In a brief but meaningful moment of spoken reflection, one of our Newfield program coaches shared:
“Coaching is this deep sacred space that we share with another human being… an ongoing sharing in their life, in their story.”
This insight touches the heart of how Newfield approaches coach training programs as a holistic, relational, and sacred journey. In this context, sacred means that our experiences are saturated with a sense of deep meaning and purpose. To support this, our coach training emphasizes structured frameworks held with deep presence, creating the conditions for genuine transformation.
Coaching as Structure & Flow
Coaching is a discipline grounded in the interplay between structure and flow. On the one hand, we need to learn the foundation for how people transform their lives. There is a structure and methodology to this that we have continued to refine for over thirty years. At the same time, powerful coaching conversations require emergence, fluidity, and improvisation. Said another way, coaching is both science and art.
Within our coaching approach, coaches-in-training are introduced to frameworks that provide clarity and direction, while teaching practices that cultivate presence and the ‘magic’ within high-quality coaching. Structure becomes the vessel, and cultivated presence and attunement, the life within it.
The Role of Coach Training in Cultivating Sacred Space
To prepare coaches who can hold this kind of space, our ICF-accredited coach training program goes beyond technical competence. It integrates somatic intelligence, emotional awareness, and a deep dive into how we make meaning. We train for depth, humility, efficacy, and deep listening.
We invite coaches-in-training to:
- Learn and apply structured coaching models aligned with ICF core competencies
- Develop somatic awareness through body-based practices
- Cultivate emotional resonance through reflective dialogue
- Deepen listening capacities that evoke life-changing insights for our clients.
These capacities enable participants to coach with alignment between method and presence.
Why Emotional Intelligence Is Core to Coach Formation
Our program includes a deep dive into emotional literacy that supports both self-awareness and a deep understanding of our clients.
Participants learn to:
- Recognize and regulate their emotional states
- Track emotional undercurrents in the coaching relationship
- Create containers for vulnerable and authentic expression
Rather than bypassing emotion for insight, we teach coaches to be with emotion as a site of transformation. Emotions become a doorway into understanding who we are and accessing wholeness. Honoring them is essential.
Somatic Coaching: Presence Through the Body
The sacred space of coaching is not just linguistic and cognitive. It is also somatic. That’s why somatic learning is an integral part of our curriculum.
Trainees learn to:
- Ground in the body before and during sessions
- Notice shifts in posture, breath, and tone of our clients and utilize that to provoke meaningful insight.
- Bring embodied awareness into conversation with the client as a means to develop trust, safety, and presence.
Somatic practice reconnects the coach and client to an inner resource often neglected in fast-paced, idea-driven cultures. This reconnection is both healing, informative, and transformative.
Certification as Entry, Embodiment as Mastery
Many seek out our program, wondering how to become a certified coach. The answer is twofold: certification is the beginning. Embodiment of the learning is the journey.
Our 9-month program, Coaching for Personal and Professional Mastery, is designed not only to meet ICF Level 2 standards, but to guide participants into lasting transformation utilizing our powerful methodology that has been developed and refined over many decades. Through presentations, mentor coaching, feedback, exercises, and collective learning, participants build real capacity for integrated coaching.
Credentialing matters, but what is most important is the type of learning you receive at Newfield, one in which your whole self transforms into someone who can facilitate unforgettable, transformative conversations.
We offer this reflection as an invitation. If you are seeking to become a coach who can hold sacred, transformative space, we invite you to explore Newfield’s programs.
