One Person, Five Levels
A client rarely arrives saying, “I’d like to work on my ruach.” They arrive with a symptom, a goal or a crisis: “I’m exhausted all the time.” “I want to lose thirty pounds.” “My doctor says my blood pressure is too high.” “I hate my job.”
The Arukah coach listens to that concern with respect, and also listens beneath it, because every concern touches all five levels of the soul. Exhaustion may come from low iron and poor sleep (nefesh), from a marriage full of silent anger (ruach), from the belief “if I rest, I’m lazy” (neshamah), from years spent on work that has no meaning to the client (chayah), and from a loneliness of spirit (yechidah). Working on only one level often fails; touching all five brings arukah, complete and lasting restoration.
The Five-Level Check-In
At the first session, and about once a month after that, invite the client to rate each level from 1 (struggling) to 10 (flourishing), in their own words:
| Level | What it covers | Sample question |
|---|---|---|
| Nefesh: body | sleep, food, movement, energy, pain, toxins, symptoms | “How is your body doing? How are you sleeping and eating?” |
| Ruach: heart | emotions, stress, relationships, boundaries | “What’s weighing on your heart? Who do you feel close to?” |
| Neshamah: mind | beliefs, thoughts, learning, focus | “What do you tell yourself about your health? Is it helping you?” |
| Chayah: purpose | work, calling, service, gifts | “Where in your life do you feel most alive?” |
| Yechidah: oneness | faith, connection, meaning, peace | “What gives you a sense of peace or of being held?” |
Then ask: “Looking at these, where would you like to begin?” The client chooses. Often the level they choose is not the one you would have chosen, and it is the right place to start, because change grows where the client’s energy is.
The scores are the client’s own picture, not a test. Watching them rise over the months is one of the most encouraging things a client can see.
Coaching Each Level
Nefesh, the body. A holistic coach brings real knowledge about the body. You teach when the client wants to learn, and you point them to sound resources: Arukah’s free books Do This, Detox That for cleansing and everyday toxins, Around the World in 80 Diets for choosing a way of eating, From A to Zinc for vitamins, minerals and supplements, and Sage Advice for herbs. Your coaching question is always: “Of everything you’ve learned, what would you like to try first?” You help the client teach themselves to order their own lab tests from a consumer lab and to read their own results, and to prepare questions for their doctor. You watch for medication interactions, and you know the physical red flags that need a doctor today: chest pain or pressure; sudden weakness, numbness, confusion or trouble speaking; the worst headache of a person’s life; trouble breathing; fainting; vomiting blood or black stools; a high fever with a stiff neck; sudden severe abdominal pain; and thoughts of suicide.
Ruach, the heart. Help the client notice what they feel and where they feel it in the body, name their hidden stress, practice saying no, set boundaries, repair relationships and build support. Dr. Maté’s seven A’s (Chapter 5) make a good map.
Neshamah, the mind. Help the client notice beliefs and repeated thoughts, question them, and rehearse new ones: gratitude practice, meditation or prayer, mental rehearsal of the person they are becoming (Chapter 6). Watch your own words; they can be placebo or nocebo.
Chayah, purpose. Begin with the wellness vision (Chapter 13) and the questions in Chapter 7. Help the client connect their health to what they want to live for, and find small acts of service and meaning in the life they have now.
Yechidah, oneness. Follow the client’s lead on faith. Make room for prayer, quiet, nature, community and gratitude, if and as the client wants them (Chapter 8).
The Levels Work Together
The levels feed each other, in both directions. A client who starts sleeping well (nefesh) often finds she has the calm to set a boundary at work (ruach). A client who finally names his anger (ruach) may stop overeating at night (nefesh). A client who discovers what she wants her health for (chayah) finds the will to change her habits (neshamah). Point these links out when you see them: “You said you’ve had more energy since you started walking. Is that connected to how you handled your sister this week?”
A Whole-Person Session
Here is how a session might sound, with a client named Ruth, a 52-year-old teacher who came to coaching for fatigue:
Coach: Last time you chose two steps: lights out by 10:30 and a ten-minute walk after school. How did it go?
Ruth: The walks, four out of five days! Bedtime… twice.
Coach: Four walks. That’s a real change from none. What helped?
Ruth: I left my shoes in the car. And honestly, it’s the only time all day nobody needs anything from me.
Coach: The walk is the one part of the day that’s yours.
Ruth: (quiet) Yes. I hadn’t thought of it that way.
Coach: And bedtime?
Ruth: I grade papers until eleven. If I don’t, I’m behind, and I hate letting the kids down.
Coach: You care a lot about not letting people down. What would you like to do with that?
In a few minutes Ruth has touched nefesh (walking, sleep), ruach (needing time that is hers), neshamah (the belief that she must never let anyone down) and chayah (her love of her students). The coach didn’t lecture about sleep, didn’t diagnose people-pleasing, and didn’t give advice. The coach reflected, asked, and let Ruth find what mattered.
Coach Yourself First
The best way to learn coaching is to be coached, and the most honest place to start is with yourself. Before you coach others through the five levels, walk through them yourself:
- Check in. Rate each of your five levels from 1 to 10. Write a sentence about each.
- Write your wellness vision. Who do you want to be, and how do you want to live, a year from now? Why does it matter to you?
- Choose one goal for the next few weeks, at the level where you have the most energy.
- Choose one or two action steps for this week. Rate your confidence. If it’s below 7, make the steps smaller.
- Ask yourself powerful questions in a journal: What do I really want? What’s in the way? What am I not saying? What else? What would I tell a friend?
- Be accountable. Track what you do each day. Tell someone you trust what you’ve committed to.
- Review each week, with curiosity instead of judgment: What worked? What got in the way? What did I learn? What will I change?
- Notice the other levels. As you work on one, what happens in the others?
You will learn what it feels like to hope, to slip, to start again, and to change. Your clients will feel that you understand, because you will.
The Coach You Are Becoming
The rofeh, the healer of the Hebrew Scriptures, did not stand above the person who was sick. Healing was always relational: the Creator healing His people, the community gathering around the sick, the prophet sitting with the widow. A holistic life coach stands in that tradition. You don’t heal anyone. You walk beside a person while their own soul, which was made for wholeness, finds its way back to arukah.