Elevate Your Life with Teodora Gencheva: Certified Coach and Meditation Guru
Teodora Gencheva is a dynamic force in the realm of personal transformation, blending her expertise as a certified professional coach (CPC), Core Energy Leadership Dynamics Specialist, and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) to empower individuals on their journey to success. With a unique coaching style that combines profound intuition and structured sessions, Teodora guides her clients to tap into their higher selves, unlocking insights and wisdom that lead to tangible and lasting results. As a certified Yoga and Meditation Teacher, she integrates holistic practices into her coaching, enhancing self-awareness and fostering a profound mind-body-soul connection. Teodora is the visionary behind “The Icon” program, a transformative method designed to help individuals overcome weight challenges and achieve holistic well-being. Her innovative approach has garnered praise from clients who appreciate her empathetic nature and ability to identify key patterns that others might miss. In addition to her coaching, Teodora has published numerous guided meditations, further establishing her as a leader in the wellness space. Her passion for nature and daily rituals of gratitude and meditation inspire her work and personal life, creating a balanced and enriching experience for those she mentors. With a mission to empower individuals to recognize, awaken, and activate their inner power, Teodora Gencheva continues to make a significant impact on the lives of many, fostering well-being, abundance, and success.
Can you share your journey into becoming an Executive & Leadership Coach and how your background in yoga and meditation has influenced your coaching style?
My journey into becoming an Executive & Leadership Coach was both interesting and unexpected. Initially, I wasn’t even aware of the existence of coaching as a profession. It was during my yoga-art workshops that I discovered I was unconsciously coaching the participants. These sessions were powerful and had a profound impact on my clients. Later, the word “coaching” accidentally popped up on my social media, sparking my curiosity to research more about it. A fortuitous Google search introduced me to the concept, and I realized that my workshop methods closely aligned with coaching principles. This revelation inspired me to seek out the best coaching training programs, leading me to iPEC, which is recognized by Forbes Health as part of one of the top five Best Life Coach Certification Programs of 2023.
Upon completing my education and becoming a certified professional coach, I chose to specialize in leadership. Leadership has always been one of my strongest skills, and my past experiences as an entrepreneur, Slots Casino Manager, and Specialist in Training & Development had equipped me with the necessary skills, experience, and understanding of what it means to lead oneself and teams toward a powerful vision. I have always believed in creating inspired and empowered teams that achieve long-term, lasting results.
My background in yoga and meditation has influenced my coaching style, creating a rare combination of calm yet challenging approaches. Yoga and meditation taught me the importance of presence in the moment, self-awareness, inner balance, and resilience, which are crucial for effective leadership. I integrated these principles into my coaching style as I transitioned into coaching. For example, being fully present with my clients is essential in coaching, as it fosters a deep connection and understanding, allowing me to hear their needs and support them more effectively truly. Breathing and mindfulness techniques from yoga and meditation help my clients cultivate greater self-awareness and emotional intelligence. I may use guided meditation to help them build powerful visions that inspire and empower them, and centering techniques to release distractions and relax to connect with their Higher Self to gain new insights or higher awareness. This holistic approach enables leaders to not only achieve their professional goals but also maintain their well-being, creating a more sustainable path to success.
Your program “The Icon” is designed to help individuals overcome weight challenges. Can you explain the core principles of this program and how it integrates both coaching and meditation practices?
“The Icon” is a unique program designed to help individuals release excess weight through a holistic approach that emphasizes self-love and mindfulness rather than restrictive dieting or intense physical exertion. The core principles of the program are built around the powerful energy of self-love, self-understanding, acceptance, and body appreciation. The program consists of three simple and enjoyable steps that integrate coaching and meditation practices to foster a positive and healthy lifestyle change. It focuses on aligning the conscious and subconscious mind to work in harmony, ensuring lasting success and well-being.
The integration of coaching into the program plays a crucial role in helping my clients become aware of subconscious blocks and limiting beliefs, that hold them back. It supports them in breaking through these barriers and achieving long-term, satisfying results. Participants receive support in cultivating positive habits and mindsets, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and conscious decision-making.
Daily meditation practices help participants visualize their ideal selves and foster a deep sense of self-love and acceptance, which is important for aligning the conscious and subconscious mind and building a new self-identity. Techniques such as guided meditation and mindfulness exercises are used to enhance emotional well-being and clarity. By integrating coaching and meditation, clients also learn to become more mindful of their eating habits and emotional triggers, leading to more effective and lasting weight management.
