Somatic Coaching: A deep dive into 'Body-Mind' Transformation

Unlocking the Power of Embodied Awareness for Lasting Change

By Sarah Yearsley, Wellbeing Magazine, March 2025

A pdf copy of this article can be downloaded here

Despite the many advantages of our modern, hi-tech world, life has never felt more pressurised as we focus on external tasks and achievements. The mental stimulation is often so intense that it is easy to feel disconnected from our bodies.

Chronic stress response is a sign of a dysregulated nervous system, when the body becomes trapped in a 'fight, flight, freeze, or fawn' state.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also the pressure to focus on ‘personal development,’ which often means engaging the mind in a constant pursuit of self-improvement. We want to train ourselves to be more efficient through ‘positive thinking’. But what if true transformation requires something different from just changing our thought patterns?

WHAT EXACTLY IS ‘SOMATIC COACHING’? 

The word soma comes from ancient Greek, meaning ‘body’. Somatic coaching places the body at the heart of the work where the attention is on both the thinking mind and what the rest of your body is telling you. Rather than focusing only on thoughts and cognitive processing, it engages the whole self – thoughts, emotions, sensations, intuition, and deeper wisdom. We refer to this as the ‘body-mind’. 

In its simplest form, coaching is a conversation—an intentional dialogue where the coachee feels deeply heard and gains new insights about themselves. In body-oriented coaching or somatic coaching, we move beyond cognitive exploration. Instead of focusing solely on solutions, we prioritise embodied awareness.

Embodied awareness is the state of being fully present in your body, recognising and integrating physical sensations, emotions, as well as thoughts. It involves tuning into your body's signals to gain a deeper understanding of your experiences. This is where the coachee can recognise patterns, make better choices, and start to engage with life more fully.

HOW DOES SOMATIC COACHING DIFFER FROM TRADITIONAL COACHING?

Coaching, as a practice, emerged from the humanistic movement of the 1950s, shaped by influential figures like Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls and the principles of Zen Buddhism. Humanistic psychology challenged the traditional focus on mental trauma and its causes, emphasising instead personal growth and the potential for positive change. 

Somatic Coaching draws on the schools of Somatic Psychotherapy, Gestalt, Focusing and Hakomi and incorporates the latest findings from Neuroscience, Embodied Cognition, Interpersonal Neurobiology and Polyvagal Theory. Our evolving understanding of each of these domains moves us away from the traditional focus of modern psychology on the reflective mind, and points us towards the human being as an integrated whole.

​Traditional coaching methods predominantly focus on cognitive processes, analysing thoughts and behaviours. While this can be effective, it often neglects the body’s role in shaping our experiences. Somatic coaching bridges the gap between intellectual insight and lived experience by integrating bodily awareness into the coaching process. This deeper connection allows for transformation that is felt or embodied rather than merely understood.

HOW DOES SOMATIC COACHING DIFFER FROM PSYCHOTHERAPY?

While psychotherapy often explores past experiences to understand present struggles, coaching prioritises the present and future. Although past experiences may surface, the emphasis is on how they manifest in the present moment and influence the future a client is creating, rather than deep analysis of the past itself. 

The coaching process is about walking alongside the coachee as they make sense of their experiences and move toward their fullest potential. At its core, coaching is about guiding individuals to unlock their inner resources to achieve personal transformation.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND SOMATIC COACHING: WHY IT WORKS

Somatic coaching is backed by the latest neuroscience and psychology. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory highlights how the nervous system plays a crucial role in emotional regulation and social connection. By working directly with the body, somatic coaching helps shift people out of chronic stress responses and into a relaxed state of safety and presence.

Hemispheric neuroscience shows that the conceptual mind is largely governed by the left hemisphere which is good at focussing on the separate elements of life’s experiences. It is not so good, however, at stepping back and seeing the bigger picture which is the role of the right hemisphere.

The left hemisphere, in its conceptual and abstract role, is often at risk of losing touch with reality. It is of course useful to think abstractly, but, too often in our daily lives, we create ideas about the world that are disconnected from our day-to-day reality. And it’s easy for us to get stuck there.

