Have you ever watched a baby learn to walk? Watch a baby take his/her first steps, he takes a few steps, and falls, gets back up, takes a few more steps, and falls again, and gets back up, this happens time and time again until he/she masters walking. Parents ‘re-inforce’ the belief in their baby that they can do it. Re-inforce is the key here, the baby knows innately he/she can do this.
As the baby takes these steps again and again, he/she is forming new neuronal pathways ‘I can do this, I am doing this, I have got this’. Boom, he/she is walking, unaided, so proud of him/herself as those observing cheer him/her on.
Parents do not do the walking for them, or show them step by step how to walk (left, right, left right etc), parents cheer their child on, they encourage them as and when they start taking those initially 'wobbly' steps. The baby does not question, 'can I do this?' He/she knows he can. The parent observes whilst cheering on their child.
Can you get a baby to walk at 3 months? Can you get a baby to run at 6 months? No. It is a process, it means falling and getting back up, falling and getting back up. The parent does not say, ‘don’t walk, I will walk for you, don’t run, I will run for you’. Where would that leave the baby? Dis-empowered, not believing in themselves and having no agency.
The coaching skills module on this nutrition diploma course is also a process, a two year process. It is like learning to walk, you cannot ‘crash course' coaching in a few months. Walking did not just happen one day, everything that baby has been living, feeling, breathing, processing since coming earth-side has been part of his/her journey to being able to take those steps.
You will learn that coaching clients is similar. Our clients are in the driving seat, they have the steering wheel. For some clients this may be rather scary, as they have not had the chance to be in the driving seat, they may have not been allowed to be in the driving seat. Their early years experience may not have allowed them to believe that they can lead their own life.
As you train at the nutrition school, you will learn that a a key part of a successful health practitioner's role is to not only be a cheer leader for their client but to hold that precious space as the client experiences their own ‘aha’ moments.
The early years
We do not just inherit genes, but we inherit behaviours, we inherit belief systems, we inherit habits. As nutritional therapists we see this all too often, how many were raised eating fast food in front of the TV and in adulthood no one asked ‘how is this serving you?’ Some clients have said ‘wow, no one has ever said it that way’. As a practitioner in nutritional medicine you are not telling your client 'what to do and what not to do', yes there maybe times where you may need to be more directive, but more importantly as a successful practitioner, you bring awareness.
The immune system
When a baby is born, the immune system starts to learn, as soon as the baby is coming through that birth canal, already the priming of the immune system has started. That rich microbiome laden journey through the birth canal, starts to inform the immune system 'you have got this, this is your time’.
As the baby grows and develops, he/she puts all sorts of objects in his/her mouth, such as fingers, toys, food, dirt, the dogs fur, mum’s nipple, grand dad’s skin microbiome, etc All this daily interaction is teaching the immune system to grow and develop with resilience. It is educating the immune system what is safe, what is not so safe. The first seven years of life, we are priming not only our immune system but the nervous system. The amygdala is experiencing our emotions and setting up neuronal pathways and core belief systems during these years.
As a nutritional therapist at the New School you will learn about the impact of the early years environment on the later years. The early years can set one up for a number of physical and mental conditions. These can include, conditions of the mind such as the lack of 'self worth' and dis-eases like Crohn's Disease, Hashimoto's, allergies etc..
The beauty of integrating the coaching with nutrition medicine is that you get to support your clients on a WHOLE person level, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
As teachers at the school we will encourage our student's to ‘walk' in their OWN power. Remember we are birthed with this power, it is ours to own.
To WHOLEness!
From the team at The New School Of Nutritional Medicine
Learn about the Founder & Principal of the New School of Nutritional Medicine, Dr Khush Mark PhD HERE.
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