Study Findings:
• Although participants released varying amounts of weight, 100% reported: ◦ Improved self-esteem and increased levels of self-confidence.
◦ Decreased stress levels with increased feelings of calmness and ease.
◦ Increased vital energy.
◦ Breakthroughs in the fear of rejection.
◦ Restored and balanced body-mind connection.
◦ Transformation of the program’s method into a new lifestyle.
◦ Rating the program as transformational and valuable.
• Additionally, one participant with two autoimmune diseases reported:
◦ Blood pressure normalized from high levels.
◦ Thyroid hormone levels returned to normal.
◦ Normal breathing during physical activity was restored.
This holistic approach ensures that clients not only achieve their ideal body image but also maintain personal well-being and develop a healthy, fulfilling lifestyle.
As a Core Energy Leadership Dynamics Specialist and Energy Leadership Index – Master Practitioner, how do you help clients understand and harness their core energy to achieve personal and professional success?
As a Core Energy Leadership Dynamics Specialist and Energy Leadership Index – Master Practitioner, my goal is to support clients in becoming aware of the seven different levels of energy, which reflect a person’s degree of consciousness, awareness, and power. By understanding their energy, being aware of it, and knowing how to shift to the highest level, clients can capitalize on their true potential and perform and lead at their peak. The process involves:
Assessment: The Energy Leadership™ Index (ELI) assessment, a proprietary, research backed attitudinal tool created by iPEC, provides insights into how clients show up as they lead and perform in various aspects of their lives. It measures their energy levels across seven dimensions, assessing their ability to lead, their engagement in roles and tasks, and their energetic reaction to stress, enabling them to recognize and modify those reactions if desired.
Awareness: I help clients recognize unsupportive attitudes, beliefs, ideas, emotions, or actions associated with lower levels of energy and understand how these impact their performance, interactions, decision-making, and overall effectiveness.
Transformation: Through core energy coaching, I support my clients in breaking through limitations and overcoming obstacles, learning to make conscious choices and shift their energy in the moment from catabolic (destructive) to anabolic (constructive) levels, thereby enhancing their leadership abilities and overall success.
Sustained Growth: Strategies are implemented to maintain higher energy levels, fostering continuous personal and professional development.
By harnessing their core energy, my clients can unlock their potential, improve their leadership abilities, and achieve greater success in all areas of their lives.
Your clients praise your ability to identify key patterns that others might miss. Can you discuss a particularly impactful example where your insights led to significant breakthroughs for a client?
One impactful example involved a client struggling with career advancement despite having the necessary skills and qualifications. Through our sessions, I identified a recurring pattern of self-doubt, negative self-talk, and limiting belief, which resulted in thinking, feeling, and acting from low energy levels. We worked on releasing this limiting belief with evidence to the contrary and shifting her mindset, using mindfulness and positive reinforcement techniques to build her confidence. As a result, she was able to approach opportunities from high energy levels with a renewed sense of self-assurance and ultimately secured an Executive position that she had previously thought unattainable. This breakthrough not only advanced her career but also significantly improved her overall quality of life.
Another significant example involved a client participating in “The Icon” program. Despite her strong desire to release weight, I sensed huge resistance. Through several coaching sessions, we discovered that years of unspoken financial competition with her husband and a strong desire to prove him wrong were holding her back. In her perspective, starting physical activity meant agreeing that he was right. Overcoming this emotional and mental block, she reported releasing weight effortlessly. This breakthrough not only improved her physical, mental, and emotional health but also transformed her relationship with her husband into one that was loving, supportive, and appreciative.
In addition to your coaching and meditation work, you are also known for your pioneering yoga-art classes. How do these classes enhance self-awareness and contribute to the overall personal growth of your students?
My yoga-art classes are a unique blend of Yoga, Art, Aromatherapy, Holistic Music, and Empowering Coaching questions, specifically designed for personal development and growth. These classes create an exciting adventure into one’s own world, aiming to connect students to their True Self, explore their inner world, and unlock their full potential.
Here’s how the classes enhance self-awareness and contribute to personal growth:
The classes provide a safe and supportive space, using calm holistic music and selective essential oils that promote relaxation, peace, and serenity. This environment helps students reconnect with themselves on a deeper level.
By combining yoga practice with artistic expression, students can delve into their inner worlds, becoming aware of the unconscious thoughts, ideas or desires and transforming them into conscious awareness. This newfound awareness can inspire profound insights and personal revelations.
