Somatically Focused Group Supervision, Mentorship, and Consultation for Coaches & Therapists

Receive support, community connection & nervous system regulation so that you can feel secure and confident in the unique gifts & modalities you offer your clients

Less is more

Now celebrating our 7th year!


9-Months of Support


a somatic experience

This experience is based on a somatic (mind-body) approach to connecting with ourselves and with each other.

Somatic awareness is fast becoming the most highly regarded and cutting-edge treatment approach This program includes important awareness, experience and tools around nervous system regulation, neurobiology, trauma, attachment, healing, and growth. As a practitioner, your clients will be coming to you with these mind-body realities as part of their history—their past and their present.

We’ll embody this mind-body understanding together… I’ll show you how. some themes we will explore:

Embodiment and how being in sync with your body is GOLD: Channeling an awareness of self that you can use to help your client.

Co-Regulation and why it’s already important in the therapy world and will be in the coaching world soon.

Pleasure, ease and resourcing and its power for you and your clients.

Attachment and what happens (consciously or unconsciously) in the client/coach relationship, and how that knowledge will serve both out in the world.

Mindfulness and the joy of staying present, and how it takes all the pressure off.

Trauma and becoming aware of how to meet it when it shows up (because it will).

And So Much More!

The intangibles are what makes this course so special and what you may ultimately find has the most rewarding impact on your practice.

“Before joining BofW I was feeling a bit lonely in my coaching practice. I was seeking a space where I could get reflections and feedback, ask questions and feel supported in some of the things that were coming up for me as a coach. Not only did I receive that, I also learned SO MUCH about nervous system regulation, how to be more trauma-informed, and I significantly build up my confidence as a coach. I loved being a part of this program as it deeply enriched and nourished me so that I had more compassion and energy to offer my clients.”


Usha Rose

Sexual Empowerment Coach


Being skilled in our work doesn’t just stop with getting trainings.

We need ongoing mentorship, consultation and supervision to Integrate & deepen what we know.

We practice what we preach here. We embrace messiness, we sink into embodied & somatic skills and ways of relating, we pause and take breaths, we celebrate each other’s successes and slow down with each other’s challenges. We sit into uncertainty and welcome vulnerability.

The community, supervision and mentorship will help you to:

  • Lean back in your chair when you’re working with clients because you feel so secure and like you can be 100% yourself (funny, sassy, serious, sweary!) and deeply trust you’re doing way more than enough

  • Feel like a real pro when you find an email from a client cancelling last-minute (again!) or pushing your boundaries because you actually HAVE boundaries, agreements and super clear communication in place

  • Get so excited for a day of seeing clients and have the energy to go for a hike, see friends or play with your kids afterwards

  • Feel your belly soft and shoulders melted when you share your offers and pricing during introductory calls, on social media or at networking events (instead of shrinking from the question, “What do you do?”) 

  • Proudly and confidently say “This is my modality and way of working and it's cutting-edge!" to potential clients/your hairdresser/aunty/old colleague, knowing the power and value of your work and the results that come from it

It STARTS with a commitment to practicing, uncovering and allowing our own embodied wisdom & leaning in to our collective clarity, skill and brilliance. This is the ONLY place in the world where you will be guided and held in just this way with a circle of support that you will carry with you for a lifetime and so much space to bring all parts of who you are as you navigate your work and relationships to your clients.

  • My experience with nearly two decades of experience working with clients as a certified coach and a licensed somatic psychotherapist.

  • 20+ years as a movement, meditation, nervous system healing, and mindfulness facilitator.

  • A close intimate peer group of 12 worldwide coaches & therapists who have such wisdom, deep heartedness and dedication to presence and skill.

  • 9-months of mentorship that grows your capacity to be your most grounded, clear, confident and secure self as a healing arts practitioner.

When you sign up for Body of Work, you get support by:

You’re investing here in time and space for you to sink in and deepen your body of work instead of hustling, pushing and always reaching for the next thing.YES this is possible for you.  YES this kind of support and nourishment happens over and over again in these groups.  And YES… you are more than welcome to join us. 


imagine feeling

unshakably steady and wildly supported in your coaching or therapy practice.

Inside this program, we develop your capacity for self-trust in a somatic, genuine, expertly-held community.

It’s simple but deep because sometimes doing less can give us—and our clients—so much more.

Body of Work is not just another informational training. It’s an intimate gathering where we practice the art of togetherness and explore what arises in client sessions—and our businesses—in embodied, connected, and experiential ways.

It's a brave space where you get to be YOU—vulnerable, expert, radiant, and dispirited.

