Blog

As you become more comprehensive in creating programs for your clients it is essential to have a solid grasp of the two main categories of practices – Focus Practices and Foundation Practices.

Foundation Practices

Foundation Practices build the new foundation for the client’s New Way of Being (NWOB).
I’m going to repeat that with emphasis – Foundation Practices establish a new ground of being for your client – a ground they currently do not have.

As your client slowly steps into a new expression of herself, she needs a new expression of ground to stand on. Earth – which ground is – requires time to be built up. It takes time for sediment to be laid down, and a new style of ground to take shape. The “ground of our being” – the Earth of our lives – is established in the same manner – over time. Foundation Practices are consistent, often short practices that allow a new ground to be laid, new Earth to be established.

Foundation Practices tend to be simpler, often everyday practices that are new for the client (or using a current practice and modified new in some fashion), that keeps bringing the client back to a new level of engagement that will be seen as relating to their NWOB, and support its development.

A common Foundation Practice is asking somebody to sit and meditate for 10min a day. Another is to take a walk every evening. Or dance to one song a day. Do 15 min of yoga. Or daily read five pages of a book. It is important to remember though – that Foundation Practices must link to their AQAL constellation©, providing something that would be beneficial for them in relation to their topic, not just giving them something to do because we think it is a good idea. Meditation is not for everyone, nor is yoga. So choose wisely.

Since Foundation Practices are the slow consistent work of establishing new ground, there often are no reflection questions associated with a Foundation Practice. We definitely want to keep track of how a client is progressing in their Foundation Practice, we can ask this in our sessions, and adjust the practices as necessary. It is in the consistent “doing” of a Foundation Practice that a client gains fuller embodiment of their NWOB, instead of answering questions.

Foundation Practices usually last the length of a program, or a significant amount of time until new sediment is established, and it feels safe and secure for their NWOB to start standing on. The exception, or better to say – the adjunct, to this long-term laying of new ground through Foundation Practice, are one time events that will provide something for the client that also helps establish new ground for him. For example, there might be a movie you want the client to see that will provide the client significant insights for his NWOB. Or perhaps, there is an event or a somatic practitioner, etc that would provide for building their new ground. This could be likened to a large storm or earthquake that shakes up the Earth yet is necessary for new growth to occur. The skillful use of a state experience is great to use in a client’s program. These can be powerful one-time events – IF they are well thought-out, and planned consciously on your part’ meaning in context to their topic, objectives, AQAL constellation©, and for that time period in their program.

Focus Practices

Focus Practices are what we give clients between sessions – they focus on building a specific capability (muscle) within a Developmental Objective. These are the specific stretch, stress, and test areas that you want the client to work within.
The best way to determine what to focus on is ask yourself – “What capacity (muscle) do I want this client to focus on building for these next two weeks?”

That is your mantra in developing Focus Practices.
- What capacity do I want this client to develop over the next two weeks?
- What capacity do I want this client to develop over the next two weeks?
- What capacity do I want this client to develop over the next two weeks?
This is what you want to ask yourself before your session and during your session with your client.

Focus Practices have to provide a link to a Current Way of Being (CWOB) tendency which then, in the moment, the client makes a choice to practice a NWOB muscle. We use the See, Go, Check of both the CWOB and NWOB to help determine what and where the move will be. Your thinking should be something like, “oh, when they do XYZ of CWOB, instead I want them to do ABC of NWOB”

We also want to be as clear and directional as we can in this as it allows them to feel supported in the container of development. This is where we define 2 times a day, or 3 times a day do this, or “whenever you go to the photocopier do this…”, or “twice a day when you see your wife do this…” This sets a solid container for practice.
Instead of saying, “to build your biceps lift dumbells all da”y, we say, “at 6am and at 6pm lift the dumbells 10 times”
This makes it much more clear, concise, and easier for a client to engage in and choose the NEW way of being.

Remember, we have to link the NEW action/insight/etc to a tendency of the CWOB known to us through the thorough assessment you’ve made of your client (AQAL). We use the items we identified in our assessment to determine what we want them to build.

For example, we might have assessed these aspects of a clients AQAL
UL – to have a better vision of myself while in relation to another; somatic – to be able to feel what energy I have when in front of a group of people; etc

In a creative means we design a Focus Practice that helps them to keep trying something new. To do this we also leverage aspects of their AQAL that we have seen would work for their topic.
EG: I’m going to get somebody to use their strong UR doing tendencies to “step into” a LL group twice a day when they usually go blank in their minds.

Just ask yourself
instead of them doing XYZ of CWOB (known to us in the See, Go, Check of CWOB), I want them to try doing ABC of NWOB (known to us as See, Go, Check of NWOB, which is directly linked to the AQAL aspects we want them to develop in order to be successful in their topic).

The important key is “the choice” - the client has to be given a means to make a choice towards the NWOB move whenever they notice that CWOB tendency arising again. If possible we can practice this choice with our client in a session so he can feel the awkwardness of the new move in action. Then, in his day-to-day life, he will see the CWOB tendency (an aspect of his See, Go, Check), and be given the opportunity to make a new choice – that of his NWOB.

Initially, and probably, this choice won’t be simple, since his CWOB tendency will be in place. Yet, over the course of the practice period, if you wrote a clear practice in which he can SEE that CWOB tendency, then he will want to make that NWOB move, and start choosing to do so.

Observations are designed to help them see into the actuality of what they are doing more succinctly. You want the client to notice something about their CWOB or NWOB that they don’t know yet, which will help that subject to object distinction. There is often two observations created for a Focus Practice.

Now – reflection questions.
Solid reminder – Reflection questions are not for data collection. Reflection questions are not designed to analyze they are used to illuminate.
On strictly a practical level, people will quickly lose interest in simply writing down just observations. There is a feeling of “wasting my time”. As well, and more importantly for profound coaching, nor is that useful to helping create traction from their CWOB into their NWOB. Questions need to provide torque into their NWOB, away from their CWOB, creating a more solid subject to object split, as well as enhancing the muscle building. This doesn’t all have to happen in one question, but consider how a question can be shaped to do so.

I look at the specific muscles I want to develop in the practice, as well as the Developmental Objective it is linked to and write questions that point to those, and also through aspects of their AQAL that I want them to develop more. This is where your questions can become exquisite instruments of deepening if they are precise, caring, and inspiring. A good question allows the client to drop deeper into the meaning and potential of what they had experienced in the actual practice.
So please do take your time with the questions. They don’t have to be huge and all encompassing,instead, Look AS this person, and ask yourself: what question do they need to answer to really see their CWOB more and/or build their NWOB more?

How many reflection questions to give is kind of a minor science. Not too many that the client won’t be engaged, and not too few that the client won’t gain from the practice. Each client also has a varied amount of time in their life. My suggestion is to pick a standard format for yourself to get used to and become good at. Then, you can adapt to each client’s needs, yet don’t cater to them – for more or less – questions. You have been hired to move the client into success of their topic, this does require work. The more skillful and connected your questions are to the program, its nuances, and what the client experienced in the Focus Practice itself, the more enticing the questions become, and the client will be curious about answering them. This is where a great coach flourishes.

I think that is plenty to work with for now.
Enjoy creating your practices.