The Art of Somatic Coaching: Embodying Skillful Action, Wisdom, and Compassion

The Art of Somatic Coaching introduces the concepts and principles of coaching with practices that include body awareness, bodywork, and mindfulness for both the coach and the client. Author and expert coach, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, PhD, explains that in order to achieve truly sustainable changes in individuals, teams, and organizations, it is necessary to implement body-oriented somatic practices in order to dissolve habits, behaviors, and interpretations of the world that are no longer relevant. He explains that these ways of being are integrated in the body--at the level of the musculature, organs, and nervous system. By implementing a somatic approach, these patterns can be shifted in order for transformation to occur.

Opening with a discussion of the roots of Somatic Coaching, the book describes the emotional and physical cost of being distanced from our bodies. Originating from the rationalistic idea that the mind and body are separate, this sense of disconnection spurred the emergence of the field of somatics that views the body as not just a physiological entity, but as the center of our lived experience in the world. Out of this philosophy, Somatic Coaching was developed as a way to cultivate the self through the body.

Methods in this book include:
- Somatic awareness--becoming aware of sensations
- Somatic opening--includes bodywork to release held patterns in the body
- Somatic practices--meditation, movement, and being present in everyday life

The social context in which one is raised, the supportive, healing force of the outdoors and nature as well as acknowledgment of the spirit are also woven into the practice. Through these practices, a rhythm of unfolding occurs in what Strozzi-Heckler describes as an Arc of Transformation--moving in stages from conditioned tendencies to a new satisfying and fulfilling way of being that is fully embodied.

Contents: Introduction; Chapter One: A Short Distance but a Big Cost; Chapter Two: Coaching; Chapter Three: Somatics and Somatic Coaching; Chapter Four: The Methodology; Chapter Five: The Rhythm of Action; Chapter Six: The Somatic Arc of Transformation

Author: Richard Strozzi-Heckler
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Published: 02/11/2014
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781583946732

About the Author
Named one of the top fifty executive coaches worldwide in the landmark resource The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching, RICHARD STROZZI-HECKLER, PhD, an internationally known speaker, coach, and consultant on leadership and mastery, is the president of the Strozzi Institute, which offers consulting and coaching services to individuals and companies on five continents. Over the past forty years he has coached thousands of individuals from Fortune 500 companies, NGOs, technology start-ups, nonprofits, the U.S. government, and the military.