Mark Andrew Harley

We must be willing to leave no stone unturned in our search for an authentic self. Everything that we think, feel, say and do is a part of who we are. It is likely that changes will be required of us across the entire gamut of our being.

There are benefits to working with a Life Coach but only if we feel that we can trust that person wholeheartedly.

What can a Life Coach do for us?

• Identify and challenge our limiting ideas and beliefs
• Help us to discriminate our needs from our wants
• Keep us going on difficult days
• Offer a non-judgemental commentary on our progress
• Put our efforts into perspective with humour, empathy and affection
• Provide support and inspiration as both mentor and friend

A Life Coach should inspire us to become self-inspired! When inspiration bubbles up constantly from within we feel passionate and purposeful. We know exactly what to do and we just get on with it. It is most important that we do not place our mentors upon pedestals and grow reliant upon them for guidance and inspiration. This tendency has caused humanity unprecedented confusion and suffering.

Persistence is the vital link between inspiration and realisation.

The past brings us to the present with momentum. If we want to change course we will need to generate momentum in a new direction. Real and lasting changes are going to take sustained and determined effort. Crucially we need strategies to deal with the difficult days when our resolve is severely tested. Best intentions can so easily be derailed by disappointment and distraction. The support of a Life Coach is most valuable on those inevitable dark days.

Personal realisation is an extraordinary and essential part of being well and living a full life.

To cast off belief in favour of Truth is a leap too far for some of us today. I would just like to suggest to you that real "knowing" might be a human possibility and, as such, worth pursuing.

Human history suggests that divine knowledge is the sole preserve of a handful of prophets and messiahs sparsely dotted through the centuries. I think and feel that it is healthy and uplifting to challenge long-held beliefs and assumptions and set about finding out the Truth of things for ourselves.

There are three key areas of life that I want to focus on. Trauma in its various forms, transition through the different stages of life and vocation as an expression of our authentic creative presence on Earth.

Trauma strikes at human vulnerability and can knock us off course or even stop us in our tracks. The trauma of illness (whether inherited, acute, chronic or terminal) might affect the function of any or all of our thinking, feeling and physical bodies. Trying to identify a root cause and resolution to personal illness offers us a complementary approach to the symptom-relieving chemistry of allopathic medicine. Both approaches are valid and need not make enemies of one another.

When seeking to identify causative factors and release ourselves from illness every thought that we think needs to be carefully examined.

Our mental attitude to life and wellness is fundamental.

Two people with the same symptoms might not necessarily have the same underlying imbalance. I use the word imbalance because I want to suggest that wellness is our natural state of equilibrium.

The trauma of loss includes the ending of relationships, limitation caused by injury or illness, and a decline in social status and/or monetary wealth. A loss of freedom might result from external factors (such as human conflict or natural disaster) or internal factors (such as anxiety or depression). Trying to deal with loss causes humanity a great deal of suffering. At the other end of the spectrum there is equal potential for trauma derived from gain. In a world where no one escapes change or death, we surely need to reassess our relationship with loss and gain.

A Life and Wellness Coach can offer valuable insights and practical strategies to move us through and beyond the trauma of illness and loss.

Significant transitions mark our passage through life. Becoming an adult, gaining and losing independence, shouldering and releasing responsibility - these are common transitions in a typical human life. Sometimes we negotiate life’s transitions smoothly and completely but not always. We can become hampered by fear and avoid starting a transition altogether. We might start the process but never truly finish. How many of us are traumatised by our passage through childhood and adolescence? How many adults retain childlike behaviour in certain aspects of their being? How many of us lean on others rather than stand on our own two feet? How many of us shirk or cling to positions of authority and responsibility when it’s time to step up or step down?

A Life and Wellness Coach can provide valuable perspective on our progress through life and support us through transitions which we might otherwise fail to start or finish.

Vocation is an important aspect of wellness. Identifying a creative life purpose and pursuing it, undeterred by setbacks, brings a deep sense of joy and inner peace. School often fails to equip us with a strong sense of purpose and the necessary tools with which to realise a personal calling. Instead, we assess our children using narrow criteria and condemn half of them to “below average”. Those amongst us who harbour secret or unfulfilled vocational aspirations often never get beyond the dream stage. It is vital for society to move away from competitive and judgemental behaviour and emphasise instead the unique, equal and precious potential of every human being.

A Life and Wellness Coach can help us clarify a vocational calling and support the process of transforming our dreams into a waking reality.

