Have you ever wondered what mindfulness coaching is? Is it the same as therapy? Is it life coaching? Do you sit in meditation the whole time? Who does it benefit?
Mindfulness coaching is still fairly new and defined in many different ways.
I’ve put together this comprehensive guide to tell you (just about) everything you need to know about mindfulness coaching. My goal is to give you the clarity you need to decide whether mindfulness coaching is what you need right now.
Here’s what we’re going to cover:
Table of Contents
What is Mindfulness?
Let’s start with what mindfulness is before getting into the coaching part. Mindfulness is the practice of intentionally bringing and maintaining your awareness in the present moment. It’s about paying attention – on purpose – to what’s happening within you, and around you, in a curious and non-judgemental way.
While present-moment awareness is at the heart of mindfulness, there are many other key principles, such as:
- Mind-body connection – how emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations interact.
- Self-compassion – meeting yourself with kindness rather than self-criticism.
- Non-attachment – recognizing thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations without becoming overly identified with them.
- Emotional regulation – learning to respond rather than react.
- Self-awareness – recognizing patterns in your thoughts and behaviours.
- Gratitude – cultivating appreciation for what’s present.
What is Mindfulness Coaching?
Coaching is a series of focused, thought-provoking conversations that help you work through challenges, figure out what’s keeping you stuck, and find a way forward that feels right for you. With mindfulness woven into this process, you start to understand yourself and your situation more clearly, and start relating to what’s happening with more clarity and steadiness.
Mindfulness coaching can certainly help you start and stick to a mindfulness routine, and get a better grasp of what mindfulness really is. But its true power lies in helping you bring mindfulness into the flow of your everyday life, helping you stay connected to what matters most.
What Can Mindfulness Coaching Help Me With?
Here are some of the key areas where mindfulness coaching can support you:
- Coping with stress and overwhelm:
- Recognize how stress shows up in your body & your behaviours.
- Learn and incorporate tools to help you manage stress in the moment.
- Build a sense of internal calm, even when life feels chaotic.
- Navigating your emotions:
- Experience your emotions without getting overwhelmed by them.
- Understand the triggers behind your emotional reactions.
- Gain more control over how you respond, especially when tired, stressed, or in a heated moment.
- Enhancing your relationships:
- Be present for your loved ones at the end of the day when you’re exhausted.
- Listen without jumping to giving advice or passing judgement.
- Recognize when you’re falling into habits that aren’t serving your relationships
- Managing conflict:
- Cultivate patience during difficult conversations.
- Notice what triggers you in the moment during an argument or difficult conversation.
- Show empathy for the other person, and be able to see their point of view.
- Living more in the present:
- Stay grounded in the present while working towards bigger life goals.
- Feel more connected to your daily moments instead of going through the motions.
- Be in the moment for the little moments of your day.
- Building and maintaining a mindfulness practice:
- Develop a sustainable mindfulness routine that fits your lifestyle.
- Discover the power of even a few minutes of daily mindfulness.
- Understand your personal intention behind living mindfully.
- Work-life balance:
- Learn to prioritize self-care without guilt.
- Set boundaries with confidence.
- Create space for rest without feeling unproductive.
- Showing yourself kindness and acceptance:
- Cultivate self-compassion, treating yourself with kindness, especially in times of failure or struggle.
- Living with meaning and intention in your everyday:
- Get clear on your values and consciously align your actions with what truly matters to you.
- Be intentional with your time and energy.
- Deepening awareness and trust of your body:
- Learn to tune in, listen to your body’s signals, and take appropriate action.
Who is Mindfulness Coaching for?
Mindfulness Coaching is for people who want to live with more awareness, presence, and intention. Especially when life gets messy, uncertain, or out of sync.
Maybe you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected from what matters most to you. You might be navigating a transition, facing a personal or professional challenge, or simply longing to feel more grounded in your daily life.
Whether you’re hoping to move through a conflict with care, live more presently, or manage stress or anxiety more effectively, mindfulness coaching offers a supportive space to slow down, reflect, and experiment with practical strategies that make sense for you.
This kind of coaching is best suited for people who are curious, open to reflection, and ready to take small, meaningful steps forward.
