In my early years as a coach, I remember sitting across from a client who had just shared something deeply vulnerable. I guided her to notice what was happening in her body… and she looked at me blankly.

“I don’t feel anything,” she said.

And inside my own soma, I felt a wave of panic. Am I failing her? Did I miss something in my training? How do I help someone who can’t access their felt sense?

I tried different approaches. I re-read my VITA materials. I even questioned whether I was cut out for somatic coaching at all.

Here’s what changed everything:

I stopped trying to convince my clients to feel their bodies. Instead, I started studying the actual neuroscience and trauma-informed frameworks behind embodiment—not just as a concept, but as a lived, accessible practice.

I enrolled in Somatic Experiencing® training (a 3-year commitment).
I worked with my own mentors and supervisors.
I experimented—a lot—with different doorways into the soma.

And slowly, something beautiful happened.

What once felt like my biggest challenge became one of my coaching superpowers.

I learned that sensation isn’t the only way into the body-mind. That sometimes, starting with imagery or impulse or even a thought is exactly what a nervous system needs. That easing someone into embodiment is an art—one that can be learned, practiced, and mastered.