When Intuition Has Room To Breathe

Intuition rarely shouts.  More often, it arrives quietly – as a soft nudge, a fleeting image, a subtle bodily sensation, a pause that feels alive with information, an unconscious curiosity…

For coaches, mentors and supervisors, intuition can be one of our most trustworthy companions. Yet, it is often also the first thing to disappear when sessions become rushed, pressured, or overly transactional and cognitive. Just as seeds need soil, water, and sunlight to thrive, intuition needs the right conditions to emerge.

In this article we will explore what helps intuition come through more clearly, and how we can consciously create those conditions in our work with clients. 

Environment: Slowing the Field

Intuition thrives in environments that feel unhurried and uncluttered; a quieter space, a slower pace, and fewer distractions create a nervous system context where subtle information can be noticed or perceived.

Remember that this does not require perfection but, instead, intentionality. Small choices matter: allowing moments of silence, resisting the urge to fill every pause, and signalling – through your presence – that there is time and a willingness to explore.  Without these calm conditions, intuition is easily drowned out by urgency or pressure. When pressure, efficiency or speed dominate, our system defaults to habit, logic, and problem-solving, and this is in contrast to intentional spaciousness, and creates opportunities for something else to arrive.

Inner Readiness: Clearing the Channel

Even in a calm environment, intuition may struggle to surface if the practitioner is distracted or internally ‘busy’, is preoccupied with the agenda, expectation, or the quiet pressure to ‘be helpful’ can all block the channels of intuition.  Interestingly, breath is often the simplest reset: a slow exhale, a moment of softening, a conscious release of needing to know where the conversation should go.

Embodied check-ins are particularly powerful here so, rather than asking clients what they think, invite attention to what they feel.

“What do you notice in your body right now?”

“What’s present, before you make sense of it?”

These questions gently quiet the cognitive, analytical mind and bring awareness into the unconscious and the body, where intuition often speaks first.

Relational Trust: Safety Before Insight

Intuition does not emerge in the presence of judgment – even self-judgment – and trust is essential.

In sessions with clients, trust is built through invitational, non-judgmental language. Practitioners should aim to make it explicit that all impressions are welcome, and that there is no attachment to being right or wrong because intuition is offered, not imposed.

Partnering in clear contracting with our clients supports permissions to bring intuition into conversations by designing ways that your clients know they are free to reject, reshape, or ignore anything that is shared. This freedom often increases the usefulness of intuitive offerings,  rather than diminishing them.  And, importantly, intuition is not diagnosis, nor is it interpretation, instead it is offered as an open enquiry rather than being conclusive in any way.

“I’m noticing a shift in your energy as you say that – does that resonate?”

“There was a pause just then that caught my attention. What was happening for you?”

Spaciousness: Making Room to Notice

Intuition lives in the gaps so, without consciously creating space, we simply won’t notice.

The ability to create spaciousness and pause – to stay with our client — is a core skill for developing how we work with intuition.  In that space and silence, micro-changes become visible: a change in tone, a softening in posture, a slight hesitation before words.  As practitioners, we can name what we are noticing – without attachment – and gently invite curious enquiry.

“Something slowed just now.”

“Your voice changed slightly as you spoke about that.”

When Action or Cognition Dominates

Many clients have a strong preference for action, logic, or cognitive processing. This is not a problem — but it can limit access to other forms of insight.

If you notice a client repeatedly reverting to planning or analysis, it may be worth naming the pattern with care.

“I notice you move very quickly to action. What happens if we pause a moment longer with what’s emerging?”

“I’m curious what else might be here, beyond what makes sense right now.”

These are gentle challenges, offered in service of widening the client’s awareness rather than redirecting it.

Time to Reflect

Intuition is not something we do, it is something we make space for.

When we slow down, release our agenda, build trust, and create comfort in the curiosity or not knowing, intuition has room to breathe. And, when it does, it often brings insights that are useful, timely and deeply aligned – because we have listened well enough to hear them.

If you are interested in finding out more about the role of intuition in our work as coaches, mentors and supervisors, why not take a look at ‘Cultivating Intuitive Awareness’ on the Jigsaw Learning Hub?

This is an ICF Approved 10 CCE hour course which is delivered asynchronously as convenient and flexible self-paced, self-study.