What Happens in a Mindfulness Coaching Session?
Mindfulness coaching sessions are shaped by you – by what’s on your mind, and what you’re ready to explore.
We begin by slowing down – often with a simple mindfulness practice to help you arrive fully. Then we dive into what’s top of mind for you.
As your coach, I ask you thoughtful questions, offer observations, and help you stay connected to your experience in the moment. That might mean helping you notice emotions or physical sensations as they arise, or pausing to sense what feels true before rushing into action.
There’s space for you to offload, to reflect, to get curious. We explore what’s getting in the way and what might help you move forward with intention. Between sessions, you might experiment with small, mindful shifts in your daily life – practical ways to integrate what you’re discovering.
Coaching is dynamic, and shaped by you and your needs.
While you’re setting the direction, there’s no pressure to perform or have it all figured out at once. I’m here supporting you the entire way. I’ll help you stay present, curious, and connected to what matters as we navigate it together.
How Often Does Mindfulness Coaching Take Place? How Long is a Session?
Generally, coaching takes place from weekly to biweekly to monthly. You’ll need time to reflect and apply what you’ve explored between sessions. When we give it too little time – and again, this is very individualized – we may feel rushed and frustrated. When we give it too much time, we may fall off track. Some people also want more support, while others want less.
Ultimately, this is something you work out with your coach, depending on:
- The nature of your goals
- The amount of time you’re able to commit to your action items and coaching itself
- The level of support you’re most comfortable with.
It’s also not fixed – it can be adjusted as you go.
My coaching sessions are usually 60 minutes long. Sometimes they can be shorter at 45 minutes, or longer at 75 minutes.
How Much Does Mindfulness Coaching Cost? Is it Covered by Health Benefits or Insurance?
You will likely encounter a lot of variability here.
I charge CAD$170 for 1 hour of coaching. I offer packages of 3 and 6 that cut the cost of each session down. I’ve heard of sessions being as low as $20/session and as high as in the thousands of dollars.
In Canada, coaching generally isn’t covered by health benefits or insurance coverage as it’s an unregulated profession. When I use coaching within my physiotherapy practice, individual sessions can be reimbursed as physiotherapy under extended health plans.
You may be able to access the workplace wellness part of your employee insurance plan to supplement the cost of coaching. This can go by different names and include a variety of services. It’s best to contact your insurance provider for confirmation.
How to Get Started with Mindfulness Coaching
One of the easiest ways to get started with mindfulness coaching is to schedule a free consult first. It’s a low stakes way to meet the coach, ask questions, and get a feel for what working together might be like.
If you’re not yet ready for a free consult, join their email list. It’s a great way to get a sense of what they’re about. You’ll see how they approach mindfulness, what they value, and likely learn something from them, too. Many coaches, myself included, offer a free resource or mini-series when you sign up. My 5 Days of Mindfulness series is a great place to try a few practices with me and get to know my style.
You can also check out a coach’s blog, instagram, youtube, or other social media channels. These are also great ways to get a feel for their tone, perspective, and whether their approach resonates with you.
A coach you’re interested in working with may also have free guided meditations that you can access, whether on their website, or on an app such as Insight Timer.
How Do I Know Mindfulness Coaching is Working for Me?
At the start of your coaching journey, you’ll likely be invited to reflect on where you’re currently at, and where you’d like to be by the end of the process, including what that might look or feel like.
This might be done independently through online forms and/or through conversations during your sessions. Some coaches might also use tools or questionnaires, such as a coaching wheel or the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, to create a visual or numerical reference point.
Every coach has a different approach but part of our job is to meet you where you’re at, including how you would prefer to track your growth. What’s key is having clarity around your starting point, so you have something to refer back to as you move forward.
That said, progress doesn’t always show up in obvious or measurable ways. Maybe your initial goal was to navigate stress with more ease. In this case – and many cases – it’s how you feel – rather than a number or checklist – that offers the clearest sign that something has shifted.
A question that can be helpful to reflect on in these situations is: What feels different now compared to when we started?
Common Misconceptions About Mindfulness Coaching
- Misconception: Mindfulness coaching is just about creating a mindfulness or meditation routine.
