Have you ever found yourself feeling drained or disconnected while serving clients, despite the fact that you’re helping others find peace and clarity? If so, you’re not alone.

The truth is, coaching can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also be draining if we don’t take care of ourselves. That’s where somatic healing comes in.

Somatic healing and self-care

As someone who’s experienced in the field of somatics, I know how powerful somatic healing can be for people in the helping professions, including coaches, healers, and therapists. You see, our bodies hold onto stress, trauma, and emotional baggage, and if we don’t release it, it can start to affect our ability to connect with others and our own inner authority.

Somatic healing is a way to address these issues by working with the body and nervous system, rather than just the mind. It can help release trapped emotions, reduce stress and anxiety, and bring you back into a state of balance and well-being. This not only makes us feel better, but it also helps us be more present and effective in our work with others.

Somatic healing and its benefits for your practice

So, how can somatic healing benefit coaches specifically? Well, it can help you maintain your own inner peace and clarity, even when you’re helping others find theirs. It can help you avoid burnout and overwhelm, and bring you back into a state of connection and balance. It can also deepen your own practice of self-inquiry and help you understand the somatic components of mindfulness and stress reduction.

What does the research say?

Overall, the research suggests that incorporating somatic techniques into our own work as coaches, healers and therapists can lead to stronger therapeutic alliances, greater empathy and attunement, and reduced risk of burnout and secondary traumatic stress.

A study published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology found that therapists who were more aware of their own bodily sensations were better able to accurately perceive their clients’ nonverbal cues, which in turn improved their ability to form strong therapeutic alliances with their clients. The researchers noted that “the more therapists were able to be present and attentive to their own sensory experiences, the more they were able to recognize and respond to similar experiences in their clients, which helped facilitate the therapeutic process” (Caldwell et al., 2010).

Another study published in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, found that therapists who engaged in their own somatic work reported feeling more comfortable and confident in working with trauma survivors, and also reported experiencing less burnout and secondary traumatic stress. The researchers noted that “therapists who have a deep understanding of the somatic experience of trauma are better equipped to create a safe and healing environment for their clients, and are less likely to experience the negative effects of vicarious trauma” (Fisher, 2015).

Next steps

In short, somatic healing is a powerful tool that can help coaches stay healthy, grounded, and connected to their own inner wisdom.

So, if you’re feeling drained or disconnected, or if you’re simply looking for ways to deepen your practice, consider exploring somatic healing. You might be surprised at how much it can help you be the best you can be.

I offer individualized support for caring professionals in my private coaching practice, as well as group support in my program “Body-first Business”. Click the links to find out all the details!