Coaching World Issue 19: Science of Coaching | Page 17

The art and science of
coaching combined with
kinesthetic motion in a
natural environment creates
a powerful blend to facilitate
transformational change.
Walking and talking coaching
sessions range from a
reflective meander along a
nearby river or local urban
adventure of exploration to
a focused, brisk march to
reach a desired destination,
the challenge to summit an
iconic peak or an expedition
overseas to discover
unknown territory. Each
occasion offers the chance to
escape beyond our habitual
office space and disrupt
daily routines to create a
bespoke coaching experience
with a wealth of relational
metaphors and c onnections
that can be unpacked.

The pace of life in our frenzied
21st-century existence continues
to escalate through the real or
perceived demands of work,
technology, finances, social
obligations, politics, environmental
considerations … the list continues.
Each individual component
commands our time and energy as
the divide between work and life
becomes increasingly blurred.
These work commitments and social
interactions are predominantly
sedentary, with daunting statistics
repeatedly quoted by the global
media to highlight our endemic
“sitting disease” and obesogenic
environment. In Western society, the
daily average time spent sitting down
is eight to 10 hours, and the figures
continue to trend upward. Yet, from
an evolutionary perspective, the
human species is designed to walk
up to 12 miles per day.
The action of stepping back into
nature reconnects with our genetic
physiological predisposition as
hunter-gatherers and creates
biochemical changes within the
body: More blood and oxygen
circulate to the brain, new
connections are formed between
brain cells, and the hippocampus
(the center for emotion, memory
and autonomic nervous system
volume) increases. In a nutshell,
walking and talking in the great
outdoors support our innate
neurological, biological and genetic
physiological factors to improve
cognitive function.

Walking Works
Wonders
The myriad of benefits from walking
and talking supports a holistic

THE CHALLENGES
OF WORK, THE
DISTRACTIONS
OF A TIMECONSUMING HOBBY
AND THE FRAGILE
N A T U R E O F F A M I LY
R E L AT I O N S H I P S I N
AN ENVIRONMENT
UNTOUCHED BY
THE TRAPPINGS
OF MODERN LIFE
ENABLED ME
TO ORDER MY
THOUGHTS.”
— S O P H I E , P R O J E C T M A NA G E R

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CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE >

“ TAL K I N G T H R O U G H

Coaching World

Experiential coaching while walking
outdoors has repeatedly provided
evidence of benefits including
improved creativity, increased
productivity, stress reduction,
mental clarity and appreciation
of different perspectives. These
benefits are all succinctly captured
through the words of German
philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “All
truly great thoughts are conceived
by walking.” The walking and talking
coaching niche emerged initially
from personal experience spending
time outdoors with family and
friends, then developed during
military and expedition work and has
subsequently been refined alongside
professional coaching development.

Take a Step Back
to Basics