How somatic coaching fosters emotional safety, supporting healing and personal growth through body awareness
Somatic coaching is an approach that goes beyond the mind, focusing on the connection between your body and emotions. In our fast-paced, head-focused world, we often disconnect from the powerful wisdom our bodies offer. Somatic coaching creates the space for you to reconnect with these sensations, helping you navigate life’s challenges with greater clarity and ease. By listening to and honoring your body’s cues, you can cultivate emotional safety, heal from past experiences, and move forward with confidence in your own abilities.
Most forms of coaching are based on what we think. Somatic coaching is based on how we feel.
There are many forms of coaching out there, but most of them focus on the mind — on our thoughts, beliefs, and reflections on events. This kind of coaching can help you gain clarity about what you truly want, what’s holding you back, and the steps to move forward.
It can be incredibly helpful and healing to have a neutral person ask the right questions and help you shift your perspective. And yet, for some, it can still feel like something is missing — as if the work stays on the surface.
That’s because we don’t just have thoughts about situations — we also have feelings. And while emotions are often accompanied by thoughts, they are primarily a physical experience. You may have noticed that your emotions come with feelings in your body. Anxiety often brings a racing heartbeat, tight muscles, and shallow breath. Anger can show up as clenched jaws, tense fists, or heat rising in the body. Disappointment may feel like a heaviness in your chest or a hollow ache in your stomach. Through these sensations our bodies are constantly giving us information about how we feel.
When you are deeply connected to your body´s cues you may notice the subtle differences that you feel around different people, environments or experiences.
Our nervous system is constantly scanning the environment for cues of either safety and connection, or cues that something feels off and therefore unsafe. This is because our nervous system is wired for survival — it’s always scanning for cues of safety or threat, even before our mind can make sense of it.
These cues can help us decide what is right for us and what isn´t, and to recognize the friendships, relationships, job opportunities and experiences that feel like home.
Many of us are disconnected from these feelings because we spend so much time in our heads. We’re often taught to rationalize our experiences and make sense of things with our mind — it’s how we’ve learned to cope and feel in control. But we can’t always find a clear reason for how we feel. Our feelings are often based on earlier experiences, our upbringing and the beliefs that were instilled in us. Some of these experiences happened before we could speak or were passed on to us by the generations that came before us.
Because our feelings aren’t always rational, focusing too much on why we feel a certain way can get us stuck in the story, rather than recognizing and processing the actual feeling. That’s where somatic work comes in — an approach that gently brings us out of the story and back into the body.
In my sessions I use a somatic approach, where we focus on the sensations you feel in your body. I gently allow you to feel unprocessed emotions so that you create space for something new to unfold.
When we have had negative experiences in the past that we haven´t fully processed, things that could be right for you can feel deeply uncomfortable. Part of the process is that you learn to recognize when something is truly wrong for you, and when it simply brings up discomfort because of old fear, disappointment or anger from the past.
During our sessions, I create a safe space for you to gently explore and integrate these feelings, step by step. I focus on cultivating emotional safety — where you can feel supported in expressing and processing emotions without judgment — and deepening your trust in yourself and your body.
When you allow your emotions to come to the surface to be held in your body you allow them to complete their natural cycle. Emotions often come with natural tendencies in our bodies (think of crying when you feel sad, and using your voice or movement when you feel angry). Because we – and people in our environment – are often uncomfortable with our emotions, we tend to get into our own way and find ways to avoid these feelings.
Out of this discomfort, we often develop self-protection mechanisms to avoid facing what feels uncomfortable. These might include endless scrolling, people-pleasing, perfectionism, overworking, or avoiding discomfort altogether (like through procrastination). While these mechanisms develop as a way to protect ourselves, they often end up harming us.
In our sessions, I’ll offer gentle guidance as you begin to reconnect with your body’s sensations, at your own pace, restoring trust in your ability to handle and interpret the information your body provides.
Each session is tailored to your personal needs, rhythm, and pace, honoring your unique hopes, dreams, fears, and doubts, and the specific ways your body communicates with you.
I understand that connecting with your body in this way can feel new or intimidating at first. I want to assure you that our work together is always gentle and paced according to what feels right for you. There is no rush, only your own natural unfolding
If you’re ready to explore the power of your body’s wisdom and begin a journey of reconnection, I’d love to support you in this process. Let’s start where you are and take it one step at a time. If you have any questions feel free to send me an email.
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