Somatic Coaching

Unlike traditional coaching, which often focuses on cognitive processes, somatic coaching takes a bottom-up approach by tuning into the body and it’s role in shaping emotions, thoughts, and behaviours.

The history

It’s rooted in somatic psychology and influenced by practices such as yoga, mindfulness, and neuroscience. Soma, derived from the Greek word for body, is a fancy way of saying the lived experience from within. You might have heard the phrase, the body keeps the score? It really does. Our bodies store emotions and memories that can affect how we move through life.

The process

Somatic coaching is a gentle process to build interoceptive awareness by becoming more aware of physical sensations and exploring how they relate to thoughts and emotions. It can help to release long-held tension, address unconscious patterns and triggers, improve capacity for managing stress, and, improve interpersonal relationships.

A typical somatic coaching session with me can involve practices like breath exercises, body scans, subtle movement, and visualisation exercises. For those in sympathetic activation (fight or flight) or, dorsal activation (freeze), I’ll work with you to begin to orient toward safety and connection - this is what we call the window of tolerance.

You’re in the drivers seat

This can take time, and it’s so important that we go at a pace that your body is comfortable with. Then, when you’re spending more time in that window of tolerance, we begin to expand your vagal tone so that you can process and bounce back from activation more readily.

Somatic coaching is about working with your body, engaging in deep listening, so that we can find the tools and strategies that work for you. The long term goal is to help you to move through challenge and feel more grounded, present, and connected to yourself and others.