What is Somatic Coaching?
Somatic coaching is an invitation to come home to your body.
It’s coaching that doesn’t just ask, What are you thinking?—but also,
What are you sensing? Feeling? Moving toward?
Because change doesn’t happen in the mind alone. It lives in breath, in sensation, in the quiet impulses your body already knows.
How somatic coaching can impact us at work
Michael was deciding between two similar job offers. When he tuned into his breath and body, one felt open and full of possibility, the other tense. His body gave him clarity.
As Ana stepped into a leadership role, noticed she often entered meetings with tense, forward energy. Through somatic coaching, she practiced standing grounded and open. This helped her lead with more presence and connection.
Francis faced a difficult conversation. Instead of rehearsing, we focused on the breath and body. Staying present, their perspective shifted and new options appeared.
Somatic coaching is a space where we follow the body and new possibilities in our perspective emerge.
What Is Somatic Coaching?
Somatic coaching is a return to the body.
It invites us out of the noise of thought and into the quiet intelligence of sensation—what we feel, what we notice without words. Through breath, posture, and presence, we remember how to listen to ourselves more deeply.
Somatics is the study and practice of the living body—what we feel, sense, and experience from within. The word soma refers to the body as lived, not just as a physical object, but as a source of knowing.
When we work somatically, we’re not trying to fix the body—we’re learning to listen to it. To follow its cues. To reconnect with the intelligence that lives under the surface of words. For us to go where we want to go in life, work, leadership, our careers as whole beings.
Why Somatic Coaching Works
Transformation happens through presence—not just in your mind, but in your whole self.
We can’t think our way into transformation. Somatic coaching tapis into full intelligence—mind (IQ), emotions (EQ), and your body’s felt sense (what one of my teachers calls BQ).
Your nervous system is constantly sending signals: tension, ease, energy, numbness. When we learn to slow down and listen, those signals become information and they also transform as we listen. This can turn into tremendous insights, and where we can also embody these insights into.
With time and gentle attention, clients learn to:
Greater confidence when speaking in meetings or the boardroom
Mastery in navigating difficult conversations
Clarity in moments of career or life transition
A deeper sense of self-trust, felt from within
Somatic coaching offers a focus on the body as another source of data and intelligence
How is Somatic Coaching Different From Regular Coaching?
Traditional coaching can focus on mindset and goals, using powerful questions to explore new possibilities through conversation.
Somatic coaching includes that—and adds the body and emotions. We notics how you breathe, move, or feel in response to a challenge. That’s where hidden insights often live.
Rooted in neuroscience, mindfulness, and polyvagal theory, this approach helps you shift from reaction to response, from confusion to clarity—not just through talk, but through lived experience.
What Does a Somatic Coach Do?
A somatic coach helps you tune into your body’s wisdom to explore how sensation, tension, posture, breath, or sensation might reveal something important about where you're stuck—or ready to grow.
A Somatic Coach might guide you through:
Grounding practices
Visualizations or gentle movement
Breath awareness
Mond-body coaching conversations
Unlike therapy, somatic coaching doesn’t aim to heal past trauma. It’s future-oriented—supporting embodied decisions, observing emerging patterning, and creating gentle but sustained forward movement.
How Can Somatic Coaching Benefit You?
Somatic coaching supports:
Clarity and direction — Know what you want and how to move toward it.
Resilience — Stay steady through challenges, without burning out.
Confidence — Reconnect with your voice, your values, and your presence.
Self-awareness — Tune into the signals your body sends before they escalate.
Why work with a Certified Somatic Coach
Working with a certified coach ensures you’re supported by someone trained in ethical, trauma-aware, and effective practices. Look for certification through organizations like the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and additional training in trauma-informed and somatic coaching.
What this offers you:
Safety & Boundaries — A clear understanding of coaching vs. therapy
Confidentiality — Adherence to global coaching ethics
Competence — Demonstrated skill through practice and supervision
Experience — Many certified coaches have over 100+ hours of client worktes at least 100 hours of coaching to receive their accreditation.
What are Somatic Coaching sessions like?
Each session is unique. We start with a check-in: What’s present for you right now? What do you want to explore?
Then we follow your experience through body-centered inquiry—sometimes using breath, movement, or silence to uncover what’s beneath the surface.
This process is gentle, collaborative, and surprisingly powerful. You’ll leave with more clarity, more connection, and often, a next step that feels right in your whole system.
“Paula’s ability to provide insight and mobilize energy within our fields was apparent... after the work, I met my objectives and I got to experience the magic that surrounds us on a day-to-day basis if we are open to it. Other take-aways that have helped me a lot in my path were powerful mindfulness techniques. Her empathy and professionalism were also aspects that made my experience a very nurturing one. I’m very glad about this choice!!”
The work doesn’t stop when the session ends. I often invite clients to carry simple practices into their da
Bringing Somatic Coaching into Daily Life
The work doesn’t stop when sessions end. I often invite clients to carry simple practices into their day—like checking in with the body before making a decision, pausing to breathe before a meeting, or noticing what brings a sense of ease.
These micro-practices add up. Over time, you don’t just think differently—you move differently, speak differently, relate differently.
Ready to Begin Your Journey?
Perhaps you’re circling the same question and long for a new perspective. Maybe you’re standing at a crossroads and want to move forward with clarity and confidence.
If so, I invite you to explore what somatic coaching can open for you.
BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION
I’m a certified mindfulness, somatic, and wellbeing coach with the International Coaching Federation at the PCC level. I also bring expertise in yoga, career transitions, and IFS-informed coaching from the Embody Lab.
If you’re ready to reconnect with your body’s wisdom and move forward in a grounded, authentic way, I’d be honored to support you.