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Wellness is a feeling. It is more than freedom from illness, more than health, more than fitness and certainly more than I can adequately describe in words. Fortunately enhancing wellness is easier than trying to describe it. I would like to introduce three key aspects of my personal wellness strategy: food, Nature and Yoga.

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We have a truly intimate relationship with food.

Sourced mainly from biological life, it comprises a huge quantity and variety of molecules which we take inside of ourselves. Then, with the help of a vast army of microorganisms, our bodies transform this molecular soup into new human body parts, energy, storage and waste materials. Despite my obvious familiarity with food, I find the whole concept of eating extraordinary and bizarre!

Food selection is very personal. There are no unbreakable rules but it is important to consider location, season, climate and personal factors such as age, activity and health. Another consideration is the amount of harm that we do to ourselves and others as a result of our food choices. Eliminating harm might be impractical or even impossible but making a conscious effort to minimise it makes good sense and feels right. Dietary changes should be slow and gentle as the microbiome adjusts accordingly. Our amazing bodies give us good feedback on what, when and how much to eat if we choose to listen.

Periods of fasting can bring real clarity and insight and show us just how much we are affected by the molecules that we ingest. In addition to the impact on our physical systems food significantly alters how we think and feel. Eating literally anchors us to life on Earth. Letting go of food for a while loosens that connection and gives us easier access to our otherworldly self. It is wise to start this process by extending our daily fasting pattern. Then longer seasonal fasts becomes easier, safer and more effective.

Our physical bodies are inextricably linked to Nature.

Every “thing” that we have comes from Nature: it is our home, our food and our playground. For many of us, modern lifestyle choices result in a significant disconnect from the flow of Nature. If we become detached from our natural home, food source and playground then our wellbeing will suffer. I am going to propose that we make a deliberate and sustained effort to reconnect deeply with Nature by regularly engaging in the following activities:

• Walking barefoot on natural surfaces
• Full body sunbathing
• Swimming in wild waters
• Breathing fresh air slowly and deeply

I have written in detail about Connecting to Nature activities here.

Taking time to observe and listen to the wondrous workings of Nature is deeply cathartic and educational. It brings us face-to-face with Intelligence. As our personal connection strengthens we become more attuned to the rhythms of Nature. Synchronising our worldly activities and harmonising our inner life with the diurnal, lunar and seasonal cycles of Nature brings robust health, strength and a sense of “coming home”.

Yoga is a repository of thousands of years of secular wisdom.

It offers insights into our inner workings and techniques to help reestablish a personal connection with Intelligence. The physical exercises (asanas) in the Hatha Yoga tradition bring multi-layered benefits. The real gems amongst the asanas have profound effects on our nervous and endocrine systems. They also help to clean and calm our thinking and feeling bodies. Asanas should be introduced slowly and gently according to individual needs and circumstances. The broad brush of a group class is very difficult to deliver to the benefit of all students. For this reason I prefer one-to-one mentoring with a focus on the intuitive evolution of a very personal and private practice. Privacy helps to maintain a special relationship with asana practice, keeping it pure and free from judgemental interactions with others.

Breath development (pranayama) is central to Hatha Yoga. It offers a crucial link between physical and mental (meditative) exercises. Breathing is the most vital of all our life-sustaining actions. It strikes me as deeply significant that this essential autonomous function can also be brought easily under conscious control and much enhanced through deliberate sustained effort. Learning to breathe slowly, smoothly and deeply: consciously observing the motion of air through our intricate breathing apparatus: and deliberately seeking out better quality air. This deliberate approach to breath enhancement has a profound effect on our wellbeing. In addition, certain asanas enhance and accelerate breath development and quicken our passage through a (yawning) veil of boredom into the fascinating world of the present moment. We are all capable of breathing more consciously, harmoniously and synchronously with the events of our inner and outer worlds.

Amongst the asanas, the headstand (sirsasana) and shoulder stand (sarvangasana) are royalty! In Yoga literature they are repeatedly emphasised as the king and queen of all postures. It would seem wise to focus special attention on this inverted royal couple. There are technical challenges to overcome, but the benefits of reversing the gravitational pull on our bodies are significant and making an effort to realise sustained periods of inversion is well rewarded. Using modifications and variations on the full classical asanas everybody can gain access to the extraordinary, mind-altering world of being upside down.

I have written in detail about Inverted Asanas here.

Through the persistent practise of a personalised set of asanas (that includes inversions) coupled with breathing and awareness exercises we can gently enhance our sense of wellness. Life becomes more joyful and synchronous as the silent voice within becomes ever more present and clear.

As we learn to acknowledge and reconnect with our inner Intelligence we gain freedom from the control of any outer authority.

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