supports the growth of the lotus. Regardless of where the client is when they enter the relationship, the coach will always exhibit the same qualities for the client: love, care, support, trust, understanding, acceptance, non-judgment. The soil creates a sacred space in which the lotus is allowed to take whatever it needs in order to grow and bloom naturally. The coach is grounded and rooted in their own values and beliefs, as she supports the client through the growth process.
The relationship
The client will enter the relationship exactly where they are (they may be only a bud, they may be almost fully bloomed or somewhere in between). The coach acknowledges this without judgment. The coach will encourage the client to develop a vision of self-realization and then hold that vision for the client throughout the coaching relationship. The coach will bring forth the client’s beliefs, values and vision of a joyful, fully expressed life through the use of powerful questions and mirroring. The coach will use silence and invitations for self-reflection to form the client’s vision. There is an understanding that the client is looking to grow, evolve, expand and bloom and they are looking for support from the coach in this transformative process. The coach senses into what the client needs at any time during the growth process and offers the client just that. It is absolutely necessary for the coach to be fully present and in tune with the client’s needs for this to happen. It is also necessary for the coach to connect with the client from the heart and using her intuition. The client will take what they need in order to thrive, bloom, and grow. This is a very dynamic relationship, almost like a dance of give and take between the coach and the client. The client will leave the coaching relationship feeling connected with their own inner desire to grow and change which will continue long after coaching is done.
This coaching model focuses on supporting the clients on being what they choose to be. It assumes that once the client becomes who they choose to be, their actions and choices will come from that place, and the full expression of the clients’ life will be a reflection of their beingness.
The coaching model will work regardless of where the client is when they enter the coaching relationship. The coach will always support the client using coaching competencies in order to give the client the appropriate support. As a coach I will feel successful when the client has made a strong connection with the well of creativity, resourcefulness, wisdom and love within themselves. This source will be permanently available to them throughout their lives.
Sample questions that the coach may use with this model
- What is the highest vision you have of yourself?
- How do you want to express yourself in the world?
- What do you need to become for this to be possible?
- Who is the person for whom this becomes a reality?
- What do you need to let go of to become that person?
- What do you need to embrace to become that person?
- What are your special gifts and abilities that can express that highest vision of yourself?
- How can you manifest them into reality?
- How can you keep growing?
*This coaching model was positively inspired by the “Deep Coaching Intensive Course” lead by Leon VanderPol through the School of Light and Life.