Coaching
Coaching and Your Health
A healthy ecosystem is resilient and maintains its integrity under pressure. In our daily lives we are subjected to what Traditional Chinese Medicine considers external insults like viruses and environmental toxins, and internal insults like organ imbalances and dysfunctions. But it’s a third category, aptly named non-internal/nonexternal, where I see the major disharmonies in my patients. This category includes things like emotions, diet, and lifestyle and leads to issues like anxiety, depression, poor sleep, and weight gain. Coaching cuts to the chase by addressing your greatest pain points, transforming them from deficits to areas of success. This leads to greater personal success, sense of purpose, and overall vitality.
Why I Coach
I have discovered that a good deal of ‘what I do’ in my practice relates to the discussions I have with my clients during their sessions. I noticed that conversations organically transitioned from chief complaints to much more complex issues related to work-life balance, personal relationships, aspirations, and life transitions. In addition, many of my clients continued to come see me long after their initial complaints were resolved. I wondered; “how could my clients get the service they want if they didn’t need acupuncture or herbs?” So, I decided to start coaching.
I coach because I really enjoy it. I love listening to and understanding my clients and love being a part of my patients’ growth and development and nothing gives me greater satisfaction than assisting in that way. Acupuncture and herbs are excellent tools for restoring and maintaining balance, but they are just one part of the process. Good nutrition, exercise, mental and emotional health, and a sense of purpose are all key drivers of health. It’s for this reason I’ve added coaching to my practice. Coaching allows me access to all these levers, creating transformative and lasting benefits for my clients.
Benefits of Coaching
Most people think that coaching is about getting advice, but that’s not case. What really matters is getting insight and clarity on a situation so that you can take right action. What’s important to you? What are you willing to do (or give up) to get the result you want? I help my clients identify where they need to go and what they need to do to get there. The doing is the easy part. The real work is in deciding what you want. We don’t always know exactly know the route, but if we’re committed to a particular direction, we can get there. This requires an existential act of faith on both the client’s part and the coach’s part. Everything starts with a concept (thought), and then it becomes organic and real (substantive). From theoretical to real. This is the process that leads to tangible results.
What is Coaching?
Every aspect of your life informs your health so it’s important to have insight into areas of potential growth. A good coach can help you first identify, and then improve those areas which need the most support. Coaching is a collaborative process and is full of trial and error. All this leads to achieving the client’s goals.
People ask me what’s the difference between a therapist and a coach. One answer is this: therapists are all schooled in the same body of knowledge and then develop their own style and instincts and use that in service of their patients’ well-being. A coach comes from a body of experience. It doesn’t mean that they don’t develop a body of knowledge over time. It’s that’s their life experience informs how they direct, lead, and assist in another person’s development.
A good coach is a active partner in every aspect and what you want to achieve, assisting you in identifying those areas that need most support and delivering insights and strategies that you would not have thought of.
I like the algorithm of 1+1=100. In that way, our work together creates exponential results.
An effective coach provides feedback, insight, and serves as a mirror for the individual being coached. Finally, a good coach comes from a place of integrity, asking of their clients only that which ask of themselves.
Pricing
Coaching |Sliding scale $200-$300/hr
About Ted Ray
For over twenty, years Ted Ray has been helping his clients maximize their good health through a combination of advocacy, insight, intuition, and by using additional tools like acupuncture, herbal medicine, and nutritional advice. No two people are the same, but all people need guidance from time to time. Ted works with his clients to address short term concerns and can help create a path to long-term wellness.