Tired of Overthinking Everything? Your Body Holds the Answers - An insight into Somatic Coaching
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to feel burned out, overwhelmed, and stuck in cycles of stress and perceived pressure. You might be familiar with their associated sensations, maybe you’ve felt them within your body, like a tightness in your chest, a racing heartbeat, a pulling back or a constant heaviness that lingers or bounces back - no matter what you do.
The sensations held within your body, are the core of what we work with in Somatic Coaching (or as I like to call them, Somatic Exploration Journeys).
Somatics is a term quickly becoming one of the latest buzzwords and is often used in many different ways and contexts. Somatics, itself, means ‘relating to the body’. So modalities like yoga, kinesiology, reiki, breathwork, and massage are all inherently somatic. However, things differ in the approach to working with the body and connecting with the experiences in the body.
Here, we’ll explore somatics through the context and approach of Somatic Coaching.
What is Somatic Coaching?
Somatic Coaching is a gentle, body-led, nervous-system based approach to navigating life’s challenges. We work with your body to not just talk through the challenges you’re facing; but to allow them to shift, process, and rewire on a deep, embodied level whilst moving toward your desired outcomes and goals.
Somatic Coaching bridges the mind-body connection by guiding you to tune into your felt sense—the deeper sensations and signals within your body. This is the language and wisdom of your body (and it’s a muscle that we slowly strengthen our connection to bit-by-bit in our Somatic Exploration Journey sessions).
Through the portal of your felt sense, we help you release stored tension, process unresolved experiences, and move toward a more embodied and empowered way of being.
The Somatic Coaching Approach
Every Somatic Coaching practitioner approaches this work differently and may use different tools and techniques. Some practitioners may take a top-down approach, prescribing certain Somatic techniques to soothe the nervous system and shift your state. This may include prescribing nervous system regulation exercises, emotional release techniques, mindful movement, tapping, shaking, body scanning or breathwork.
While other Somatic Coaching practitioners may follow the body’s lead by taking a bottom-up, present-tense approach. This is the approach I use within my sessions.
A bottom-up approach is where we get curious about and attune to what’s happening at the level of your body, in the present moment and following your body’s natural rhythms, cycles and cues.
This means that rather than digging for the root cause (or prescribing a technique), we take the approach that your body will let what is ready to be known or processed to surface naturally, without force or effort. So we let your body lead the way, following its subtle felt sense cues, rather than getting stuck in the past or in the mind.
This may look like noticing, being with and following the instincts, impulses, sensations, emotions, movements, memories, or images that naturally arise as you attune to your body.
As you are guided through this process, layers of tension that you’ve held onto and stored, begin to release and your body may start to instinctively move, breathe or express what is needed in that moment. It’s a process of learning to trust your body’s natural intelligence and wild wisdom, where your nervous system knows exactly how to reorganise and rewire itself without your mind’s interference. This cultivates a greater connection to stability and ease from the inside, out - and a deeper sense of self-trust.
What I am so appreciative of about this approach to Somatic work is - it helps us to reconnect to what it is to be human, and helps us return to our natural way of being.
The Body’s Intelligence
Our bodies are more than just our physical self; they’re intricate systems that store emotions, thoughts, experiences, energy, and wisdom. Every experience you’ve ever had, whether joyful or painful, leaves an imprint in your nervous system, shaping how you move through and perceive the world.
Somatics works with your implicit memory - the unconscious imprints stored in your nervous system that shapes how you respond to stress, relationships and experiences.
When living and experiencing your everyday life, your nervous system intelligently responds by activating fight, flight, fawn, freeze or collapse responses (or a mixture of these responses) to support you.
When trauma or a stressful event(s) happen that overwhelm your ability to respond, and your natural stress response doesn’t get the opportunity to do it’s thing, this experience gets trapped in the body as unprocessed material. This ‘somatic residue’ (as my teacher Sarah Coxon calls it) often impacts how you feel, react and navigate life, and can form adaptive behavioural strategies that get activated during times of real or perceived stress.
Working somatically is meeting this somatic residue and helping it to move through, process and rewire within the nervous system.