Building a mindfulness practice can be part of mindfulness coaching but it’s not the whole picture. People often come to mindfulness coaching because something in their life feels off: they might be stuck in a pattern, navigating a tricky transition, feeling disconnected from themselves, or struggling with something like managing stress or regulating their emotions. Mindfulness coaching offers a space to explore these challenges with greater awareness and curiosity.
- Misconception: You have to be experienced in mindfulness or meditation to start mindfulness coaching.
Since mindfulness coaching often goes beyond building a mindfulness practice, there’s no expectation that you come in knowing how to meditate or that you have a mindfulness routine in place. Or even that you want to bring meditation into your life.
What matters most is that you’re open to exploring your situation with curiosity, which is really the heart of mindfulness. Mindfulness can then be brought into your life in informal (i.e., day to day moments) rather than formal (i.e., meditations) ways to support the changes you’re looking to make.
At the same time, coaching can still be of benefit if you’re experienced in mindfulness and meditation. A coach can help you see things from perspectives you haven’t considered, point out blind spots that have been overlooked, and support you in navigating decisions that feel unclear.
- Misconception: Mindfulness Coaching is only useful if you’re anxious, overwhelmed, or lost.
While mindfulness coaching can absolutely support you through stress, uncertainty, or big life transitions, it’s just as valuable when things are going relatively well.
Many people come to coaching because they want to feel more present in their lives, more connected to themselves, or more aligned with what matters most to them.
Mindfulness coaching helps you show up in your life more fully – in the things you do, the choices you make, and the way you relate to yourself and others.
- Misconception: Mindfulness coaching is the same as therapy or counselling.
Mindfulness coaching is different from therapy or counselling. Therapy often focuses on healing from past experiences and working through mental health challenges. It can help you to understand how past events shape your current thoughts and behaviours, and supports you in processing them.
Mindfulness coaching, on the other hand, focuses on the present and the future. It helps you increase your awareness of what’s happening right now and where you want to get to. It’s action-oriented and provides accountability as you move toward the life you want.
People come to mindfulness coaching because they want to stop getting caught in the same unhelpful reactions, manage stress without feeling overwhelmed, communicate more clearly with others, or simply find more calm and focus in their everyday lives.
- Misconception: Mindfulness Coaching is only for “spiritual” people.
Mindfulness coaching is a practical approach anyone can use to become more aware and present in their everyday life, no matter what you believe in or where you’re coming from.
The mindfulness in mindfulness coaching, at least in the way I offer it, is not tied to any religion or spiritual tradition. There’s no forcing of mindfulness into your life, but rather using its principles to explore your situation with curiosity, see things more clearly, and move forward in a way that feels intentional to you.
It’s centered on you and directed by you, rooted in what feels relevant, useful, and doable to you.
Should Mindfulness Coaching be Done Online or In-person?
Mindfulness Coaching can be done online or in-person – it all comes down to what works best for you.
Online coaching offers you the convenience of being coached from the comfort of your home, office, or even while traveling. With no traffic or weather to contend with, it can save you time and energy for what really matters to you.
Some people love the ease of attending sessions from home while others, for reasons of privacy, focus or otherwise, prefer in-person appointments. The key is to figure out what feels best for you so you can find a coach who aligns with your needs.
I offer online mindfulness coaching because it allows me to show up fully for my clients. The flexibility of online coaching gives me the time and space to prioritize my own well-being – through exercise, time outdoors, and my personal mindfulness routine. This ultimately enables me to support my clients with greater energy and presence.
Online mindfulness coaching also aligns with my living situation, giving me the space and privacy for a focused and supportive environment. This choice is intentional, and I find that virtual coaching provides a grounded and effective way to do meaningful work.
My Approach to Mindfulness Coaching
Coaches come from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels. I think it’s important to know these things about a coach so you can best choose who you want to work with as coaching is a pretty personal experience.
- Grounded in Healthcare
My background as a physiotherapist has given me years of experience helping people one on one with navigating their health. I’ve been trusted with their stories, struggles, and hopes. I’ve learned how to listen closely, hold space, and meet people with compassion and respect. This is the foundation for how I show up as a mindfulness coach.
