A Transformational Coach Certification
Intensive Coach Training Retreat - Andalusia, Spain
29 Sep - 3 Oct 2025
Plus (optional): 5 Months Mentor Coaching and membership in the Awaken Coaches Community.
Our Q&A calls are your opportunity to find out everything you need to know to begin your coach training journey with Awaken Coach Institute.
A wholehearted path to becoming a coach—blending immersive retreat learning with ongoing community support.
Step into coaching with a spiritually rich, in-person retreat and the option to continue your journey through mentor coaching in community. This Level 1 ICF-accredited certification offers a focused, transformative route toward your ACC credential, rooted in connection, courage, and compassion.
What's included
- In-Person Retreat (Sept 29 – Oct 3, 2025)
Step away from the day-to-day and immerse yourself in 30 contact hours of coach training in a deeply supportive environment. This retreat combines powerful coaching practice, spiritual reflection, and wholehearted connection with others on the path.
✔ Includes your accommodation. You’ll arrange your own travel to the venue.
✔ You’ll receive a certificate for these hours that can be used any time toward your ICF credential application.
Continue the journey to your ICF credential
- Add five months of mentor coaching and community support to meet all ICF ACC requirements and continue growing in confidence and connection.
✔ Includes 10 hours of mentor coaching with experienced ICF-certified coaches who walk alongside you with clarity and care.✔ Access group supervision and regular peer coaching opportunities to keep learning, integrating, and stretching in real time.
✔ Deepen your skills, grow your coaching practice, and connect with likeminded peers inside the Awaken Coaches Community.
A retreat to awaken your coaching.
A community to sustain your growth.
A program designed for you.
You’ve seen it.
The way you listen differently. How your presence helps others feel seen, heard, and able to grow. You’re already leading with heart—having deeper conversations, drawing out the best in those around you.
If you've wondered whether now is the time to take that further, to root your coaching in courage, community, and sustainable practice—this might be the next right step.
Watch Roxanne and Christi in conversation as they explore what makes this retreat-based training unique and cover all your FAQs.
They’ll walk you through how the course works, what the retreat offers, and why this path might be the one that supports you in becoming the coach you’re meant to be.
Our mission is to build a more empathetic world.
When I'm with someone who is congruent within themselves and who has expert listening skills, I can grow and change and thrive. I feel so much more relaxed, known and loved. I find myself wishing everyone around me had those skills – and I feel as though we need them now more than ever.
I've been through hundreds of hours of coach training, and I wish someone had just started out with the deep stuff right away.
At the beginning, I learned a lot about action, goals, progress, success – and there is nothing wrong with that. Learning those skills helped me in my career. But, I wish someone had taught me earlier on about embodied spiritual and identity alignment. It would meant my goals had more meaning, and my actions were deeply engrained and sustainable. It's taken me more than 10 years to put the pieces together.
I feel most alive when I'm passing along the universal principles that have been transformational in my own life. The principles that allowed me to forgive, to see myself and others clearly, to be true to myself and my values, and to love beyond what I thought possible. I want that so badly for you! And I want us to create a ripple effect across the world together.
I promise you, this is not your average, transactional-level coaching course. This program is for the few, the daring, the ones who long to be more. This course goes deep.
When you become part of building a world where self-compassion and empathy are the norm, you become a braver and more loving human being. As your inner reality shifts, you'll notice changes in your environment. And that change will extend to everyone who comes in contact with you.
Our teaching faculty cares deeply about creating a cohesive world which starts with depth of presence, solid connection to your values, and alignment between your spirituality and your actions.
If you're looking for deep-seated transformation, and not "just another certification", this is the course for you.
We accept only TWELVE students per cohort, because we want our students to have a personalized, expansive experience. We care deeply about you, and want to honor your presence with our undivided attention.
With great love,
Awaken Coach Institute exists to make the world a braver, more loving place.
We train coaches to listen deeply, to awaken to the power of their own presence, and to be more loving and accepting than they've ever been before.
Awaken Coach Institute is recognized as an
ICF-Accredited Level 1 & Level 2 coaching education provider.
Completion of our 60-hour Level-1 Coach Certification Program* provides you with a certificate for 60 hours of training, mentor coaching and a Level 1 (ACC) performance evaluation which you can use towards your ICF credential.