When we hold space for this to occur, it opens up space for your body’s resilience and blueprints of empowered ways of being (that are often lying dormant or suppressed under layers of stress and tension) to come back online. So that in moments of stress, you’re better able to pause and respond from a place that feels more intentional and authentic, instead of defaulting to patterns that don’t feel as aligned. And it helps pave the way for you to experience a broader array of sensations or feelings you might not have experienced in a long time (like pure joy, deep rest, child-like excitement, embodied confidence).
Taking a Somatic approach, isn’t about never feeling difficulty or stress ever again, rather it helps us better ride the inevitable waves (the ebbs and flows) of life and know how to connect to a sense of stability within ourselves when things get overwhelming.
Why Traditional Mindset/Life Coaching or Talk Therapy often fall short
Traditional coaching often focuses on evaluating and adapting one’s mindset, limiting beliefs and strategies to overcome challenges and move toward a future-oriented goal. While traditional coaching can provide valuable insights and awareness, it often overlooks the body’s role in how we feel and experience life.
A lot of the tensions and stress we experience are stored in our body and can affect our ability to move forward. Sometimes this shows up as the feeling of apprehension, resistance, a pulling back or self sabotaging when moving towards achieving big goals (or even taking the next step).
Somatic Coaching considers and prioritises what you’re feeling in your nervous system by helping you gently explore and process the sensations that are coming up for you. We approach this in a way that is steady and doable, to not add any extra or unnecessary overwhelm to your nervous system, as you move towards experiencing the changes you desire in your life.
I see Somatic Coaching as a bridge between, and complementary to a traditional talk-therapy or coaching approach - addressing the gap by working with and being in connection with the body’s natural intelligence.
Benefits of Somatic Coaching
Somatic Coaching isn’t about “fixing” you, because you are not broken. Somatic Coaching brings you back into coherence with the magic and wisdom of your body, and reconnects you to honouring your humanness. It is a reminder that your body’s natural intelligence knows exactly how to heal itself, and so many of the parts of you that you are searching for or wanting to feel are already there within you (waiting to be watered to bloom).
Some of the benefits of Somatic Coaching include:
Deeper understanding and self-compassion for yourself (and your quirks!) and others
Greater self-awareness and capacity to process bodily sensations, feelings and stuck unprocessed life experiences
Greater capacity and resilience to handle stressful and challenging moments
Better able to return to a state of nervous system regulation (aka feeling more stable)
Discernment and knowing what is right for you
Deeper self trust and better able to tune into your intuition
Feeling more confident and embodied within yourself
Who is Somatic Coaching for?
I feel like every body (pun intended haha!) can benefit from Somatic Coaching. Particularly if you feel like you’ve ‘hit’ the invisible ceiling from experiencing talk-based therapy/coaching or experiencing lingering strong sensations or heaviness in your body that’s affecting how you would like to show up in life.
Many of my clients are women who feel like they’re always “on”, they often feel exhausted from keeping it all together, always caring for others but rarely having the space to just be. Many of the women I work with have a big heart and feel what’s happening in the world (or what’s happening around them) so strongly that it often feels hard to be themselves or feel the deep sense of connection they crave.
I find that Somatic Coaching is great for the deep feelers and the overthinkers. The ones who’ve tried the mindset work, journaling, the to-do lists of self-care — and still feel disconnected, anxious, stuck, or numb.
Somatic Coaching may be for you if you:
Feel like your nervous system is stuck in fight/flight/freeze/fawn — even on quiet days (or feel guilty about taking a break)
Are craving a deeper sense of connection with yourself but unsure how to get there
Notice physical symptoms of stress (tight chest, fatigue, nervousness, etc.)
Tend to overthink or get stuck in your mind, and want to get back into your body
Can feel yourself holding unprocessed emotions or triggering life experiences in your body that feel like they’re bubbling under the surface
Struggle with burnout, doing all the things, and know this isn’t the pace you want to be doing things anymore
Want to live more slowly, intentionally, and with more self-trust and confidence in yourself
Are open to body-led, intuitive practices and willing to sit with discomfort rather than bypass it
Are open to and want to take a slower, more gentle, deeper approach to healing and transformation (this isn’t a quick-fix or step-by-step formula)
Common Challenges that Somatic Coaching Addresses
Somatic Coaching is an approach that can support almost any challenge that creates a sense of activation, trigger or response within your body.
