About
ME & MY JOURNEY:
Hi, I’m Marna - a transformational life coach, entrepreneur, mom & creative soul with a background in the nonprofit sector.
As an adult, I’ve often felt a lot of pressure to do & be “All The Things”. All this striving to live up to expectations frequently led to cycles of frustration, resentment, anxiety, guilt & overwhelm.
By slowing down and connecting to my “Being place,” I found I could access the calm, clarity and confidence I needed to choose the next “right-feeling” step forward. My business was born from this grounded place - along with the mantra that continues to inform both my coaching and my life:
“Our Doing must start from the Being place.”
Building my connection to and awareness of my internal world has allowed me to notice, question & begin unravelling the old stories that keep me striving, and to receive wisdom about what I need to thrive.
For over a decade, I’ve been on a journey to learn frameworks that can offer me and my clients freedom from patterns that keep us stuck and struggling. And, I’ve been practising skills that can allow us to navigate the rollercoaster ride of life with more intention, ease, grace and confidence.
I’m passionate about sharing all I’ve learned with you! I’m also deeply committed to walking alongside you - as a guide, support and fellow human - on your journey to create more of what you want and need to thrive in your life.
what I bring to life coaching:
7 years of 1:1 coaching experience
Certified Coach through the Co-Active Institute
Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) certification
Completion of Mastering Emotional Resiliency program (created & facilitated by Emotionally Fit Leadership)
Co-facilitated Resiliency Circles for school teachers & admin - where I created safe and nurturing spaces for participants to name, express and learn about their emotions.
Completion of The Great Story Coaching Program (created & facilitated by Lucid Living)
3 years of Enneagram exploration - a framework to deepen understanding of and unhook from the unconscious patterns of behaviour that drive us.
Parenting two deeply-feeling, neurodivergent kids as a neurodivergent person myself. This has fuelled my desire to learn emotional resilience skills, release blame & shame, unravel limiting patterns, nurture myself, and live with more balance.
Me, a fellow human, on my own journey of healing and growth. I have decades of personal growth work to draw from, and many approaches & tools.
My core values: Connection, compassion, freedom, creativity, delight.
My natural gifts: Deep empathy & compassion, seeking out the why, connecting the dots, creating deep meaningful connection, being genuine, seeing the goodness, beauty & potential, inspiring hope.
The Nature of My Work:
I am a certified Co-Active coach, which means my focus is on helping my clients integrate their Doing with their Being so they can shift towards whole living.
When we put all our attention and energy on our action - the Doing - we end up disconnected and driven, and feeling desperate for meaning and belonging. Co-Active coaching helps individuals ground their action in Being - in their sense of connection to a larger wholeness - so that the action of their lives is nourishing and fulfilling.
My additional training and study in Great Story Coaching, emotional resiliency and the Enneagram enables me to go deeper with my clients, helping them notice, explore and process the underlying stories and emotions that drive their Doing - and which can keep them stuck and struggling in unhelpful patterns. We partner together to reconnect to and reclaim more of themselves, allowing them to choose more helpful responses, build empowering patterns over the long term, and write a greater story for their lives.
THE BELIEFS THAT GUIDE ME:
My work is grounded in the following beliefs:
We are all naturally creative, resourceful and whole.
We are worthy of love and belonging, simply because we exist. There is nothing we need to do, say, have or prove. We are already enough, just as we are.
We are all good inside AND sometimes we struggle to act in good ways on the outside. Each on of us is doing the best we can with the resources we have access to in that moment.
There’s a good orderly direction or flow at work in life, and we can work with it or against it.
Our individual healing and expansion has ripple effects in the greater collective. When we commit to noticing, exploring and shifting away from our unhelpful patterns of behaviour, we naturally begin to create change we wish to see in the world.
We have each been born, at this time and place, to make a specific contribution. We all have a unique set of gifts to offer the world and the opportunity to create positive change with them.
Kind Words
Marna really listens to what I’m saying. She asks the difficult questions, but there’s always this feeling of safety, love and gentleness the whole time. Marna is the ultimate cheerleader: she’s genuinely interested in me moving forward, in living my Greater Story. This is deeply impactful coaching, and I absolutely recommend it to everyone - you’ll want to invest time and energy in this!
~ Jessica
What you can expect from me:
A warm, nurturing & openhearted presence.
Holding a compassionate, brave space for you to show up imperfectly, explore, be messy and grow into a more aligned version of yourself.
A cheerleader on your soul’s journey. I celebrate your wins, no matter how big or seemingly insignificant.
A natural sense of delight, wonder, play & possibility.
An understanding that we are equals. You are the expert of yourself, while I have expertise in coaching skills that help you access your own answers and solutions.
Confidentiality & professionalism.
A fellow traveller on the path beside you, guiding you through approaches I have also used myself, and sharing stories that normalize the journey.
Getting started together
If you’re ready now to explore the idea of working together, let’s book a free Exploratory call. This 30-minute call allows us to get to know one another, lets you get an idea of what coaching with me feels like, and gives you the chance to ask any questions you might have.
It is important that we’re the right fit, because a strong coaching relationship allows for powerful work. If we aren’t the right fit, I’ll do my best to match you with a more appropriate practitioner.
