Working in the outdoors with groups
Lesson 1: Inner attitude
In this course you will receive a clear step-by-step plan, which is full of tools and tips, and with which you can design a beautiful nature-based workshop or training. We use metaphors and symbolic imagery, which can not only help bring forth direct insights, but can also anchor what has been learned by each participant.
Our working methods can be very powerful if they are used the right way. Your inner attitude as a trainer plays a crucial role in this. We can provide you with wonderful tools, but the success of your workshop relates directly to the way you guide your participants throughout the day. It is the inner, basic attitude of the coach or trainer that we focus on here at Innersteps. After all, you yourself are the most important tool you can use.
Below are some points for attention to help develop an optimal basic inner posture.
Being mindful
Being mindful is about paying attention to what is there. That means not analysing things, or wishing anything to be different. It means not trying to look for a solution, or having an opinion about what is happening or showing up during the training. Nothing has to be bigger or smaller than what it is. There is no need to encourage or comfort. What there is, is awareness and genuine curiosity: ‘’Ah, that's how it feels .... so this is what you experience / see, or don't want to see.’’
As a trainer, it’s crucial that you develop that open, curious attitude within yourself. To make sure you will not try to save or fix anything, but that you are present with your mind open and an awareness to let things unfold naturally.
Staying in touch with the natural flow of things
It is our vision at Innersteps that humans are connected to nature, a part of it. The enormity of the life force that lives in every organism also resides in us. We tend to views ourselves as separate to nature, but as humans we too are connected to the one source that directs all life. It is this source that makes us breathe, ensures that our hearts beat, and that our cells are renewed. It is that source that determines our ‘’shapes’’ as humans. And the rates in which our bodies grow.
If you want to really get to know yourself, you have to discover how that inner self wants to move. How fast and where to? Instead of thinking about it, try to feel it. Your body is connected to that source, and within it lie all the answers. You will find them by feeling, not in thought.
This applies to individuals as well as groups. Groups in themselves have their own natural way of growing and moving. Ultimately, everything is energy. So, as a trainer, maintain your connection with your antennae as well as your heart centre, and respect the natural rhythm that will unfold. A natural rhythm in you, the other and the group.
Less is more
Life can take care of itself very well, as long as we don’t interfere too much. The less we try to steer things, the more magical things can become.
Therefore, as a trainer, during the day with your group you should strive to steer things as little as possible. After you have completed a careful preparation and ensured a clear structure of the programme (see lesson 2), allow space for nature to do its magic. Embrace silence, and discover how the least interference has the greatest impact. Trust that miracles will just happen if you let them.
What does this mean practically for you as a trainer?
- Develop an open curious attitude, by constantly being genuinely curious to what is occurring within the group or the individual.
- Remain respectful towards everything that is being said and felt, careful not to make the mistake of knowing better or wanting to fix things.
- Meditate regularly and feel the support of the greater knowing.
- Be flexible to what occurs in the moment, whilst keeping sight of the structure and time planning of the programme. That way you offer clarity and safety.
- Try to give the training preferably in the presence of a co-trainer or assistant. This may help you relax more and could offer you valuable feedback.