I use empowering coaching questions to guide my students in reflecting on their experiences, helping them to understand and overcome what holds them back, achieve clarity about their life purpose, and practice self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-love.
Students learn techniques for self-confidence, body-mind-spirit connection, meditation for creating empowering mental and emotional visions, and art for physical vision boards. They also engage in goal setting and creating actionable plans. Through yoga, they practice essential skills such as flexibility, resilience, balance, and creativity to execute their action plans. These tools empower them to make conscious choices and follow through with faith, confidence, and strength.
By participating in these classes, students embark on a journey of self-discovery and creative exploration, leading to rejuvenation, inspiration, and transformative personal growth. Whether they are beginners or advanced practitioners, all students leave the workshop with newfound insights and perspectives on their life and creative journey.
You serve as the Board Secretary of the ICF Cyprus Chapter and are involved in its Events & Training committee. How has this role enriched your professional and personal development?
Serving as the Board Secretary of the ICF Cyprus Chapter and being involved in its Events & Training committee has greatly enriched my professional and personal development. This role has allowed me to fulfill and develop my personal and professional growth while being part of a vision greater than myself: a world where coaching is integral to transforming societies.
In my leadership role as Board Secretary, I have taken on significant responsibilities, including organizing board meetings, maintaining accurate records, and ensuring effective communication among board members. Being a member of the ICF Cyprus Chapter Events & Training Committee has also involved planning, organising and executing events and training programs, enhancing my leadership and organizational skills.
Connecting with a diverse group of coaching professionals has allowed me to exchange knowledge and best practices. Staying up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in the coaching industry has been essential. Contributing to the growth and development of the coaching community in Cyprus has been deeply fulfilling on a personal level. These experiences have not only enhanced my professional capabilities but also provided a sense of purpose and community.
What daily rituals of gratitude and meditation do you practice and how do these rituals support your work in empowering individuals to lead lives of wellbeing and abundance?
My daily rituals include different kinds of morning and evening meditation practices, breath work, and maintaining a gratitude journal.
Meditation helps me start the day with a cam, clear and focused mind, approaching life from high energy levels and supporting my clients effectively.
Keeping a gratitude journal fosters a positive mindset by acknowledging and appreciating my body, inner powers, all beautiful moments, small or big successes. These practices of meditation and journaling help maintain my emotional balance, allowing me to approach each coaching session with empathy and presence. Prioritizing my own well-being ensures that I have the energy and clarity to be fully present for my clients. These daily practices are integral to my ability to empower and support individuals toward lives of well-being and abundance.
As a mother and a coach, how do you balance your professional responsibilities with your family life, and how do you integrate your coaching principles into your parenting?
Balancing my professional responsibilities with family life involves setting clear boundaries to ensure quality family time while remaining fully committed to my clients during work hours. The flexibility of the coaching profession allows me to work online and arrange sessions at mutually convenient times. This enables me to prioritize, plan, and organize my schedule around personal, family, and business time.
As a mother to a brilliant almost 10-year-old girl, I am continually amazed by her wisdom and thought-provoking questions, which often challenge my awareness.
I integrate coaching principles into my parenting by practicing active listening, ensuring my daughter feels heard, understood, and valued. In face of challenges I encourage her to practice mindfulness, recognize her emotions, and understand the thoughts that influence them and challenge those thoughts with evidence to the contrary. By teaching her about shifting energy, she learns to consciously choose her experiences and align her thoughts and emotions with her desires.
Looking ahead what are your future aspirations for your coaching practice and how do you plan to continue evolving your programs and methodologies to better serve your clients?
Looking ahead, my primary aspirations for my coaching practice include broadening my reach to a global audience through online platforms and expanding into corporate settings by offering executive and team coaching sessions and workshops focused on leadership mastery and performance.
To continue evolving my programs and methodologies, I plan to enhance “The Icon” Program by incorporating technology and transforming it into a digital product, which will provide more accessible and flexible solutions for clients seeking to release overweight. I am committed to staying current in my field through continuous professional development by attending workshops, training, and obtaining relevant certifications. Actively seeking constructive feedback from clients will be a priority to ensure that my methodologies are continually improved and adapted to their needs.
Additionally, I aim to forge collaborations with other experts and organizations to integrate diverse perspectives and expertise into my programs.
Another key goal is to develop and offer yoga and leadership retreats, providing immersive experiences that support holistic growth.
Through these initiatives, I aim to enhance the effectiveness of my coaching practice and better serve my clients in achieving their personal and professional goals.
