Somatic Coaching

Somatic Coaching Course

This course is offered as part of the MA in Executive and Organizational Coaching degree at Royal Roads University, and also available as a stand-alone professional development opportunity – a deep dive into a drastically new approach to coaching.

This 9-week virtual course offers existing personal and professional coaches a transformative and highly practical approach for deepening and enhancing the quality and impact of their coaching relationships by integrating the wisdom of the whole body – somatic presence and awareness. Emphasis is placed on a blend of theory and the science behind somatic and presence-based approach to coaching, with the Deep Coaching Somatic Framework, experiences, and a variety of practices that empower individuals – both coaches and clients – to create lasting change, cultivating self-awareness, and grounded presence that support authentic and aligned action in all aspects of life.

Using this blend of theory, ongoing somatic coaching demonstrations, and a lot of practice with the somatic coaching framework, you will develop an integrated somatic orientation to your coaching approach. Additionally, you will learn ways to develop the skills, capacity, and quality of full-body presence within yourself, furthering your own professional growth and development.

Receive 24 Core Competency International Coaching Federation Continuing Coach Education (CCE) credits upon successful completion of this course.

Past Testimonals

Simon led us in beautiful somatic experiences. He taught methods but welcomed us to find what was true for us. Deeply knowledgeable about subject matter, strong instructional and facilitative skills, highly engaging and responsive. Additionally, he was extremely organized which allowed for great flexibility in delivering lessons relevant to what the class was capable of experiencing. Very intuitive, open, gentle, kind, authentic, real, and trusting. A wonderful role model. He delivered a powerful and transformative course with relative ease and grace, while also using humour very appropriately. He also had a beautiful way of providing feedback and sharing insights in such a way it allowed for experimentation and kept the learning fun and engaging.

This was one of the most impactful courses of the M.A. program. It really has taken my coaching presence to the next level. Highly recommend this course to be part of the core curriculum. The material brought us into a much deeper understanding of human nature and gave us real life experiences to experiment with ourselves both as human beings and as coaches. The contextual information completely supported the experiential learning and was 100% relevant to the higher calling of coaching. This should be a mandatory course for the M.A. in Executive and Organizational Coaching and should be the last course of the degree. What a way to end!!! EXCELLENT!!!

In this course, you will:

  • Integrate somatic practices into your coaching approach to leverage body-based intelligence.
  • Explore the three centers of intelligence (head, heart, and body) to enhance coaching presence.
  • Apply neuroscience principles to deepen the coaching relationship.
  • Facilitate client self-awareness using body-centered techniques.
  • Develop a personalized somatic coaching plan for ongoing professional growth.
  • Practice full-body presence during coaching sessions for deeper client transformation.
  • Reflect on personal growth and improve coaching techniques through peer and faculty feedback.

Learner Effort – approximately 12 hours per week.

The next offering of the course starts on May 11, 2026 and continues for 9 weeks. It runs through the Professional and Continuing Studies at Royal Roads University, and the registration is HERE.

Required Textbooks (additional cost):

  • Blake, A. (2018). Your body is your brain: Leverage your somatic intelligence to find purpose, build resilience, deepen relationships and lead more powerfully. Trokay Press.
  • Caldwell, C. (2018). Bodyfulness: Somatic practices for presence, empowerment, and waking up in this life. Shambhala Publications.
  • Silsbee, D. (2008). Presence-based coaching: Cultivating self-generative leaders through mind, body, and heart. John Wiley & Sons.