In a Somatic Coaching session, we are able to engage both the left and right hemispheres, allowing for a more integrated understanding and heightened awareness of a problem or situation.

WHY DOES THE BODY HOLD SO MUCH? UNDERSTANDING STORED EMOTIONS AND TRAUMA

Our bodies store our experiences, including joys, traumas, and everything in between. Neuroscientific research has shown that trauma can alter brain function, particularly in areas related to memory, emotional regulation, and stress response. These imprints live in our nervous system and can manifest as physical sensations, behaviour, or deep-seated emotional patterns.

Stress often manifests itself physically through tight shoulders, a clenched jaw, or shallow breathing. The body stores our history, holding onto trauma, stress, and emotional experiences long after the mind has ‘moved on.’ These stored patterns influence how we behave, often without us even realising it.

Somatic coaching helps bring these unconscious patterns to light. Through somatic techniques, we can access bodily memories and release stored tension, allowing healing and transformation.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM SOMATIC COACHING? IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU?

This approach is for anyone looking to deepen their self-awareness, process emotions more effectively, and build resilience. It’s particularly useful if you are at a crossroads, a decision is looming, or you are facing a significant challenge in your life. This could be in anything from your career to your personal life. You may be struggling with stress, anxiety or burnout. You might be seeking answers on how to move forward or wanting to improve your decision-making and life skills generally. Either way, you feel stuck or unfulfilled.

On the other hand, you might not be facing a specific challenge but are committed to the path of personal development. Somatic coaching can be a highly effective tool to help you do that.

WHAT HAPPENS IN A SOMATIC COACHING SESSION?

 

Just as in traditional coaching, you will engage in a spoken conversation which can take place in person or on Zoom. You might bring an area of your life that you’d like to explore, and you will be supported with exploratory, open-ended questions. However, unlike standard coaching, you will also be invited to tune into what your body is communicating. This might not seem logical to the thinking mind, but you are asked to resist the urge to analyse and instead stay with the felt experience.

Imagine this. You’ve been feeling overwhelmed and stuck in a cycle of overthinking. Instead of simply talking about it, a somatic coach might guide you to notice how this affects your body. Is there a tightness in your chest? A buzzing sensation in your limbs? Through movement, breath, or visualisation - or a technique known as ‘focusing’ - you will be helped to shift that sensation.  In doing so, you will find yourself transforming the tightness into a sense of expansion, the buzzing into grounded stability, or begin a dialogue to discover what the tightness or pain is wanting to communicate.

A key concept in this work is the felt sense—that gut-level knowing when a sensation arises in the body and carries an implicit meaning. Engaging with this felt sense can open up a deeper, more embodied understanding of yourself.

Sessions unfold organically, allowing for spontaneity, playfulness, and self-exploration.

HOW CAN SOMATIC COACHING HELP YOU EMBODY CHANGE

We’ve long been taught that we are what we think. However, Somatic Coaching reveals a

deeper truth: we are what we embody. Our capacity for change, connection, and resilience

emerges most vibrantly when we fully inhabit our bodies.

As you navigate your personal growth journey, remember that focusing solely on the mind

without listening to the body’s wisdom is like trying to complete a puzzle with missing

pieces. True change happens when we embrace our whole selves—body, mind, and spirit.

Rather than just acting or analysing, Somatic Coaching invites us to be. To experience

ourselves as an ever-evolving symphony of sensations, emotions, and awareness. When we

learn to align these elements harmoniously, we create meaningful transformation that

extends far beyond the mind.

With a heart attuned to this wisdom and a body engaged in its own unfolding journey,

Somatic Coaching offers a powerful path to integration. It’s not just about learning—it’s

about living, feeling, and embodying a new way of being.

Ends

Sarah Yearsley is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accredited Body-Oriented Coach. She has built a reputation for her empathetic, professional approach and her ability to foster positive change in the lives of her clients.

www.somatic-coach.org