Coaching with the Brain in Mind

CHAPTER 4

Bedrock—Health Practices

Recently, one of us (Linda) was speaking about brain development to a gathering of coaches. In referring to age-related effects, she said, “For those of us who are getting older, we are concerned about possible cognitive decline.” She meant to make the point that there are certain practices, such as mindfulness, that could delay loss of cognitive function. However, someone in the audience paid attention to something different. “Is there anyone here,” he asked, “who is not getting older?”

The audience member’s point is well taken. It may be possible to ignore aging when we are young and even to fervently hope for it when we are very young, but we are all getting older. Our physical system may display large effects that accumulate over time from seemingly small inputs, such as poor nutrition or repetitive stress. Disease and accidents also trigger the question: What can we do to improve health and functioning? Over the centuries, various health practitioners have attempted to answer this question.

This bedrock chapter focuses on applications of research and theory in medicine and other health practices. Health is a resource that we often take for granted until we no longer have it. Today more attention is being paid to connections between mental and physical health, between mind and body, and between caring for ourselves and caring for others, yet in a real sense, our bodies remain an anchor to our overall well-being.

• If ontology helps us understand ...