- A Focus on Long-Term Change
After years working in fast-paced clinical settings, I craved a different way of supporting people – one that wasn’t rushed, surface-level, or reactive.
I wanted to slow down. To build real connections. To treat each person as the expert in their own life, and work collaboratively on meaningful, long-term change. My coaching practice is rooted in that shift. I create a space for you to be heard, seen, and supported in a way that feels human.
- With a Mindfulness Lens
I won’t teach ‘at you’ about mindfulness. I’ll share tools, practices, and insights when it feels relevant and appropriate. But more importantly, we’ll take what you’re navigating – whether it’s stress, reactivity, uncertainty, or feeling stuck – and explore it through a mindfulness lens. That might mean doing a short practice, or simply slowing down, getting curious, and noticing what’s here, without rushing to fix it.
- I’ve Been There Too
I know what it’s like to feel overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected from what matters. When I first started offering mindfulness to clients, I was hoping that by bringing it to them, I’d help them more holistically, and in turn, feel less anxious and more satisfied with my work.
It wasn’t until I began using those same practices and principles in my own life that I truly experienced their impact. That shift changed my well-being – professionally and personally. It’s a big part of why I’m here now, holding this space for others.
- Come as You are
This is a space where you don’t need to have it all figured out or even know exactly what you want.
Many people I work with have never experienced coaching before. I get that it can feel unfamiliar – even uncomfortable – to show up for yourself in this way. But showing up is really the biggest step. I’ll meet you where you’re at and we’ll work together to make sense of what’s real for you.
How is Mindfulness Coaching Different from Life Coaching?
Mindfulness Coaching and Life Coaching both involve coaching, of course, where you’re supported in setting an action plan that moves you towards your self-determined goals. The difference is in the focus of each one and the use of mindfulness to assist the process.
Technically, a certified life coach – one who is accredited by a reputable agency (such as the International Coaching Federation) – is trained to coach you in any area of your life, including bringing mindfulness into your daily routine.
Working with a mindfulness coach offers the advantage of working with someone who is specifically trained in mindfulness – someone who understands mindfulness at a deep level and can facilitate your mindfulness goals, whether that’s integrating it into your daily life, or applying its principles to a challenge you’re facing.
A mindfulness coach can seamlessly incorporate mindfulness practices into your sessions, break down mindfulness principles with you, and support you with bringing them into your life in a way that is true to you. A life coach, even if they’re skilled in coaching, will likely not have this depth of mindfulness knowledge or experience to bring to your sessions.
Remember, helping you start and stick to a mindfulness routine is just one thing that a mindfulness coach can support you with. They can also help you with:
- Developing greater self-awareness and emotional regulation
- Applying mindfulness to decision-making and stress management
- Cultivating a deeper sense of presence and connection in your relationships.
How is a Mindfulness Coach Different from a Meditation Coach or Teacher?
Much like meditation and mindfulness are distinct concepts but with overlap, a mindfulness coach and a meditation coach serve different roles, yet with some overlap.
For more on how mindfulness and meditation aren’t the same thing, check out this blog post.
A mindfulness coach helps you work through what feels challenging, unclear, or off in your life, using mindfulness as a foundation. You might be feeling overwhelmed or disconnected, dealing with difficult emotions, or wanting to live with more presence and intention in your day to day life. They help you slow down, become more aware of what you’re experiencing, and get clear on what matters most to you.
From there, they help you figure out what small steps feel aligned and realistic. Mindfulness might show up in the coaching session itself or in your life outside the sessions. This might be in the form of a mindfulness practice, or in how you approach things, respond, and make decisions.
For example, in my work as a mindfulness coach, I might guide someone through a short mindfulness practice, or meditation, in a coaching session. Afterwards, we’ll talk about what they noticed and how that might connect to what they’re currently working through. It might reveal something about how they handle stress or highlight a tendency to push past their limits, for example. This awareness can clarify what’s been getting in the way and help them take intentional steps to move forward.
Sometimes, a client chooses to bring a specific practice into their life, like taking a few mindful breaths before a tough conversation, or noticing how stress shows up in their body during the workday. If it feels helpful, we’ll talk through what that might look like in real life.
