Firewalking: psychological benefits of walking on coals (the new trend in Coaching)
A new trend in the world of coaching professionals.
Recently, practices such as "Firewalking" have been introduced in coaching.Firewalking"(walking on coals) or "Glasswalking"(walking on broken glass), as they seem to have a high impact in overcoming fears and help people learn how to transcend the limits that our own mind imposes on us.
The benefits of Firewalking (walking on coals)
We have all faced problems and obstacles that have arisen in our lives, and in the face of which we are often paralyzed. Sometimes these problems seem unsolvable or too complicated to find the right solution. Coaching is a discipline that helps to overcoming limiting beliefs that prevent us from facing those challenges or obstacles that we face both at a personal and business level.
Coaching: Firewalking as an impact technique
Firewalking is a technique that has been imported from the United States, where it has been used for more than three decades. It is used as a life metaphor that unblocks people and empowers them to face the difficult situations of everyday life. In this way, individuals become more resilient and gain self-confidence. It also helps them to test their limiting beliefs, overcome their fears and increase their motivation.
Psychology has long been investigating the relationship between the mind, emotions and pain. In the article "The Phantom Limb: Mirror Box Therapy" we already echoed the studies of Ronald Melzack, a researcher and professor of psychology at McGill University in Canada, which gave rise to the Neuromatrix Theory.
This theory attributes the diffusion of Pain and its transmission through the organism to a complex system. The system involves several areas (central and peripheral nervous system, autonomic nervous system and endocrine system) directly influenced by various psychological, emotional, genetic and social factors. But in addition to the influence of the mind in enduring physical pain or firewalking, it seems that, according to this coaching technique, coping with physical pain can bring benefits on a psychological level.
Overcoming fears with Firewalking
In the business arena, firewalking has also had a great impact. According to experts who use the technique, walking over coals is a challenge that enhances business empowerment, leadership skills, courage and other virtues that so often influence success. On a personal level, this attitude of facing one's fears and commitment to oneself makes the person become aware, committed and increases his or her perspective and options, enhancing his or her resources to achieve the goals he or she has set for him or herself.
No one can deny that there are moods and attitudes (confidence, inner strength, joy, etc.) that motivate us and push us to action, and there are paralyzing moods or attitudes (anxiety, fear, confusion, sadness, etc.) that make us impotent. It is possible that firewalking, as a coaching techniquemay help to increase self-confidence.
Metaphors in coaching
As we grow up, stories and tales teach us values, principles and social norms. values, principles and social norms. The stories we hear shape our lives, and the stories we begin to tell define who we are, our experiences, perceptions, and perspective of the world.
Coaching uses metaphors as positive belief-enhancing techniques, as the symbolic language of storytelling defines us and our perspective of the world, providing learning. It acts on our subconscious in a much more empowering way than any suggestion or advice, and mobilizes our creative capacity in the inner search for new options.
Coaching affirms that people have all the answersWe only have to accompany them to become conscious. The generation of new options through metaphors leads the coachee (coach's client) to relate to and understand reality from another perspective.
The effectiveness of metaphors
But for metaphors to be effective for the coachee, the coach must develop a story that facilitates identification on the part of the client and helps the coachee to seek more adaptive options. Therefore, the coachee must feel that the metaphor meets his or her needs and offers meaning. The metaphor can also help to deepen the coachee's understanding and problem solvingand is an important tool for change if used well.
For example, during the coaching process, an overly extroverted client showed little ability to self-observe and to question his own attitudes. The client, who was passionate about mountaineering, eventually improved his ability to introspect, as the coach prompted him to reflect by saying, "Now it's your turn to climb the inner mountain".
In firewalking sessions, metaphors can be varied. For example, "both in life and in firewalking, taking the first step is the most difficult, the hardest" or "you have to walk through life as if you were walking over coals, otherwise you can end up burning yourself. You have to step firmly and move forward no matter what".
Experiential learning: putting empowering beliefs to the test
Metaphors will ease the way for the acquisition of more adaptive and beneficial beliefs, but in order to anchor these new beliefs they must be put to the test. To eliminate a limiting belief it is highly advisable to replace it with an empowering belief. This is not a new concept in coaching, but has been applied for decades in psychology, for example, in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
The experiential learning is based on the assumption that knowledge is created through the transformation brought about by experience. The concrete experience is translated into an abstract conceptualization which is actively tested through new experiences.
Firewalking and self-confidence
These experiences of failure or success will affect our mental programming (values and beliefs), which will have consequences on our self-efficacy beliefs (also called self-confidence). Experiences constitute the most important source of information for the perception of self-confidence, since they will facilitate the verification of whether these beliefs will be effective or not. Repeated success in certain tasks increases positive evaluations of self-confidence beliefs, while repeated failures decrease them, especially when failures cannot be attributed to external circumstances.
Read more on this topic in our article "Albert Bandura's Self-Efficacy: do you believe in yourself?".
In short, by testing the new empowering belief and observing its positive effect, you will facilitate its anchoring. This will provide a new outlook on life. When you are aware that you yourself are the writer of your own novelYou can change the course of things to improve your well-being and face life's challenges in a different way.
Here is a report in which they explain how the Firewalking seminars work. Take a look at it:
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)