open air coaching
where light, movement & insight meet
"I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding."
John O’Donohue
open air
Do you want to bring more of yourself to life?
We ground our integral development coaching in nature as an essential quality of what it means to be human. Guide, nurture, and develop your felt sense, moving beyond the primacy of the mind into the heart and body as essential sources of knowing and being in the world. This is an invitation to a wider and deeper connection to life – a more expansive sense of self, with more possibilities to be the unique person you are, in an embodied and insightful way.
By inviting nature to join us in our coaching relationship as an active presence - a co-facilitator - we create a wider and richer collaboration, allowing nature to do some of the work. Together, we fall into step in the service of the particular topic you bring, in the life you are in the middle of living, moment to moment.
"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home."
Gary Snyder
"Every leaf speaks bliss to me."
Emily Bronte
Depending on your current relationship with nature, we can have it join us in walk-and-talk sessions in green and blue spaces, take a phone conversation on a walk or into the garden, open a window to take in birdsong or view as we talk together, bring found objects into virtual sessions, step into poetry, art and music, and connect with nature between sessions. With nature, we can be flexible and creative.
However nature joins us in our coaching relationship, it invites us to step inside a way of being at home in the world - connecting with ourselves and each other as integral parts of something bigger.
Testimonial
"Su is an excellent coach, both sensitive and intuitive. She helped me to switch a light on inside, at a time when I very much needed to see. I am no longer bumping blindly into mental obstacles blocking my way, they are dissolving in the light". Jane, MA Student
"Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are."
Gretel Ehrlich
integral development coaching
Are you looking for a deeper way of being, a more meaningful & fulfilling life?
Integral development coaching supports the authentic expression of your presence in the world while inviting you into a deeper way of being. It can be a transformative experience. The aim is for you to become more skilled, self-correcting, and self-generating in your coaching topic – bringing more of yourself to life.
With relationship at its core, the methodology places your development above improvement, distinct from solving problems or focusing goals. It evolves continually to integrate fields of study, teachings, movements and traditions in response to changing needs as we develop as human beings. Streams of competence include cognitive, relational, emotional, somatic, and spiritual.
"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin."
William Shakespeare
Integral coaching meets you with compassion, rigor, and wisdom, working in conversation with where you are now and where you want to be. Through a uniquely crafted and meaningful programme – complemented by practices, reflections, readings, and other activities - that bring forward possibilities in practical, simple, and creative ways. This supports you in living as an integrated whole, so that who you are in work and life is authentically you.
Your coaching journey will be unique to you and begins with being seen as a whole person, placing the topic you bring into the bigger picture of what it means to be human - all the things that make us who we are and shape how we are in the world. When we begin a conversation and step into relationship, it allows us to unfold in the doing.
Journey Guide
A free no obligation phone conversation with space to share what is on your mind and what you want to work towards,
see if we can work together, and agree fees & duration
How it works
A pre-coaching questionnaire covering various facets of your life
An initial session with a discussion about your life and the coaching topic you would like to focus on
Programme session including - purpose and intended outcomes
Coaching sessions - complemented by practices, reflections, readings and other activities
Testimonial
"At the start of integral coaching I wanted to understand more about myself and my relationships with others. At the time I was burdened by a major issue in my life which, after eighteen months, I didn’t think would ever be resolved. I felt that I could trust Su to accompany me on my journey. I had never experienced integral coaching before so it seemed like a magical mystery tour with Su gently guiding me as I explored issues and patterns, discovered things about myself and others, learned to accept myself and move forward. Su encouraged me to explore new things which have become regular, useful practices, items which I have added to my toolkit as I now continue on my post coaching journey. Most importantly, integral coaching helped me overcome the issue which had been weighing on my heart". Mary, Voluntary Sector
about Su Ormerod
Are you curious about what is possible for you now, and in the future?
I work with people in moments of transition, mid-life onwards, who feel as if they are standing still and want to move forward - step into a new beginning, however small or large, with curiosity, courage and creativity.
I have always, always, been curious. As a child, Russian dolls found a place in my imagination - seeing how one thing fits inside another and wondering: why separate them? They are still there. Now, I wonder, what of myself remains hidden and what it means to be a part of a bigger and interconnected whole, as I continue my ever-deepening conversation with nature.
Being an accredited integral development coach is a part of all of this, and I realise, my work history - taking in health, education, arts and community development - is too. Along with my academic journey which has included literature, adult education, management, and, more recently, creative writing.
I am a writer, reader, photographer, parent, and committed integral development coach - coaching for growth and development for ourselves, and others. A deepening presence and authentic expression of what it means to be a unique human being in this one precious life.
Coaching began for me in Cornwall, close to the sea and shifting sands, but now it seems, I am transplanted - a coach rooted in soil in West Yorkshire. And it feels as though place is no coincidence, as I walk in the footsteps of ancestors into a clearing in the wood and sit watching the river flow over the crags on its way to the sea, surprised at my own unfolding.
When I am in the more-than-human world of nature, I find an openness and aliveness that welcomes me back to the real world. There is no switch to turn on to connect - only a sense of belonging. As I walk, I flow as if I am a river, with felt sensing rising like sediment into language, into thought, into awareness, into understanding and a realisation that feels purposeful. There is a sense of magic there… where the light falls.
"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Artist: Judy Anderson
Testimonial
"Su accompanied me through the first months after a challenging time in my life, with warmth, understanding and gentle challenging. Our time together has given me the first glimpses of the resources I have available in my toolbox to help me in my journey to independent life. It is a continuing journey and to know Su is there to join me if I grind to a halt, is reassuring." Liz, Doctor
"Sometimes it takes a great sky to find that first, bright and indescribable wedge of freedom in your own heart.”
David Whyte
get in touch with Su here
You can Email:
su@openaircoaching-westyorkshire.co.uk
Testimonial
"Su’s integral coaching has been immensely beneficial for helping me to discover & work through some of the mental obstacles & unhelpful habits picked up in a lifetime.I went into the coaching with an open mind, willing to try new things and look at different ways of doing old things. It wasn’t easy at all. Didn’t know where to start. Rip it up & start again is not an option. Su listened carefully & gave me time to look inside my own head & body more thoroughly. Occasionally bumping into very painful memories & realisations.
The thing is, it worked. Because Su was patient & realistic. There was no forcing. Much more about allowing. And there were times when we laughed our heads off! Su also gave me some very helpful & workable practices to help restore & recover from the sheer rigour of my own life. I haven’t arrived anywhere yet, but for the first time in years I am stepping back onto the creative path of the painter I know myself to be. There’s a way to go, but this time it’s for the rest of my life. Words are not enough to thank Su for guiding me safely back". Anna, Visual Artist
© Copyright 2025, Open Air Coaching West Yorkshire