In short, preciously human.

It's a resting place that offers continued support to reinforce what’s already SO GOOD in your practice and help you embody more of what you want to grow into.

impact

Participants say it’s a community of practitioners full of heart, integrity, and creativity - a place to be held and supported through both business-building and serving clients - a continuous upskilling in somatic and relational ways to support clients with integrity.


“Body of Work is a supportive and kind community of practitioners dedicated to providing incredible care for their clients, each other, and themselves. Leaning into relationships with peers that keep getting deeper and more meaningful, coupled with a growing sense that I belong with these people - this creates a beautiful sense of belief in my own skill as a practitioner.

A space for profound integration. Integration of the training and tools I have learned, integration of experiences with clients and in business, and integration of life.”

Ellen May

Art Therapist/ Somatic Experiencing Practitioner & Life Transitions Coach (Australia)


Most importantly, it’s an opportunity to fully integrate all the other training and experiences you’ve had, so you can deepen into and really own your strengths.

Do you ever wish you could talk about what you’re struggling with in your client relationships? In your business? In your own nervous system?

What if you could have that conversation with a group of supportive, deeply understanding, and well-resourced expert colleagues?

How might that shape your practice?

How might that change your life?

Whatever your training, this is a space for you to learn how to integrate specific tools, processes, and methodologies into your work, so that your practice flows effortlessly into a settled feeling of… I’ve got this, and this community has got me.

You’ll receive supervision, consultation, and mentorship around what’s happening for you in your work AND what’s happening for your clients.

community

IS THIS WORK FOR YOU?

The Body of Work Program IS UNIQUELY DESIGNED FOR CoachES AND TherapistS

If you have wrestled with any of the following in your professional life, this program may be a fit for you:

  • Second guess your interventions and responses to your clients

  • Feeling nervous, depleted, armored lost or foggy during sessions

  • Resenting your unique gifts of sensitivity, thinking you just need thicker skin or more energy instead of embracing the power in it

  • Efforting to confidently own your pricing

  • Pressuring yourself to deliver perfect, “transformational” or “breakthrough” experiences to every client in every session

  • Clients canceling often, or not being completely committed, and finding yourself feeling apathetic or panicking about how their canceling impacts you negatively

  • Getting confused about what’s happening between you and your client and feeling continuous tension (or boredom!) between you and them

  • Feeling challenged by your own energy levels in sessions with clients and heading towards burnout

  • Spreading your energy too thin between your “sitting with clients” work and the running of your business

  • Knowing that you have excellent training but feeling unsure how to intuitively weave that wisdom and expertise through your sessions without overwhelming your client

  • Chronically wondering if you need more training instead of integrating and deepening what you already know

If so, BODY OF WORK is for you!

We are excited to welcome you as a part of our community—to share what we know and to learn from your perspective.

“I feel so blessed to be able to participate in this group.

It has been a game changer for me. I'm glad the universe put my business on hold until BoW. With BoW, I now feel like my offer is more valuable.”

Certified Sex Love and Relationship Coach / M.D.

Renee Hilliard

“I just want to express my gratitude for your love, wisdom, compassion, grace and vulnerability. I love the class and our group so much, it feels so intimate and safe. It’s exactly what I need to support me right now as I step out into my [sexuality] work.”

Julia Berryman

Sex, Creativity and Empowerment Coach

join

THE COMMUNITY OF
BODY OF WORK

Imagine only ever choosing another training because it inspires and aligns with your values… not because you fear that you’re “not enough” yet.

“It's real, it's honest, it's nourishing, it's loving. I could not be doing my job without this level of support. It's life changing for me as a coach.

To be witnessed in whatever state you're in, whether you're coping or not coping, whatever you're needing you can get it here in BoW. There's a place for everything, which is pretty unique. I have been in a lot of groups, and this group is probably the most unique place I've been, where I've felt deeply seen, heard, witnessed, and genuinely loved for all of who I am.”

BELINDA WILEY

Sex, Love & Relationship Coach

program details

The pillars of the Embodied Relationships experience are designed for coaches to feel unshakably steady and wildly supported in their coaching or therapy practice.

TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE

Both you and your clients are fully human. Neither you nor they are going to fit into a box that says, “This is how trauma will show up” or “This is what that trauma looks like.”

Everyone’s nervous system reacts in a different way. Everyone carries their past traumatic experiences a little differently. But everyone shares the same desire -: to feel seen, held, welcomed, and understood.

