The Body-Centered Coaching Method, developed by Marlena Field, is a somatic (body-centered) approach that gives coaches an advanced level toolkit to create sustainable change with their clients and gives clients a way to break through internal barriers and to unleash forward movement much more quickly.
Grounded in the latest research in neuroscience and mindfulness, Body-Centered Coaching builds on an integration of the teachings of the Hakomi Method of Psychotherapy and the coaching methods of The Coaches Training Institute (CTI). These Body-Centered techniques combine mindfulness with access to the body’s wisdom, creating a whole-person-centered approach that enables clients to experience a greater depth of insight, self-awareness and self-acceptance.
Body-Centered Coaching is both an approach and a set of tools. Body Centered Coaches are trained to connect to their own body as a resource when working with clients. They focus on 'being', which includes being:
- Mindful, present and centered
- Creating spacious in the coaching conversation
- Comfortable with silence and not knowing
- Creative, intuitive, curious, and open to experiment
Body Centered coaches work from a holistic perspective. Their client sessions:
- Include the whole person: body, mind, spirit
- Engage the client’s full resources
- Focus on present moment experience
- Bring mindfulness and attention to breath, movement, and sensations
Body-Centered Skills:
A Body-Centered Coach brings a full toolkit of processes and techniques designed to engage their clients' body, mind and spirit in creating the powerful transformation and sustainable change they are seeking.
In addition to using the body as a resource and working from an holistic perspective, Body-Centered coaches are skilled in using nine specific tools that engage body, mind and spirit in the three areas that lie at the heart of client transformation. These tools enable clients to:
- Move Beyond Limits - releasing disempowering beliefs and moving beyond fear and anxiety.
- Make Embodied Decisions that they will commit to and will follow through on, leading to meaningful and sustainable change.
- Engage their Embodied Resources to build resilience and emotional capacity as well as to make powerful, transformative change in their lives.