The role of a meditation coach is to support you in building a regular meditation practice. They might help you with:
- choosing the type of meditation that suits you,
- troubleshooting what’s coming up during your meditations, or
- refining your breath or posture.
Meditation coaches often have a background in specific traditions or approaches and focus on helping you build consistency.
Both types of coaches are valuable. Which type of coach you choose to work with depends on whether you want to specifically deepen a meditation practice or explore what’s showing up in your life with more awareness and intention.
What Do I Look For in a Mindfulness Coach?
Some things to consider when looking for a coach:
- Formal training alone doesn’t guarantee a great coach. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how much training matters to you and what your personal standards are.
- A good coach knows their limits, works within their scope, and will refer you to other professionals when necessary.
- Look for someone with training in the specific area you need, e.g., mindfulness, and experience in relevant fields that informs their approach.
- Their background should demonstrate they know how to support clients safely and respectfully in one-on-one settings.
- And perhaps most importantly, the connection between you and your coach matters – a strong connection is key to meaningful coaching.
Mindfulness Apps versus Mindfulness Coaches
Mindfulness apps are great for giving us a lot of practices to choose from, including ones of different types, lengths, level of guidance, teachers, and so on. They can help us figure out what we like and take the work out of guiding ourselves. (They’re not unlike going to an exercise class or playing an exercise video and being told what to do). They can also help us build a habit through push reminders and tracking of streaks.
Whether that’s enough for us depends on what happens off the cushion or mat.
Are we actually living what we’ve practiced in our day-to-day moments? Or are we leaving it on the mat? Do we even care?
If we’re leaving it on the mat and it matters to us that it’s not translating, this is where a mindfulness coach can help:
- They can guide us to uncover why we’re practicing in the first place.
- They can help us apply what we’re practicing in a way that’s relevant to our lives right now.
- They can ask us the questions we’re not asking ourselves, reflect back what they’re noticing, and challenge us to grow.
Sometimes when we’re feeling stuck or disconnected, a guided practice can make something click. That can be enough to inspire us to take action, getting us moving and feeling reconnected again.
But if the inspiration is there but we’re still in the same place – whether that’s because we’re not sure what action to take or we’re struggling to follow through – this is another example of when working with a coach can help.
There’s also the reality that we won’t always have access to an app in the moments when we really need it. (Just like we can’t always make it to an exercise class or play a workout video.) Maybe we can draw on those guided experiences in the moment, but maybe we can’t.
A coach can help us build the capacity to access what the app helps us access – steadiness, presence, compassion – but from within. So we’re relying on ourselves, not an external tool.
So in summary, maybe an app is enough.
But if it’s not, a coach can help bridge the gap between practice and daily life.
Why Should I Work with a Human Coach over AI?
To be fair, I haven’t tried coaching with an AI-generated coach. I’ve heard mixed opinions on AI coaching. My opinion comes mostly from the fact that AI isn’t human and nothing can replace certain things that a human offers in a coaching relationship (relationship being a key thing here).
An AI coach can offer prompts, reflections, mindfulness scripts, and even coaching-style questions.
A mindfulness coach brings presence that AI simply can’t replicate. AI can’t pick up on tone, expressions, body language or any other subtle shifts that happen in real-time when two people are present together. All of which can reveal how a situation is truly impacting you, even when your words suggest otherwise.
Coaching also has an intuitive element. A skilled coach draws on their inner experience to read what their client is experiencing or what they might not be saying. AI coaches don’t have a nervous system, they can’t feel what you’re feeling, or read beyond your words.
While AI can simulate care, it can’t offer the level of depth and trust that comes from being supported by another human being.
Coaching is about being guided to discover your own insights, and not about being told what to do. Because when a solution comes from within, it sticks. AI can generate endless options, but without the inner clarity and commitment that comes from doing the work yourself, they rarely lead to lasting change.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but AI’s default is to be agreeable, and coaching isn’t about agreeing with everything you say. It’s about helping you get curious about your blind spots, gently challenging you, and thereby creating space for real growth.
Where Can I Learn More About Mindfulness Coaching?
Have a question about Mindfulness Coaching that wasn't answered here?
Contact me with your question and I’d be happy to help!