Welcome to
The Buddhist Coach
You don't have to be Buddhist to want a Buddhist coach. You might just be looking for a fresh perspective on an issue in your life or work, needing some support in coping with stress and change, or just exploring ways in which you can develop yourself and move towards fulfilling your potential.
My name is Alan Ashley, and I'm also known by the Buddhist name Jñānagarbha. Whether you're familiar with coaching or have never thought about having a coach before, I have designed this website to help you to find out more about coaching and whether it would be helpful to you at the moment.
When you follow the links you will find a little more about my background and training, something about my experience and previous clients, some information about what coaching is, and how it can help. There is a section exploring the idea of work as a spiritual practice, an introduction to Buddhism and an overview of meditation. There are also some links to other sites that you might find interesting.
First Conversation Free
I'm always happy to offer a free introductory session so that you can ask any questions you might have about coaching in general, telephone coaching, and working with me. This gives you the chance to decide if I'm the right coach for you without any obligation. Just drop me a line or give me a call, and we can take it from there. By the way, I'm usually able to offer a bursary rate for those on a low income or working in a not-for-profit organisation.
News
Meditation in Greenwich and Blackheath
I'm delighted to say that I'll be starting a six-week Introduction to Meditation course in the Greenwich Steiner School's beautiful Woodlands building on the evening of Thursday 10th June. The course will cost £75 and I'll provide some more details of the contents of the course soon. To book or for more information drop me a line or give me a call.
My Meditation for Mums (and Dads!) classes on Tuesday mornings at Mycenae House, Blackheath run from 10.30am until noon, and cost £10 per session. In these classes I'm focusing on helping you to find moments of calm in the midst of activity, so there'll be a range of mindfulness techniques that you can apply in your daily life as well as instruction in sitting meditation.
The classes are suitable for people of any religion or none, and you don't have to be a parent! I'm happy for babies who aren't yet crawling to come along, but I'm afraid I think it would be too disruptive to have many older children. You can find out more details about the classes and my thinking behind them on my blog.
Meditation and Personal Development Day Event
On Saturday 22nd May, my friend Chris Hoyle and I will be running a day workshop on Meditation and Personal Development at the North London Buddhist Centre on Holloway Road in London. The day will combine meditation and group coaching with collective and individual exploration and inquiry, as well as a follow-up coaching session with either Chris or myself. There are some details if you follow the link above, and if you'd like to know more about the day, or for us to put on an event near you then let us know.
Free Led Meditation Still Available
I had planned make the free led body awareness meditation available for just a month, but I've decided to leave it on the site for a while longer. It takes about 25 minutes, and it's a great introduction if you're new to meditation, and a good refresher if you have got a bit rusty.
Social Networking
You can connect with me through the Buddhist Coach Facebook page - which is a good way to keep in touch and hear about new things. You can also follow me on Twitter and visit my blog, as well as checking out my Helping Change website for my consultancy and coaching work within organisations - it looks suspiciously like this one, but with different content.