I’m sitting on the beach, surrounded by rose quartz and citrine crystals, the scent of lavender oil wafting up from my wrists. Seated across from me is Jessie De Lowe, a yoga instructor, art therapist, wellness blogger, and newly minted manifestation guide.
Over the sound of waves crashing, I’m regaling her with my current frustrations—mostly having to do with love and money. She asks me a question so seemingly random that it stops me mid-rant: “What brings you a sense of fulfillment and joy and love for yourself?” As I begin to describe how inspired and confident I feel when it comes to my job, I instantly get the connection De Lowe wants me to make: If I approached my budget and my Bumble app with the same high-vibe energy that I feel when I’m writing and reporting, would those aspects of my life be as successful as my career? Hello, a-ha moment.
That’s the point of this manifestation session—to figure out what’s holding me back from my dream life, and how I can use certain spiritual tools to actually make it a reality. (Yes, it’s kind of like life coaching, but with a heavy emphasis on the law of attraction: The controversial idea that by deeply feeling into what you want and raising your energetic vibration, you can magnetically draw good people and situations toward you.)
It’s kind of like life coaching, but with a heavy emphasis on the law of attraction.
De Lowe isn’t the only one helping a fresh generation of seekers navigate these classic new-age ideas, popularized decades ago by the likes of Marianne Williamson, Esther and Jerry Hicks, and The Secret author Rhonda Byrne. Type “manifestation coach” into Google and page after page of practitioners comes up, all of whom promise to help clients call in whatever they want from the universe.
Based on testimonials alone, there are plenty of manifestation coaches who do seem to get some pretty impressive results—cushy job offers, soulmates, apartments with a view. And with the self-care movement in full swing, it’s no surprise that this kind of assisted self-inquiry is so in demand right now. Yet it’s a totally unregulated field, which begs a few questions: How do you know that the “coach” you’re seeing is legit? Can’t you get the same results from reading a book? And really, how many woo-woo wellness pros do we actually need on speed dial?
Keep reading for more on the new world of manifestation coaches.
What does a manifestation coach do, exactly?
Unlike health coaching or life coaching, there’s no school or certification board for manifestation coaches. That means every practitioner approaches their work a little bit differently, based on their own past experiences and training.
The one thing they do have in common? Among the guides I spoke with, each one has been extremely good at creating amazing things in her own life. (And eventually, when enough people start asking how you did it, you know you’ve got a business idea.)
De Lowe’s process focuses on the energetics of manifesting. When she meets with clients one-on-one (for $275 a session, mainly over Skype), she asks them to conjure up what their ideal day would feel like, and then shows them how to cultivate those feelings in their everyday lives. “My sessions involve meditation, visualization, and energy work,” says DeLowe, who you may recognize as one of the co-founders of How You Glow. “It’s like a more holistic version of life coaching. I’m getting people to take a deep, deep look at where their patterns and thought processes come from, and how that affects [the vibe] they’re putting out into the world.”
Lacy Phillips, a…