Some examples of challenges that I support my clients with:
Chronic Stress and Burnout
Feeling guilty about resting, taking things at their own pace, or taking a break
Anxiety and Overwhelm
Feeling stuck or emotionally heavy
Feeling disconnected from your authentic self
People-Pleasing and Boundary Issues
Decision-Making Struggles
Low self-confidence or self-trust
Navigating career change or transitions
What to Expect in a Somatic Exploration Journey session
I see Somatic Coaching sessions as an exploratory journey, where we walk together with curiosity and compassion around what’s present and coming up for you. Here, I help guide you in navigating your bodyscape.
These sessions are intentionally slow-paced, where we work little by little, and layer by layer, to not overwhelm your nervous system. Also because the nervous system rewires in slowness.
A Somatic Exploration Journey session with me looks like:
Supporting your body to come into a sense of stability or grounding
Reconnecting to the present moment or connecting to sources of support (this might feel like a meditation)
Noticing what’s present at the level of the body as we speak to your chosen topic/challenge
Following your body’s cues in what wants to happen next or how it wants to metabolise undigested life experiences or activations by following sensations, emotions, images, memories as they show up
Lots of space for integration (Heads up - there will be moments of silence where we pause, and moments of doing ‘nothing’. While it might feel like nothing is happening in these moments, it serves a deeper purpose of feeling more complete and integration (the process of rewiring) in the body!)
You also get the choice of experiencing Reiki Energy Healing and (if you do an in-person session) Australian Bush Flower Essences to deepen your experience and receive further energetic support.
The work we do in session is often subtle, yet transformational. It’s really normal for the first few sessions to feel a bit clunky or like nothing is happening - this is part of the process - and this is just like any new experience where something feels unfamiliar. In the first few sessions, we are intentionally recalibrating and reconnecting to the pace of your nervous system (not the pace of society or the pace of your mind) so it’s normal if it feels slower than it' ‘should’.
There may also be moments that might not make logical sense, and this is where the true magic of Somatic work happens - when we allow the rational mind to step aside and let the wild wisdom of your body lead!
Preparation and Aftercare
There is nothing you need to do to prepare for a session, just arriving as you are, with an open mind and heart.
After a session, I always recommend trying to give yourself plenty of space and time to integrate the experience and rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I’m really disconnected to my body, will this affect my experience?
A: Not at all! Usually, the first few sessions are where we begin to plant and water the seeds of connecting to your body through your felt sense. Some people can connect really quickly to their bodies, and for some it may take a little bit of time building this muscle of connecting to their felt sense - both are absolutely normal. You’d also be amazed by how connected you already are to your body without realising it!
We can also spend the whole first few sessions just connecting to and being with the sensations in your body, and that might feel like exactly what it is that you need, before we even touch on or explore the topics you’re wanting to dive into.
Q: Is Somatic Coaching like therapy?
A: Somatic Coaching is not a substitute for therapy or deeper psychological or medical support. While Somatic Coaching may support processing elements of the past, it also focuses on moving forwards and supporting new embodiments, ways of being and the future you want to create and experience.
Q: How many sessions do I need?
A: Growth and healing takes time, and when we work with the nervous system we particularly want to move slowly and gently. I usually recommend at least 4-6 sessions to experience progress and noticeable shifts, and assessing from there when it may feel complete enough for you. Everyone’s timeline and process is different, and there is no one size fits all to the ‘right’ number of sessions.
Q: Is there any physical movement involved?
A: When we follow the instincts and impulses of your body, sometimes there may be small, subtle gestures that want to come through to be expressed. Sometimes there might not be any movements. I always give the option for my online clients to turn their camera off if they feel uncomfortable with expressing their movement on-screen. With my in-person clients, I offer the option of me turning away if they feel uncomfortable. You always have choice in our sessions to help you feel more supported and comfortable.
If this gentle, body-led approach is something you’re curious about exploring, come experience a 1:1 Somatic Exploration Journey session with me. I have online and in-person sessions available in Taringa, Brisbane.