Those who complete only the 30-hour in-person retreat element will receive a certificate for partial completion to apply at a future date for ICF credential application or renewal.
*This course is delivered in English, we welcome applicants from all over the world.
Training Schedule: 5-Day Retreat (30 Hours)
Each day consists of three 90-minute teaching sessions and one 90-minute round of observed coaching sessions.
29 Sep
Day 1: Foundations of Coaching Excellence
- Session 1: Creating a Brave Coaching Presence
- Session 2: Introduction to ICF Core Competencies
- Session 3: Coaching Conversations: Structure & Flow
- POP! Coaching Sessions: Practice, Observe, Progress
30 Sep
Day 2: Deepening Client Awareness
- Session 1: Effective Listening
- Session 2: Powerful Questioning
- Session 3: Coaching models
- POP! Coaching Sessions: Practice, Observe, Progress
1 Oct
Day 3: Deeper Intelligence in Coaching
- Session 1: Understanding & Partnering with Emotions
- Session 2: Exploring Beliefs and Values
- Session 3: Integrating Parts - Coaching with Identity
- POP! Coaching Sessions: Practice, Observe, Progress
2 Oct
Day 4: Mastering Advanced Coaching Situations
- Session 1: Advanced Coaching Techniques: Intuition and Metaphor
- Session 2: Coaching with Neurodiversity
- Session 3: Coaching with Polarities
- POP! Coaching Sessions: Practice, Observe, Progress
3 Oct
Day 5: Coaching Mastery & Integration
- Session 1: Ethics & Professional Practice
- Session 2: Developing Client Engagements, From First Encounter to Closure
- Session 3: Integration & Next Steps in the Coaching Journey
- Observed Coaching: Final Coaching Demonstration
What's included in your all-inclusive coaching training retreat package?
You'll receive online access to the Self-Study version of the Transformational Coach Certification Program right away, so you can immerse yourself in the content before you arrive. This includes videos, reading, quizzes, and introductions to your colleagues.
Your retreat includes
- Our flagship Coach Certification Training Program facilitated by an international faculty team in a highly interactive format (one faculty member for every 4 participants)
- All meals and accommodation
- Gorgeous workbook to record your learning
- Luxury photography session so you'll go home feeling inspired, with website-ready headshots of yourself in a gorgeous location
- Movement activities to integrate your learning
- Also included for the ICF certification option - Five months of mentor coaching and supervision within the Awaken Coaches Community
Not included
- Airfare to Madrid
- Transportation to the Lecrín Valley retreat center (outside of our two provided shuttles)
Your requirements for graduation from this program
- You must attend ALL classes live. Your graduation certificate worth 30 ICF accredited hours will only be granted if at least 90% of the classes are attended live. If you miss a class, you will be required to prepare a reflective activity on the topic and present your understanding to a faculty member.
- Throughout the retreat, you will practice coaching in triads in a POP (practice, observe, progress) session. You must attend all POP sessions. If POP class hour is missed, you will be required to do a make up class with faculty after the retreat and pay an additional $200 fee.
- 12 hours of practice coaching with at least two clients outside the classroom, with written feedback from each client. If you are going for your ICF credential, these hours will count toward your coach practice hours, and gain momentum toward your ICF coaching credential. You'll want to submit these by your graduation date of Mar 6, 2026.
Is This the Right Path for You?
This program is designed for people who want to become coaches in a way that fits their life, values, and commitments. You might find yourself here if:
- You crave deep learning but can’t commit to two weeks away. A shorter in-person retreat (just a few days) gives you the immersive experience you want without the extended time off.
- You’re new to coaching and want a solid, ICF-accredited foundation. When you purchase the Mentor Coaching Community Membership package, this program gives you everything you need for your ACC, offering both structure and spaciousness to grow into your coaching.
- You love the idea of a retreat, and you also want community. After the retreat, you’ll integrate what you’ve learned with five months of ongoing mentor coaching and support.
- You need a program that fits your budget and schedule. This is a powerful, flexible way to get certified without the deeper time and financial commitment of a Level 2 program.
- You’re ready to take the first step toward coaching mastery. If you know you want to coach but aren’t sure how far you’ll go yet, this Level 1 program is a beautiful starting place.
