FAQ

In a word, no. But many people find coaching very therapeutic. There are lots of discussions about what are the differences between coaching and therapy. Generally, therapy addresses the past and coaching the present and future. This is a little too simple. Coaching does not involve pathologizing or diagnosing anyone, it does not directly work with mental illness or acute mental health crises. Coaching is not for the purposes of addressing trauma, though good coaches have taken some trauma training and adopt a trauma informed approach when working with clients. If you still are unsure, reach out in a discovery call and we can clarify the best kind of support for you.

It depends on what kind of person you are! If you feel it’s important to know something really thoroughly before you engage, then you should defiitey start exploring. You can do this by reading some books or listening to podcasts. Here are some options:

Books:
What it Takes to Heal by Prentis Hemphill
Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
Call of the Wild by Kimberly Ann Johnson
Bodyfulness by Christine Caldwell
Your Body is Your Brain by Amanda Blake

Podcasts:
Sex, Birth, Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
Liberated Being with Brooke Thomas
Becoming the People with Prentis Hemphill
How to a Better Human with Chris Duffy: Episode The meaning of Embodiment with Prentis Hemphill

If you’re someone that wants to dive in and explore by experience, that’s also great. I can tell you there are many lineages and perspectives of somatics and embodiment and we will never come to an agreement as a society on one definition. What matters is that you explore in a way that feels right for you and your body.

By now you may have noticed both the terms somatics and embodiment get used almost interchangeably. To distinguish slightly, embodiment is what we are trying to cultivate and somatics is how we get there. But both terms centre the body as the domain of change and wisdom.

There are no refunds.

A no-show or last minute cancellation is not eligible for rescheduling or refund. I require 24 hours notice to reschedule an appointment.

Embodiment is literally for everybody. I work primarily with entrepreneurs, coaches, and leaders that are struggling with overwhelm, isolation and stress. They’re successful in many aspects of their lives but are unsure of how to cope with the pressures, pace and expectations of modern life and business. They want to feel like they can tap into their creativity, unravel some of their challenges and conditioning and feel more aliveness. Many of them are saying “there has to be a better way!” They’ve tried a lot of things that haven’t helped them. They are ready to stop thinking their way to a solution and instead begin their journey towards embodiment.

This work is not considered therapy. If you are in acute mental health crisis or in need of counselling therapy please reach out to other health care professionals such as a medical doctor or psychologist.

Training and courses:

Bachelor of Arts
Political Science and International Development Studies
Saint Mary’s University 
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Master of Urban and Rural Planning
Dalhousie University
Halifax, NS

Massage Therapy Diploma 
ICT Northumberland College
Halifax, NS

Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Diploma
Somatic Experiencing international Training Institute 
Boulder, Colorado

Feminine Embodiment Coaching Certification 
School of Embodied Arts

Family Constellations and Systems Certification
Family Constellations NYC with Luisa Muhr

Morning Altars Facilitator Training
With Day Schildkret

Other courses and Somatic training:

Money and the Nervous System
Kimberly Ann Johnson

Basic Psoas workshop
With Liz Koch

Stalking Wild Psoas workshop
From Womb to World
With Liz Koch and Anna Verwaal

Decolonizing Notions of Psoas
Liz Koch

Lattisimus Dorsi: Wings of Support
Liz Koch

Bones, connective tissue and Psoas
Liz Koch and Sue Hitzman 

Rediscovering Resilience
Maggie Williams and Erika Lyla
Strozzi Institute 

Coaching in Context
Nathan Shara
Strozzi Institute 

Align your Practice
Sage Hayes

Power of Embodied Transformation 
Coaches Rising

Buteyko Breath Retraining
Jennifer Snowdon 

Embodied Dignity and Boundaries
Jane Clapp

Traumatic Stress and the breath
Jane Clapp and Jennifer Snowdon

Breath and the Nervous System
Kimberly Ann Johnson

Source Regulation
Katie Dove

Declaring a New Future
Strozzi Institute

In embodiment coaching we are really meeting and tracking what emerges uniquely from each person; however, I follow a general flow of exploration of these layers:

Orientation
What’s here now? How is your life living in you? What’s your relationship like to your body and nervous system? What do you pay attention to? What’s your relationship like with emotions? What’s working? What’s not working and what do you need to let go of? What needs more attention or support? What patterns are you noticing? What habits do you want to interrupt?

Shapes
This is where we really start to look at how your body is holding a lot of this information. How do you organize under pressure? What does it feel like when you feel most like yourself? How do you access where your desires live? How do you cultivate some of the skills that you need to be in relationship?

Constellations
Who and what are you connected to? What systems are you a part of? What communities influence you and are influenced by you? Our culture would have us believe we are alone and must figure out how to do this alone. This is a myth. What do you want to connect to both inside and outside of yourself? How do you move towards what you care about?

Scar Tissue
We all have parts of ourselves that we have avoided or that we have tried to ignore. These are adaptations made by an intelligent body that is trying to hold itself together. We don’t have to explore all of our scars, in fact there is a lot of research that shows this is not necessary! But we can acknowledge that we may still have some areas that need attention and a different kind of support. We may start to bring into the light what has been hanging out in the shadows. What do we take with us into our future and what can we let go?

Integration
So we have found out some new information about ourselves, we have some new clarity and practices that are supporting us. What do we do with this new information and how do we integrate this into our nervous systems and daily lives? What kind of support and practices do we need to sustain these new ways?
Topics can include: Nervous system regulation, embodied dignity, how you organize under pressure, how to have difficult conversations, what skills you need to be in relationship, getting clear about what you care about, building capacity for emotional regulation, metabolizing trauma, how to interrupt automatic habits and reflexes, getting clear about and moving towards what you care about.

Kith and kin refers to all the people you’re connected to. Typically, kith are people you know but are not related to and kin are all your blood relatives. Maybe we can even extend this to include all life you’re connected to.

The name kith and kin can help you remember: you’re not alone. You’re here to connect and to feel part of multiple communities. Doing your own personal growth work is crucial…and what if we did this work to live and love better? What if it could lead to better connection to the people and the world around you?