Embodiment Coaching

Learn how to navigate the world in the body you have right now.

 

Living in a larger body is hard. Period.

No matter how much inner work you’ve done, you may still face challenges like… 

  • Dreading the “well-meaning” suggestions or prejudiced insults about your weight at an upcoming medical check-up and procedure. You wish you could advocate for yourself with assertiveness and conviction.

  • Wishing you knew how to respond to Aunt Gertie’s tactless comments at an upcoming family event that doesn’t include hiding in the bathroom.

  • Feeling disconnected from your body, like your head is attached to a string, floating alone in space. You want to feel more aware, present & connected to your body.

  • Wanting to join Weight Watchers again even though you intellectually know diets aren’t the answer.

For us fat folks, it’s extraordinarily difficult to feel present in our bodies when the world is not a safe place for us. 

We’ve experienced years, or decades, of criticism, disrespect, and prejudice from friends, family, and society — and ourselves. To survive, we’ve done the only thing we could: disassociating from our body’s sensations and emotions. We’ve lost touch with our bodies, and along the way lost the richness that comes with feeling present inside our bodies. And even if we intellectually understand the falseness of diet culture, feeling those truths on a gut level may still be a struggle.

Embodiment Coaching helps you connect to your body’s sensations so you can build a healthy relationship with your present body and live a more present, grounded & richer life — no matter what size you are, or what size you wish you were.

What is Embodiment Coaching?

Embodiment Coaching is rooted in Somatic Experiencing, which is the practice of creating a relationship with our body, by developing awareness of physical sensations and connecting to the world through our body in a healthy way. 

The goal is a deepening of our ‘felt sense’ – an inner knowing and awareness of your sensations and experiences; a bodily trust. We take this body-based (known as somatic) work — along with your emotional, intellectual and spiritual selves — to create a more cohesive you  where you become more fully embodied. 

We work with the innate wisdom of your nervous system and expand your capacity to regulate yourself — and then respond confidently — even in the most challenging situations. 

By learning tools to calm your nervous system and successfully navigate the world in your body, you will be able to connect with yourself, others, and the world on a deeper and more authentic level.

About your Embodiment Coach:

Hi, I’m Melanie, Embodiment Coach, and a fat, queer, cis woman.

After spending many, many years completely dissociated from my body, I know the pain and struggle of navigating a world that has no room for you.  I also have experienced the life-changing benefits that somatic work has given me. Drawing on my lived experiences as a fat, queer, cis woman who struggles with depression, anxiety, and chronic pain; my background in trauma-informed mental health counseling and Somatic Experiencing (SE) plus my lifelong love of ‘sacred irreverence’, I’m here to help you get reacquainted with your body so you can live the richest, most joyful life possible.

While Embodiment Coaching can be healing, it’s different from therapy.

  • Short-term goals

    There are many, many goals beyond weight loss that you can achieve. We set bite-sized achievable goals, celebrating each success as we go.

  • Focus on the present

    While I have a background in trauma-informed mental health counseling, our focus is on developing the skills and mindsets you need to thrive right now.

  • Practical guidance

    I bring my experiences, struggles, and learnings into our work. It’s like having a wise, fat friend who relates to what you’re experiencing and can offer insightful, practical support.

Embodiment Coaching is immensely valuable alongside, or separate, from therapy

As a trained and experienced therapist, I am astutely aware of the underlying trauma and history many fat folks carry with them. I am also extremely conscious and respectful of my role as a coach. I will never push you past safety or leave you vulnerable and uncontained. If I sense we’re moving into unsafe territories, I have the skills and sensitivities to contain you and recommend therapy or further support.

What coaching may include

 

  • Learning simple techniques to gain body awareness

  • Challenging and reframing thoughts, beliefs and ideas

  • Interrogating beliefs around weight loss and diet culture

  • Roleplaying difficult interactions

  • Using (sometimes irreverent) humor to build resilience 

Who is Embodiment Coaching right for?

 

If you are a fat person and…

☑ Are currently in therapy for body image, eating disorders, or trauma and want goal-based skills to feel more present and connected to the body you have right now

☑ Have done deep work in therapy and want to integrate your intellectual understanding to achieve “gut level” transformations

☑ Are on your intuitive eating journey, but you still feel like you should be losing weight. You want the tools to navigate the world with more confidence and presence in your current body

☑ Wanting to unlearn the effects of diet culture or work on self-image

☑ Looking to gain more somatic awareness and comfort in your relationship with your body

…then Embodiment Coaching may be ideal for you.

However, if you are….

  • struggling with an active eating disorder and do not have support and treatment structures in place

  • looking for therapy

  • holding unresolved trauma


Embodiment Coaching may not be the best fit for you. We would recommend seeing one of our body-centered psychotherapists.

All you need to succeed is a giant helping of curiosity and a generous sprinkling of courage.

I believe the most powerful work we do together happens just outside the confines of our comfort zone, what I call ‘a curiosity zone’, but before we reach a place of shutting down — our can’t zone. My goal is not to push so hard that you shut down but to be able to build capacity within yourself to expand into a brave space. It can be hard work, and is also exciting, invigorating, and fun.

 
 

Meet your Embodiment Coach

Meet Melanie

FAQs

  • $125 per session or a package of 5 for $500

  • We are not in-network with any insurance providers. We can provide a form for you to file the session as an out-of-network provider.

  • Yes, since this is Embodiment Coaching with a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, we can work with folks all over.

  • Embodiment coaching can be a powerful complement to your current therapy process. While your therapy journey will provide crucial insights and understanding over time, this coaching provides practical tools to handle challenging situations and develop resilience in the present.

  • I believe that we can achieve a lot without having to meet regularly. Together, we will decide how often we will meet, and reassess as we go.

  • There’s no set amount of sessions you need to commit to. Once we begin, we’ll decide together what makes sense for you.

  • Coaching is NOT a replacement for therapy. Trauma, disordered eating, eating disorders, and body-image struggles have deep psychological roots and deserve the attention and skill of a trained mental health professional. While I am a trained therapist, my coaching is goal-oriented. I deeply respect my limitations as a coach and only accept clients if I believe they are psychologically healthy enough to benefit from our work.

  • Yes, see the link below for more information.

You deserve to live your richest, most connected, and most joyful life in the body you have right now, and I’d be honored to support you on your journey. 

If you’d like to explore if Embodiment Coaching is right for you, let’s book a 20-minute chat. 

We believe people should not be turned away for lack of funds. If none of these options work for you, you may request equity pricing here.