Your 60-hour course focuses on the core coaching competencies outlined by the ICF while incorporating our spiritual Awaken philosophy – to create a braver, more loving world starting with ourselves.
We do coaching differently. We're looking for loving, brave people who are seeking spiritual alignment, belonging and bravery – not just a coaching qualification.
“Whenever I think of the vibe of Awaken Coach Institute, I feel very loved and accepted in areas that I didn’t realize needed acceptance. There is this openness in Awaken that makes me feel loved and accepted.”
Joanna Clark
Awaken Alumni
“Every part of you is worthy to be here and to be present—a powerful message Awaken delivers. I’ve been expanding and I feel more capacity to love. Awaken lets people expand to learn all they are created to be.”
Valeyne Grotrian
Awaken Alumni & Faculty Member
“The definition of a cheerleader, teacher and leader is Christi Byerly. Her love and presence is 100% the reason I am now a certified coach on a journey to keep growing, learning and helping others.”
Louise Kibugi
Awaken Alumni
“Awaken Coach Institute have provided skills, confidence and insight into myself and what I can do to facilitate coaching as a catalyst to a world that is working for everyone, person by person.”
Deb Ingersoll
Awaken Alumni & Faculty Member
Our 30-Hour ICF-Accredited Coach Training Program is guided by Christi Byerly, MCC alongside Awaken's senior faculty team
You'll experience 30 hours of immersive coaching practice, growth, and connection in person on retreat—held in a beautiful, contemplative setting.
Course investment: $7,250*
This includes the full retreat experience with senior Awaken faculty. Flights to Spain are not included.
Upgrade to our 60-Hour Level-1 ICF-ACC pathway with five months of Community support for just $1,500 and have all you need to submit your credential application.
To complete your ICF ACC application requirements, you can choose to add our Mentor Coaching Community Membership package—a five-month journey of group mentor coaching, supervision, peer practice, and rich integration support. Priced at $1,500, it’s a competitively priced, high-touch offering designed to help you grow with confidence, connection, and care.
Reserve your spot today
*Payment plans are available
The Awaken Coach Institute Transformational Coach Certification course is built to internationally-recognized standards developed by the International Coaching Federation.
This course is accredited by the ICF, and graduates receive a certificate for 30 or 60 ICF-Accredited Coach Training Hours. Your certification will be an asset to your resumé if you want to make coaching part of your career path.
But we don't just give you what you need for your ICF credential, we go deeper.
Most of us weren't taught much about our emotions and thoughts, or about human interaction within our society. This course is designed to be a stretching experience in which you’ll learn how valuable you are and how loving, brave and kind you can become.
We focus on releasing fear-based paradigms that prevent us from connecting with those we love most and from loving and accepting ourselves fully. Once you see the divine in ourselves, we can see the divine in everyone around us.
Meet Your Course Leaders
Christi Byerly, MCC – Founder & CEO
Christi's coaching process is all about motivating you to build a community of empathy and grace around you — and to live your life as part of something bigger than you are.
Christi has trained hundreds of coaches in French and English since 2014 and has mentored dozens of coaches-in-training. She maintains a thriving coaching practice and has been coaching professionally since 2009, after graduating from the International Coach Academy.
Christi holds a Master NLP certificate, as well as certifications in spiritual direction, group coaching, depth coaching, Enneagram work and mentor coaching. She is a Certified Daring Greatly™ Facilitator.
Married to Ben, she is the mom of three young people and lives in Alsace on the French, Swiss, and German borders.
Certifications
- ICF – Master Certified Coach®️
- NLP Master Practitioner
- Spiritual Accompaniment Certified
- Certified Daring Greatly™ and Certified Dare to Lead™ facilitator
- Degrees in Communications and French
- Organizational and Relational Systems Coaching
Roxanne Hobbs, PCC, Founder of The Hobbs Consultancy and Awaken faculty member
Learning to become a coach is a journey that necessitates putting the armour down and leading from your heart. You will learn how to sit alongside someone and fully champion and support them in their own evolution. You will learn how to see everyone you coach as naturally resourceful, creative and whole and see the power of a few well-timed and well-crafted questions. You will learn how to dial up your empathy and compassion skills, along with gaining a greater understanding of how the body and the brain interconnect.