It’s our job to recognize the ways in which trauma shows up and to honor our clients by gifting them with a sense of ease by being a secure support for them to lean into. We can learn how to avoid heaping stress on an already stressed nervous system by creating space for ourselves and our clients every step of the way, allowing them to breathe more fully and melt into support.

HIGH-INTEGRITY RELATIONSHIPS

The number one reason clients leave before they reach their goals is that they feel like their experiences aren’t being well-nurtured. We help build relationships that feel secure and connected, a refuge that our clients will carry with them for a long time. 

It’s about giving clients the humanizing care they crave.

We can’t give from an empty cup. Part of offering our work from a full place is being in alignment with our own values and allowing ourselves to rest upon that foundation.

When we are tending to our own hearts, minds, bodies through connection and community and regular somatic practices, we have a greater capacity to be regulated and resourced.

When we are at home in ourselves - supported and secure, we can be a refuge for others. Being in the healing industry, we don’t have to exhaust ourselves to be of support. We get to thrive too.

COMPASSION AND EMPATHY

When we are supported and centered in ourselves, we are better equipped to respond to what’s in front of us with kindness, compassion, and care. It’s one thing to perform compassion and empathy and another thing entirely to BE it.

In Body of Work, we tap into these states of being through embodied connection. The care and gentleness while sitting within a fierce and boundaried container provides a place to exhale into a space being held by kindness.

You get to bring all parts of yourself. With this care, it’s so much easier to genuinely bring it to your clients and students. By learning how to lean into each other and our own inner and outer resources—how to sit in a wide-open space of compassion and how to respond with empathy. These aren’t things you learn in school. You’ll learn it here.


“It's a gift that people are showing up in such a real way - including Shelby - it feels like there's no pretense, it doesn't feel like we have to posture or be acting as if we've got it all figured out.

We can show up in a very real and raw way, sharing real and raw experiences that happen for anyone in a helping profession. It's vulnerable work. It's often tough on the spirit, it's often tough on the heart. And we can share those things with openness and honesty. I have never felt any judgement or sense of shame for my experience. It feels really safe, and really refreshing to be met in that way.”

Author of Motherwhelmed & Coach for Changemaker Mothers

BETH BERRY


9 MONTH PROGRAM

  • Learning the tools to create a meaningful shift in your experience as an embodied practitioner.

  • Three live, 1 hour 45-minute interactive group calls each month where you will learn trauma-informed somatic practices, receive structured supervision and consultation from Shelby, get answers to any questions you may have, and lean into a peer network community of high-integrity therapists and coaches.

  • Optional discounted one-on-one calls with Shelby to explore your experiences more deeply

  • Access to all recorded calls so you can revisit any themes or practices whenever you need to. And if you need to miss a session, recordings are here for you!

  • Highly trauma-aware and trauma-informed professional development that will guide you to be a more secure and steady coach with your clients (and yourself).

  • 12 participants each cohort.

  • Thriving comes in many ways - feeling energized in our work, having capacity for more money and more clients, being able to lean into a circle of consistent support, and permission to bring your full spectrum humanness. Body of Work is a solid foundation from which to expand from.

  • Connect, collaborate, share, celebrate, ask questions, inspire and be inspired. The Circle App is a great place to lean into support in between meetings.

THE BODY OF WORK PROGRAM
WILL SUPPORT YOU TO:


Embrace all that happens between you and your clients, honoring what you’re meeting with them and in yourself.

Celebrate being seen and acknowledged for the incredible work and incredible moments that happen in your sessions.

Support learning how to work with your tools more intuitively by making space for real-life moments of “not-knowing” what to do next.

Help figure out what’s really going on with your client and why things just feel bumpy or stuck as you guide them.

Gain tools to know how to be and what to do when trauma shows up in front of you.

Increase your infinite capacity to stay steady, skilled and present when so much big life stuff and your own deep healing work are happening at the same time.

Have an experience where you’re supported, recognized, and encouraged to bring all parts of yourself.

Settle in to a state of spaciousness. Trusting that how you’re navigating sessions and sitting with clients is more than enough.

Why continue to take training after training BEFORE slowing down to integrate what you already know?

Feeling a
Wholehearted Yes?


“Shelby, there were so many moments where I had tears of appreciation for you on the call. Thank you so much.

I can’t believe what you have created. I hold a really, really high standard for group facilitators ever since being spoiled by my teacher, Merete, and your space filled a void I’d had for a good group holding experience ever since working with her. Thank you so much.”

Structural Integration Practitioner
(Vancouver, BC)

TRACY DIXON

how to join

What do YOU need to be successful here?

