Women over 40: Are you struggling to find your new life purpose?
We all struggle at some point, reaching out for help and guidance is an act of bravery.
I wanted to share with you this amazing journey I had with Sarah. Through some major life changing adjustments, from a full child free, dedicated life to a career, feeling secure with money and in her leadership role, to realising slowly it was just not making her happy. She was stressed at work, unfulfilled and found herself feeling down and depressed outside of her working environment. She knew there was something missing and needed someone to help her find what that something was.
She was definitely seeking more creativity, more purpose and a pace of work/life that was in sync with what felt congruent to her at this crossroads in her life.
Life changes and changing your life
Approaching her 50s and feeling the changes in hormones, she wanted to practise more yoga and get in touch with who she was again and what she could offer the world. She wanted to feel empowered as a woman in what she was doing.
After having so much responsibility in her work life, managing so many staff and always seen by her spouse and friends as the worker bee. This was bound to take some time to re-adjust.
She came to me at a point in her life when she was feeling confused, scared of confronting her work about possibly leaving, guilt of leaving others in the lurch and fearful of what she was going to do next. What would her partner think of her new decision? How would the answers come to her? What about her stable income?
All of this was just a swirling vortex of worries in her mind, coupled with hormonal change, adding to the stresses and making this whole process so overwhelming.
Sarah came to me with Coaching in mind, to help her through this transition but was also deeply intrigued by how a yoga practice would also benefit her. As with so many of my clients, She was apprehensive of what coaching might bring up as she’d never had any kind of coaching before – this is a normal reaction.
Kickstarting change through body and mind
We began our coaching process with six weekly sessions of Yoga taking her through mind-set mindfulness practices, breathing exercises and sequences that would help her feel settled in what she was taking on as well as feeling flexible, balanced and strong again but also more importantly to give her an accomplishment mind-set.
Each week we explored different and more challenging poses, more in depth mindfulness techniques and mind gym practices to increase positive thinking and reduce negative, self-sabotaging thoughts. At the same time I started to coach Sarah as we began to talk more and more before and after class. Sitting on the floor pre and post Yoga, in a safe, comfortable place where she felt confident and relaxed really worked for Sarah. This helped us begin with a subtle commitment to coaching, which made her feel more comfortable and at ease.
We then started to change our sessions to 30 minutes of Coaching followed by 1 hour yoga, sometimes she would have a reflexology session to finish for deep relaxation. Then it progressed to 1 hour coaching, followed by 1 hour yoga per week. This really had a rocket effect on her overall achievement!
Back to the wonderful Sarah, some weeks she cried and was tired so we took the option of a restorative practice and more of a chatty coach approach and other times she was dynamic, energetic and wanting a challenging yoga practice and then to sit with her with pen and paper helping prioritise what was important to her, co-creating small attainable goals to reach and keeping motivation high.
Client-led coaching, bespoke to your needs
Look at that change, the willingness to open up and slowly embrace the coaching side of my practice. It takes time, trust (in me), trust (in yourself) and a commitment to change.
If you’re struggling with direction, scared of change – physically and mentally, I am here for you. Get in touch to see how we can work together to build a bespoke blended coaching journey to get your life back on track with confidence!
If you’re looking to start the journey of mindfulness, a positive life that you’re in control of. Why not get in touch for a 20 minute chat to see how I can slot into your life with my blended coaching approach. I bring a unique blend of British/Greek upbringing, decades of Yoga and Mindfulness Practice and Coaching qualifications to the table to create a bespoke blended coaching program that works mind and body together.
Book your 20 minute friendly chat today: https://calendly.com/varvara-coaching