I believe that we need more leaders who can lead from heart. In the age of AI, I see this as a way of ensuring we stay connected with our humanity. And, to put it bluntly, I think it's a skill that will help future proof careers.
Certifications
- ICF – Professional Certified Coach®️
- Certified Daring Greatly™ and Certified Dare to Lead™ facilitator
This is the right course for you if...
You want to help build a more compassionate world.
You want people to feel and know that being listened to deeply and with love can help us all become braver and more compassionate.
You believe listening with love can open the door to possibility.
You've experienced the magic that happens when a truly grounded person listens with love to another. You want to become that person.
You have dormant dreams but not a lot of clarity.
Through this experience, you’ll know what makes you so valuable and why your contribution is important. The soul doesn’t care about the scale – whether you are reaching five people or five thousand. It only cares that you are showing up as yourself. The outcome will take care of itself.
You have a calling to help people reach their higher potential.
You're the person people want to tell their stories to. You love to listen, and it's frustrating to know that you could really help people transform – you're just not sure how yet.
You want to unleash your brave inner warrior.
You're ready for a shift in your own life. You want more self-compassion, more community, and to live feeling more alive, brave and loving than ever before.
You want people to live from their soul and passion.
You know what it feels like to be scared, and to feel trapped by the expectations of others. You've broken free of that (or you will in this course) and are ready to walk people into the light.
This is NOT the right course for you if...
You're just doing it to get a certification.
Don't sign up just for the credential. Sign up because you would love to acquire coaching skills AND you want to experience deep within your bones what it's like to live courageously and make the world a more loving place.
You're hesitant about whether you're willing to love others the way they are right now.
In this course, we go to a deep level, where you come out transformed, your relationships are transformed and your ability to lead is transformed. Those kinds of changes only happen in a space of complete love and acceptance. You have to be willing to do your own work around this! If you think you might judge others in the group, please don't sign up.
It is extremely practical and useful, and I love that we can apply what we are learning straight away in our practice coaching sessions outside of class and, better yet, inside of class with feedback. I am so encouraged, and I can't tell you how much I am enjoying learning how to coach.
Kristen Unger
Awaken Alumni
I feel like I have learned a TON. The distance I've come is tremendous. I'm able to handle a client not knowing what she wants to talk about. I have a clear sense of what coaching is and isn't. I understand the beginning, middle, and end of a session. I see the value of presence above almost everything else.
Christa Clumpner
Awaken Alumni
I gained deep insights that weren't just concepts, but came from an actual coach's experience in working with clients. These were things outside what can be studied in books or course materials. And they were coming from coaches that were great and loving people who I felt aligned with.
Alvin Baldovino
Awaken Alumni
Frequently Asked Questions
We've covered the questions people ask most often about the program in a video conversation between Christi Byerly, MCC, CEO and Education Director at Awaken Coach Institute and Roxanne Hobbs, PCC, CEO of The Hobbs Consultancy.
They’ll walk you through how the course works, what the retreat offers, and why this path might be the one that supports you in becoming the coach you’re meant to be. Sign up to access this video.
Our Q&A calls are your opportunity to find out everything you need to know to begin your coach training journey with Awaken Coach Institute.
Our next 30-hour ICF-Accredited program starts September 29, 2025
Your total investment is $7,250*
Reserve your spot today with a deposit of $1,400
*payment plans are available
Awaken Coach Institute Faculty Accreditations
Refund Policy
Cancellation of a course must be made a minimum of 21 days prior to the course to be eligible for a refund, minus the deposit. The deposit may be applied toward a future course within two years of the original course date.
Cancellations made less than 21 days before the course start date are not eligible for a refund.
Written notice of cancellation shall be effective on the date the withdrawal is received by Awaken Coach Institute. Refunds, if any, will be made within 30 days following receipt of cancellation or withdrawal requests.
In the event that Awaken Coaching, LLC must cancel a course, due to the COVID-19 pandemic or any other unforeseen circumstances, every effort will be made to place the student in a later offering of the course.
Registration Modifications
Modifications to registration, including substitutions of participants or transfer of course dates, must be completed at least twenty-one days before the program start date. Participants may contact Awaken Coach Institute to modify their registration at communitycare@awakencoaching.com
Course changes will be allowed provided there are spaces available.