  • You've completed a therapy program or coaching certification program and you've got at least 3-5 regular clients so that you can get the most out of the consults. Participants range from just starting out in their first years of practice to even decades of practice - it's such a rich and deep group of individuals who come together and create a wide circle of support with varied experience and insights.

  • You’re ready to integrate what you already know into embodying deep presence and connection in a revolutionary way.

  • You’re ready to be caring and empathetic toward your peer’s work in a close-knit group support environment that celebrates experience.

  • You’re open to allowing yourself to be both an expert and a vulnerable, transparent human.

  • You’re committed to showing up MOST times we meet, wholeheartedly and with your presence and full attention and open to learning.

  • You are committed to honoring and connecting with people from diverse backgrounds. 

are you ready

FOR THE BODY OF WORK PROGRAM


PARTICIPANT EXPERIENCES

I created this supportive experience for you. And for US.

“I'm feeling so much more confident in my coaching, and like my clients are receiving better care. I feel so supported, I trust I can bring what's going on for me with honesty and be received with kindness. When I reflect on how much I've learned and embodied, I feel like I've been through a coaching training, not just supervision, because of how much my coaching style has been informed by BoW.”

Sex, Love and Relationship Coach
(Australia)

CAROL ANNE

Who am I?


hi

I’M SHELBY LEIGH, MA, LPC

My vision for therapists and coaches in the wellness industry right now is one of high integrity and exceptional skill—with ongoing support for growth and healing—oriented toward building a somatic foundation and being deeply trauma-informed. Ultimately, it starts with us… with our own nervous systems and connection to resources without and within.

My vision is informed by my experiences—in past days spent traversing rapids as a whitewater river guide and in recent years navigating the eddies and pitfalls of both the coaching and therapy worlds. There’s a unifying philosophy that underpins everything we do.

It is the power of being present, regulated, and embodied. Of humans helping humans wade through the turbulence that obscures the underlying potential in everything we undertake, just waiting to bubble up to the surface in a sudden moment of calm. Sometimes all we need is a guide. 

But for all the potential inherent in that philosophy, I’ve uncovered an unsettling phenomenon in the wellness space: For every exceptional practitioner in the field, there are many more that are secretly struggling and one big difference between the two is that the exceptional ones are leaning into a circle of consistent support. A practitioner charting the waters unguided, never reaching that pool of calm, the exhale after the rapids that are the destination of a successful, grounded practice. 

It doesn’t matter what we call ourselves. What matters is how we carry ourselves and how we hold ourselves accountable to our clients. It matters that we work within our scope of practice and that we understand innately what that means. It matters that we step into our unique offering KNOWING that it helps, that it meets someone where they are on their journey and fits another puzzle piece into their healing and growth.

In over 15 years of combined practice as a Somatic Psychotherapist, Certified Coach, Business Coach, Mindfulness, Meditation, and Breathwork Facilitator, I have been given the incredible opportunity to experience firsthand what works and what doesn’t work—to learn and to grow into my vision of what it means to be an exceptional practitioner in the wellness space.

I have seen what connects us to our work and to our clients and, crucially, what leads us to self-doubt and burnout. 

To put my words into practice and be completely open and honest, I spent the first several years of my work in the industry caught up in feelings of doubt and self-criticism—feelings I hoped wouldn’t be noticed by my clients or, worse, hinder my ability to help them. I knew I had so much to offer but was hampered by ingrained notions of being “not enough”—fearing negative feedback and questioning my deserved successes. 

By getting hung up on trying to be “perfect”, I was inadvertently limiting my ability to be an exceptional practitioner—to operate to the full extent of my ability. In short, I was holding myself back. What’s more, I was often exhausted and could feel my body breaking down. Since coming into my body and learning how to regulate my nervous system through connection with myself and others, I have created a core of work that is energizing, enlivening, connecting and presencing.

I’m so happy to say now that I regularly come away from sessions with tears of gratitude, trusting fully that I am in the right place doing exactly what I’m meant to be doing. I want that for you too! I want you to be able to tap more fully into your AUTHENTIC VOICE, DEPTH OF SKILL, and DEEP SENSE OF CARE with wisdom, compassion, and confidence, so you can TRUST in your ability to create a safer space for your patients to heal.

say yes

to Integrating Your Unique Power


COMMITMEnT

to Diversity & Inclusion

The Body of Work program is committed to inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity, ability, and expertise. To be engaged, participants must feel included and valued. We strive to build and nurture a culture where inclusiveness is highly valued and seamless, where there is a deep sense of pride, passion, and belonging for every single person. We know that different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative environment that delivers better learning, healing, growth, and connection. To support an inclusive environment where participants feel empowered to share their experiences and ideas, we ask that everyone who shows up is also committed to this vision.

