Somatics is a relatively new modality in executive coaching. Somatic Coaching holds that people do not necessarily change because they have gained knowledge; they change because they engage in new practices that changes who they are. This means embodying what you learn in a physical way, and not just acquiring cognitively new information. 

In somatic coaching, we look at body postures and the subtle changes we make to our bodies in different circumstances. For example, we might tighten our chests when we have to say a ‘no.’ We might contract our pelvic muscles in anticipatory anxiety or we might keep our knees locked whenever we stand or keep our facial muscles tightened to brace the onslaught from the external world. We notice how it affects us and how precise practices with the body, breath, energy and attention can shifts us. We also notice how these practices when repeated over time, impact how we show up in the world, and how our response changes under the same old situations.

I learnt this approach to coaching from Richard Strozzi, the father of Somatic Coaching through several years of training at his Aikido Dojo at a ranch in Petaluma, CA. In my work, I also use subtle energy principles that I learnt from Lynda Caesara in Berkeley, CA and Norma Ramos-Ott in Richmond, CA.