Somatic Coaching

spring ephemeral wildflowers: pale blue bluets in the background with white and yellow early saxifrage i

Somatic Coaching is a grounded, client-led process. We slow down, orient ourselves to the present moment, and focus on moving forward authentically with what arises and unfolds.

It's a process that uses experimentation, curiosity, and radical acceptance to align our actions with our core beliefs.

It's a powerful, yet gentle tool for finding your path forward and embodying your strengths.

To be honest, it often feels a little bit like magic. 

Even though we are working individually, we are not doing this work in isolation. I am very aware of the impact of the multiple layers of oppression that shape us, as well as the power of tapping into our connection in community.

Some Questions, Answered

A white stuffed animal (Moomintroll) wears blue-grey glasses while tucked under a yellow, flowery blanket.
A white stuffed animal (Moomintroll) wears blue-grey glasses while tucked under a yellow, flowery blanket.

  • Somatic refers to the body.

    Our body and nervous system are wise and oh so much faster than our thinking brains.  

    They’re always, always trying to keep us safe and alive - in the best ways they know how.

    In somatic work we learn to recognize our nervous system’s signals in our body. 

    Listen to its whispers as well as its shouts. 

    Insights and a different kind of understanding arise from listening somatically.


  • We begin with conversation. To understand what you’re arriving with. To discover what you’d like to explore.

    Context and story-telling are so important. So is having someone here to deeply listen.

    We discover what kinds of shifts, changes, and understandings you’re hoping for.

    Together, we find a somatic approach that’s right to experiment with today.

    Everything offered is an invitation - an opportunity to pause, sense, and choose. A practice of listening to our body.

    I support you to stay curious about what’s emerging in the present moment. I offer invitations to pause, observe, and explore what’s unfolding with compassion. Movement, silence, and emotions are all welcome.

    We trust. We notice subtle and powerful shifts. We move at a pace that offers the many parts of you time to be seen, understood and integrated.

    The session closes with conversation. To make sense of the somatic insights and shifts. To move forward in concrete ways, with intention. To gather up somatic practices you would like to continue to play with.

  • Inner Relationship Focusing, an emergent, parts-work modality similar to Internal Family Systems (IFS), is at the heart of my practice.

    Hakomi, a process of mindfulness-based assisted self-discovery, is woven throughout our work.

    Somatic Experiencing, Brainspotting, and Polyvagal Theory strongly inform my practice. 

    Constellations is a transformative process for embodied decision-making and aligning to your intention. The hidden often emerges in surprising ways.

  • Therapy often delves into making sense of the past. It can be helpful for processing and integrating trauma. There are many different approaches to therapy.

    Body-oriented, somatic coaching is a process of embodied sense-making. It is grounding in the belief that each of us is naturally creative, resourceful, and whole.

    We focus on present-moment experience to inform how to move forward in the future. The work is trauma-informed and nervous-system conscious.

    Somatic coaching and therapy can happen at the same time and complement each other.

    Note: I am not trained to make mental-health diagnoses. If you are seeking a diagnosis I would be glad to refer you to a mental health professional.

  • Online Somatic Coaching allows you to be in your own space. Surrounded by your belongings, alongside your dog or cat, in your own cozy space. There’s no rush to arrive. You can choose to have your camera on or off. Practicing online can make it easier to attune to your body in the present moment. We can work together from anywhere in the world.

    In-person Somatic Coaching is an option for folks in Burlington, Vermont. It can be refreshing to arrive in a different and welcoming space. It can help give you a new perspective. The space is quiet, light-filled, calm and spacious. It can be easier for me to attune to subtle shifts in posture or movements of the body in person.

    Both are great options. We can also explore a flexible combination.

  • I offer a sliding scale fee structure to create greater access to somatic coaching for folks of varying degrees of financial security.

    It offers the opportunity for community members with greater financial means to provide support and access to others. My sliding scale is also an attempt to address systemic inequity and oppression.

    Somatic Coaching: $75/hour

    Pay-It-Forward Somatic Coaching: $100/hour

    Community-Supported Somatic Coaching: $50/hour

    You are very much welcome and encouraged to pay what feels right to you (even if that number isn’t one of the numbers listed above). I trust you to know your financial circumstances.

    For more guidance on how to determine what to pay please consult the thoughts of these folks listed below. 

    Deep gratitude for inspiration, wording, and artistry to:

  • You can reach out anytime via my contact page below or email somatic.grounding@gmail.com

    A free discovery call will give us time to get to know each other, to ask questions about the process, and to explore what you’d like to work on together.

    I don’t use an online scheduling assistant/calendar. Let me know what days/times might work for you and we’ll find a time to meet.

I’m looking forward to meeting you…

Use the form to reach out for more information or to book a free Discovery call.

Emailing me directly is also welcome:
somatic.grounding@gmail.com

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Testimonials

  • “You're gifted at opening tricky doors in a gentle, easeful way.”

    — Rowan

  • “You prioritize making people feel safe, but are not afraid to sit with very difficult things.”

    — Amy

  • “Gwendolyn is incredibly skilled at holding space deliberately, listening attentively, and allowing others to take the shape they need without inserting themself into their process.”

    —Kristen

  • "Gwendolyn is a very skilled and kind space holder for the sacred unraveling work that so many of us need to support our healing journey. "

    — Lorena

  • “Gwendolyn is phenomenally skilled in holding an attuned presence and in maintaining a grounded connection. In the months of coaching I've received from Gwendolyn, I have felt exquisitely safe and able to be with my inner being.”

    — Heather

  • “You are able to sit with any topic under the sun and not bat an eyelash. You create safety for your clients through true non-judgment.”

    — Tara

  • “It would be helpful for folks to know that they don’t have to know exactly what they are getting into; that if they feel the nudge to work with you, they should follow that feeling because a huge part of the experience is allowing what’s present to unfold.”

    — Kristen

  • “One of the things I love most about the space that she holds is that she is extremely respectful of what I'm needing in the moment and can be flexible to adjust based on that. I have primarily sought her help for inner relationship focusing, which is tremendously helpful in resolving complex trauma and attachment disturbances.”

    — Heather