Not only is the experience itself inclusive, but we’ll also explore broadening our collective awareness of issues specific to clients in marginalized populations or populations different from our own, and how to tailor our coaching and therapy to those folx.

SCHOLARSHIPS

I am proud to offer a few scholarship spots at a 50% discount and love supporting the community in this way.

I prioritize folks with marginalized identities—BIPOC, LGBTQI+, individuals with disabilities, single moms, refugees, first-generation immigrants, etc.  If you’d like to apply for one of those spots, please don’t hesitate to reach out and we can chat about it.

 FAQs

  • You might be thinking to yourself that your experience is either way over other practitioners in this group or way under. I get it! It’s easy to imagine all sorts of things but the reality is the myriad of experience here brings such depth and richness.

    It takes all kinds of embodied, caring professionals to tend to our world-wide community of humans and what you’ll get here will be invaluable to deepening your relationship with yourself, your clients and your body of work.

    It is beautiful to get to support a group of therapists AND coaches - we all need to be on the same side and feel supported, seen and held by each other. In BoW, we all have gifts and modalities that are wildly meaningful and in BoW, we meet every person where they’re at. It’s really a beautiful thing.

  • No. You must have already been trained and/or certified in a specific coaching or therapy modality. This professional development program is designed to help you deepen, embody and integrate the modalities you love and have been trained in.

  • This is a place to share extensive client information (while keeping their identities 100% confidential) and get feedback from Shelby (and the group!) around what’s happening in your sessions. We’ll follow a structured somatic way of offering and receiving constructive feedback and get curious together about how you can navigate and understand what’s happening in your sessions for you, for your client and in the field between the two of you.

  • Calls will be structured similarly every time. We’ll start ON TIME and end ON TIME. We’ll begin with a brief practice and either a themed teaching or community connection, then set aside time for you to share and explore client questions, general coaching questions/issues, and any business-building questions that may arise.

  • The beauty of these group explorations is that we all learn from each other’s scenarios NO MATTER WHAT. Each case offers wisdom that applies to everyone’s coaching practice. A lot of care will be taken to make sure EVERYONE gets plenty of airtime in a balanced way throughout the program. If any questions aren’t answered on the live calls, they can be answered after the call in the online group as well.

  • 1 hour and 45 minutes.

  • It is strongly encouraged as it will enhance your experience and the experience of others. The more everyone shows up, the richer the experience will be for everyone sharing their collective wisdom and encouragement. However, we understand that life happens and it’s not always possible to show up…so the sessions are recorded and available for you to watch at any time. You’re also welcome to have your camera on or off, however it is helpful if you can have it on at least some of the time so we can see you and feel connected to you (and so you can feel seen!).

  • Yes. This is supervision and consultation group around client work. It is recommended to have at least a few regular clients to get the most out of Body of Work. You’ll gain support deepening your confidence and skill and learn from the other coaches in the group.

  • Body of Work is primarily focused on client consultations (and what happens inside ourselves when we’re with clients or thinking about sitting with clients). It’s for tending mostly to what comes up in our work as practitioners.

    HOWEVER, occasionally people ask business related questions and that’s ok too. Everyone usually resonates and gets something from it which is great, but that’s not the primary focus.

    In the "1:1 Nervous System Support for You and Your Business" offering, it’s primary focus is on regulation - getting your nervous system supported so that you have self-trust and feel secure in your relationship to your business and feel more ease and flow when it comes to implementing strategy and feel able to be more visible in the world as you share your work and your gifts.

    We also do focus on what strategy/strategies work best for YOU and where you’re at in your business so that you have a clear path forwards for how to put your work out there in the world to the people you feel most inspired to work with.

  • There is a 30-day money-back guarantee. I’m so confident in the power of this program that I will refund your investment if you are not satisfied within 30 days of the start of the program. You must have attended all calls live to be eligible for a refund. No refunds after the 30 day period.

are you

Feeling a
Wholehearted Yes?


“It’s affirming how similar all the other coaches' experiences are to mine. I thought I was alone and crazy because all the FB coaching groups I'm in show just post after post of coaches celebrating their successes.

My clients get so much more out of our sessions when we're just present (with a hearty dollop of silence) with what's here rather than trying to cram so many tools in. No more need to "dig" and "find the root" or even "integrate", just explore and get curious with space and encouragement to really feel what's going on.”

Michelle Garfinkel

Holistic Sex Coach