THE SINGLE NS MOST NS: IMPORTANT PRACTICE TO BECOME A HIGHLY oe) EFFECTIVE LEADER & COACH MENSWISDOMWORK.COM WE :TABLE OF CONTENTS © INTRODUCTION © AUTHENTIC PRESENCE IMPORTANCE OF PRESENCE IN LIFE IMPORTANCE OF PRESENCE IN COACHING THE THREE ELEMENTS ELEMENT ONE: POSTURE ELEMENT TWO: BREATH ELEMENT THREE: FOCUS THE FULL PRACTICE THE BIG SHIFT AWAITING YOU 6®eege@oeee0 @ ABOUT MEN’S WISDOM WORKWe all desire to improve the depth and quality of our relationships, our leadership skills, and our lives. We want to increase the level of fulfillment we feel while making a positive impact in the world. We all seek to suffer less. And, if we are indeed heart-driven coaches, we want those same things for others. Unfortunately, most of us never quite “get there”. We stay in our comfort zones and live our lives clouded in self-doubt and insecurity. Our lack of self-belief blocks us from unlocking our full potential and ‘we never FULLY trust the brilliance, power, and wisdom within us. Asa coach or leader, your energy is contagious. If you're thinking “Who am I to be a coach?” “Am | really smart enough, wise enough, to do this?” “Do | really know what I’m doing?” That lack of trust within yourself leads to a lack of trust between you as a coach, and your clients, family or anyone else you interact with throughout your day-today life. However, when we approach each moment as an opportunity to create more depth, presence and connection, that’s what will be transmitted to and felt by others. So how do you move from a space of self-doubt and uncertainty to a place where you feel truly confident, effective and trustworthy as a coach or leader? Through one crucial practice: The Practice of AUTHENTIC PRESENCE.AUTHENTIC PRESENCE “@ Provides a safe space to express oneself vulnerably. “= Allows you to relax in the 'now' and unveil creative solutions to challenges. *® Lowers stress levels allowing higher cognitive function. *® Invites a deeper space of connection to uncover previously hidden issues. © Provides a judgment-free environment for self-responsibility and accountability. Invites us out of overwhelm and into choice and resiliency. Supports releasing control and allows you access to intuition. e Creates greater compassion and less reactivity. © Cultivates an inner spaciousness to make decisions with clarity.AUTHENTIC PRESENCE, ON THE MOST BASIC LEVEL, MEANS MAINTAINING A SENSITIVE AWARENESS OF YOURSELF WHILE BEING HEARTFULLY PRESENT IN YOUR INTERACTION WITH OTHERS AND WITH EACH MOMENT OF LIFE. ZAT BARAKA © ee tee Whether you're already a men’s coach with a thriving practice or are inspired to become one, taking on the practice of authentic presence will radically impact your mastery as a skillful and inspiring leader that others can trust. The word "presence" is a buzzword in the personal and spiritual growth world. You may have some sense of what it means, but authentic presence is something distinctly different than charisma or charm and more profound than merely having a certain level of attention or engagement. Authentic presence offers a natural depth of awareness that can permeate every aspect of your life, and it can create considerably more ease and fulfill ment on your entrepreneurial journey, in your coaching sessions, and in your personal relationships. THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESENCE IN LIFE Presence is one of the greatest gifts and the biggest challenges for most men. In fact, men are notorious for not being present. Coincidentally, it's also what women say they want most from men, Without a strong and stable presence, men can feel: DISCONNECTED FROM OTHERS & EMOTIONALLY UNAVAILABLE STUCK IN THEIR HEADS INTERNALLY CONFUSED OR VAGUE v v v v LOST IN THEIR LIFEHave you ever noticed that when you're highly present with another person, the depth of the connection between you increases? Whenever you're relating to another being, whether that person is a client, team member, lover, or family member, your state of being can have a significantly positive or negative impact on the quality and depth of the moment. Life is a symbiotic relationship where your "beingness" affects the "beingness" of everyone around you, and your effectiveness as a leader or a coach comes down to your ability to create a safe, trustable, deep connection with others. This kind of connection always begins with how connected you are with yourself, moment by moment, and your capacity for self-connection is rooted in your ability to be radically, authentically present. The theory is simple - the more connected and present you can be with yourself, the more connected and present you will be with others. Executing that theory takes practice, but with this step-by-step guide, you CAN & WILL experience the power and results of authentic presence. Your inner state of presence is highly contagious and permeates every space you're in. As your presence increases, everyone around you will feel it. Over time and by using the practices given here and in our world-leading Men's Coach Training Program, you can become more and more adept in embodying your authentic presence in any situation. Doing so, you'll find within yourself a greater capacity to act and respond effectively, naturally, and confidently to whatever is occurring at the moment, whether it’s a session with a client, a business meeting, or a date.THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESENCE IN COACHING Why is it important to be present as a coach? Imagine you had your own personal development coach that showed up to a session distracted or emotionally caught up in their own drama. How would that affect you as the client? Would you feel safe, inspired, and ready to go deep? Or what if your coach was more focused on solving your problem than supporting you to have your own powerful insights? Being a coach is both rewarding and challenging. To evolve as a leader, we have