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Somatic comes from the word SOMA, meaning the body in its wholeness.
Somatic coaching involves partnering with you as a whole person, more than just your mind and abilities, but working with who you are as whole, interactive, living being. This includes automatic thinking, feelings and moods, actions or non-action, beliefs, muscular contractions, and ways of relating. This also includes habituated patterns- like moving towards (appease), away or against in times of stress/pressure.
In somatic coaching, we use your body's wisdom, that you can sense and feel, as our guide.
While both somatic coaches and therapists help you improve your life, therapists typically focus on addressing mental health issues and past traumas (looking back), while somatic coaches focus on helping you achieve your goals and improve your overall well-being (forward looking). It is also possible to work with both concurrently and I have numerous clients that work with both myself and their therapist.
My approach is to offer a series of sessions as a package versus stand alone sessions. This allows you to deepen into the topic and discover more about yourself and what lies beneath. Through allowing time and repetition (through daily practices), you will be able to go at the speed that is right for you and your body and have a lasting transformation versus a quick, temporary fix.
There is no clear answer as to exactly how many session you will need until we get a few sessions in. I find most people see their results within 8-12 sessions. Some choose to continue past this, focusing on new topics that perhaps weren't available to them until after starting Somatics.
You will be invited to notice what you’re experiencing in your body (sensations, moods, emotions) and learn to follow your nervous system’s cues. Through slowing down and using your body’s wisdom as our guide, we will get to know what your ‘yes’ and ‘no’ feel like in your body. You are always at choice and your voice will be heard and respected.
Together we will do some gentle somatic practices and set a declaration- what you want to achieve and who you need to be to achieve it. This will serve as our "North Star".
Each session, we will explore both through conversations and physical/somatic practices.
You will leave each session with a somatic practice specifically related to your session intention to continue to practice between our sessions.
No two sessions will ever be the same.
It can be done however works best for you, your sense of comfort and your availability.
It can absolutely be done on Zoom. In fact, I meet more than half of my clients over Zoom.
I find that the results may appear slightly faster in person but overall Zoom has never held anyone from the full experience. Some clients even prefer to meet over Zoom as they may have places in their homes where their body feels the most comfortable.
Confidentiality is of utmost importance in my coaching practice. I adhere to the International Coach Federation's (ICF) Code of Ethics, which includes strict guidelines for maintaining client confidentiality.