to keep a watchful eye on our blind spots so that unconscious habits do not drive us. Some common patterns that can pull us out of presence are the need to solve our client's problems, the need to be acknowledged, wanting to look good, trying to please our client, or having an end-goal in mind for our session. All of these things can make it challenging to maintain our authentic presence. COACHING e aoe BEGINS AND ENDS WITH a ee THE COACH DOING THEIR OWN INNER WORK.When you as a coach are deeply rooted in your authentic presence, you become the invitation for your client to do the same. You become an example of what is possible for your client, creating a deeper, more intimate connection in the process that allows your client to access ever-deeper parts of themselves. This experience is especially powerful for men because most of us were conditioned to stay at the surface level of our life, to play it safe and stay in the realm of what's comfortable, expending endless amounts of energy not to appear "weak' or "vulnerable." To have a man hold a deep and authentically present space for another man is one of the most healing things we can do. It allows bullshit facades to drop away, and creates a feeling of real brotherhood that is transcendent of blood. When you are authentically present, there's no need to “have all the answers’, to solve other people's problems, to look good, or to perform. But to really master this it takes the combination of a few key elements. In our 6-month Men's Coach Training, we go deep into even more coaching techniques, awakened leadership skills and deep internal practices to teach you how to become a confident and effective leader. But for now, let's go ahead and dive into some of the key elements of mastering authentic presence below. Be sure to put these into practice because... what you are about to learn might just be the turning point in your coaching journey.THE THREE ELEMENTS The practice of authentic presence can be broken down into three elements: & POSTURE & BREATH & FOCUS Below, you'll find an explanation and an individual practice of each of these three elements on their own and then as one cohesive practice. “YOU ARE FIRM, YET NOT TIGHT, RELAXED YET NOT LOOSE.” LONGCHEMPA, ELEMENT ONE POSTURE The first place to begin is with your body posture. Posture is the starting point for any type of awareness practice, be it meditation or archery. It is essential in your cultivation of presence. This posture you're about to learn can be a consistent point of reference as you move throughout your day. By holding this posture, you signal to yourself and to others that you're present, ready, and connectedPresence Posture 6eoe 6 89888 8 8 8 If sitting, sit in your chair with your weight evenly distributed on both sides of your bottom. If standing, distribute your weight evenly between the sole and heel of your feet, With your feet flat on the floor and about hip-width apart, your knees should be lower than your hips if sitting and slightly bent if standing. Your hips should be slightly tilted forward, allowing you to sit upright with no effort. The body is upright and erect while being relaxed and without rigidity or tension. Straighten your spine and stack your vertebrae. Your lower back should have a very slight arch to it. Lift your head as though a hook were gently lifting you upward to the sky. Your chin should be tucked down and back, almost as if you were making a double chin. Shoulders are back and sliding down the spine. They should be away from the ears, not hunched forward. Eyes are gazing softly if looking forward into another's eyes, or if doing as a solo practice, the eyes can be gazing slightly downward (the eyelids can be half-closed like you see in a picture of the Buddha). Your tongue is relaxed, lightly touching the roof of your mouth behind your front top teeth. Your lips are gently closed. Your teeth are not touching, and your jaw is relaxed. Hands can be placed face down upon the thighs or folded in a pose of equanimity with the right hand resting in the cup of the left hand. If this posture creates discomfort or pain, stretch or shift your position to relieve any tension. When ready, return to the posture.ELEMENT TWO BREATH Orbital breath is a breathing and concentration tool that involves guiding each inhalation down the front of the body and each exhalation up the back of the spine. By circulating our breath in this way, we distribute energy through our meridian system and vitalize our internal organs. It strengthens our nervous system and gives us greater capacity to be in authentic presence both for ourselves and others. “THE QUALITY OF OUR BREATH EXPRESSES OUR INNER FEELINGS.” TKV DESIKACHAR Orbital Breath Practice Come into the sitting or standing Presence Posture. Bring the tip of the tongue to touch the roof of the mouth behind your top teeth, lips closed, and relax your jaw. Start with three gentle inhale and exhale cleansing breaths.The Inhale The focus of the inhale is to visualize the breath moving down the front of your body. 1) Using your awareness, inhale through the nostrils and imagine the breath entering the top front part of your head. Qe Guide the inhalation down the front of your face, down through your mouth, past your tongue, your throat, past the heart and the belly, and down past your genitals to your perineum. © 222226" inhalation, practice having your belly expand! outward. This allows the diaphragm to drop downward, giving more room for the lungs to expand. The Exhale The focus of the exhale is to visualize the breath, moving all the way up the back of your body. @ Exhale and guide the breath from the perineum up past the anus, up past the lower spine. @ Continue guiding the breath all the way up the spine, up past the heart, up past the, around the back of your neck and back of your head. @© ral. see the exhale releasing from the crown of the head, continuing to about Tl feet above your skull. © 48you exhale, your belly should come back inward as you gently expel the air from your lungs. Recap - Guide the inhalation breath down the front of the body and the exhalation breath up the back of the body. You may not feel any sensation at first but keep at it. You'll start to notice more and more sensation as you orbit your breath.ELEMENT THREE FOCUS Energy follows focus. In this element of the practice, you put your energy into remembering to be mindful and aware of your “presence”, cultivating your capacity to stay open and present with what's happening inside of you while also staying aware of your surroundings and the people you're interacting with. If you were only to use the posture and the breath practice, you might have a relaxed presence about you, but it's very easy just to end up stuck in your head. The intention of this is to gracefully interrupt conditioned habits of thoughts, patterns, and behaviors in how you relate and to bring your full, alert awareness to being highly present. “THERE IS NOTHING I WANT BUT YOUR PRESENCE.” RUMIEmbodied Focus Practice In either the sitting or standing posture, begin the Orbital Breath practice. Maintaining full and consistent breathing will increase your level of presence. o 2 6 Notice where you're making contact with the earth (either on the ground or perhaps your chair) Take notice of your entire body and notice any sensations or emotions that are present (achy, tingly, tight, fear, anxiety etc..). Bring your awareness to your Heart, and imagine it as a sensing mechanism A Start to expand your awareness, sensing the space 5-10 feet around you. Now bring your awareness to your lower center, a few inches below your pubic bone. A Feel yourself rooted in this lower center. While maintaining a gentle awareness of both your heart and your lower center, repeat the internal slogan "I AM PRESENT." When doing this with another person: bring a gentle and alert gaze into the eyes of the person in front of you and maintain 50% of your awareness on yourself and 50% on the person.THE FULL PRACTICE Below is the practice with all three elements. It's important to remember that it should be done with an emphasis on maintaining a deep relaxation. This is not about being tight, mechanical, or devoid of emotions, nor is it a practice of transcendence. If you become distracted and lose presence, simply return to the method outlined below over and over to reconnect to your deep, authentic presence. BLENDING THE THREE ELEMENTS NO.1 NO. 2 NO.3 e Embodied Presence Posture: A Bring your body into an erect upright posture with both feet firmly on the ground while remaining totally relaxed © omital Breathing: 4 Take three deep cleansing breaths. 4 Using gentle yet full belly breaths in and out through the nostrils. 4 Inhale as you guide the breath down the front of the body. 4 Exhale as you guide the breath up the back of the body.© Embodied Focus: Bring awareness to your heart & breathe into your heart. Bring awareness to your lower center & breathe into your lower center. Sense outwardly in a 5-10 ft radius around you. Silently internally repeat the slogan "I am present." If with another person, maintain a gentle and alert gaze with them while internally saying, "I am present.” Half of your attention is on them, and half is on yourself. If practicing alone, look into your own eyes in a mirror or simply gaze softly in front of you. >> >» >> > The next time you're in a session with a client, in a meeting or conversing with a lover, run through this practice and experience for yourself the level of authentic presence you're capable of.BIG SHIFTS await you... Authentic Presence is just one of the foundations we teach in our Men's Coach Training — and really, this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to dive deeper into authentic presence and other powerful tools for your own personal development & coaching training, apply for our upcoming program: MEN’S COACH TRAINING 2020 Join a brotherhood of diverse, inspiring men from around the world both online and in-person to practice refining yourself on the mastery path of men's deep inner work coaching.In this comprehensive 6-month training you will: 4 Gain ALL the skills, tools and mentorship you need to become a fiercely confident, highly-skilled men’s coach. 4 Come out of isolation and connect with like-minded men and join a brotherhood for life. A Uncover your true gifts as a coach so that you can follow your mission and purpose through being in service to others. 4 Radically build the confidence needed to launch your professional, thriving, profitable coaching practice or bring your current practice to a higher level of mastery. et eee ee “THIS PROGRAM W. I PICKED UP RI i-Cl IANGING, 10 LU “MY TRAN SITION INTO COACHING. QB sven pustivx Find out more at: https://www.menswisdomwork.com/met.ABOUT US We are diverse origins. storie experiences, but ingular in our intention. We ai here to create a better world through bettering ourselves and each other. oer tee Zat Baraka, Founder of Men's Wisdom Work, is a sought after men's deep inner work coach whose mission is to support men to understand the mature masculine, not as an abstract philosophy, but as an embodied knowledge through living as an authentic, empowered, creative and compassionate man. Allan Isbell is a rising leader and coach in the men’s movement, as well as a mindfulness instructor and speaker that has trained hundreds of individuals around the country. Together, along with a growing number of other trained men, make up Men's Wisdom Work. Find out more at: https://www.menswisdomwork.com/mct All information herein is intended for personal growth and educational purposes only. Please consult with your physician before engaging in any breathing practice. No guarantees or specific results are expressly made or implied inthis Document.