Spiritual Somatics Coaching Training Module Two:
Cultivating the Container
What is the Inner Alignment method of Spiritual Somatics?
What is the Inner Alignment method of Spiritual Somatics? What are its foundational principles?
The Inner Alignment method of coaching is founded by Kimberly Beekman. It is rooted in the Yogic and Ayurvedic principles of the Doshas and Koshas, in addition to neuroscience, trauma theory, and psychology.
The basic premises of Inner Alignment Coaching are that:
The vibrational effects of childhood trauma stay frozen in the body
These lower vibrational frequencies and dissonant vibrations (wave forms) recorded in the field from the trauma eventually lead to loss of prana (life force) due to the trauma seeping into all layers of the body. The trauma is expressed differently in the different koshas.
In order for the client to be healed, these old vibrations need to be neutralized and released in the field while introducing new tools and techniques for the client to use to help reprogram and rewire all layers of the body to be oriented towards higher frequencies while reconnecting them with their Heart.
The 3 fundamental pieces to this method include:
Healing the trauma in the body by accessing the past and releasing base vibrations that lead to anxiety or depression
Rewiring the 6 layers of the body to hold higher, heart-based vibrations so that the old pathways are redirected
Reconnecting the client to their Heart Space while holding the client in the frequency of Divine Love
In other words, this is work of concurrent Excavation and Creation. As coaches we are simultaneously working with clients to excavate past traumas through witnessing, clearing, and rewiring as we also work with them to create new pathways by rebuilding their belief systems and behaviors and consciously cultivating visions of what they want their lives to look and feel like.
What are the Koshas again?
Koshas: The 5 “sheaths” or “veils” of the body that keep us in separation from Atman, or Bliss/Unity Consciousness. They include:
o Annamaya Kosha (food, bio body, physical body; Earth element)
o Pranamaya Kosha (energetic body; Water element)
o Manomaya Kosha (mental body, thoughts, emotions; Fire element)*
o Vijnamaya Kosha (intuition, awareness body, observer; Air element)
o Anandamaya Kosha (bliss body; Ether element)
*In Inner Alignment Coaching the Manomaya Kosha is separated into two layers of the body, the mental and the emotional. Each are looked at separately to understand how they work individually and in tandem
The symptoms of trauma manifest in differently in each of the Koshas:
o Annamaya Kosha (Physical): pain, autoimmune, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome
o Pranamaya Kosha (Energetic): weakened auric protection, loss of “spark”
o Manomaya Kosha: (Mental): stories of unworthiness, abandonment, mistrust, limiting belief systems (Emotional): anxiety, depression, panic attacks, manic depression
o Vijnamaya Kosha (Awareness): The vibrational disturbances in these other layers are too tumultuous for us to tap into our inner connection. We come to identify with the reactive, chaotic, rajasic energies and mistake them for “Us.” As we heal the Anaamaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha, and Manomaya Kosha, our internal landscape becomes quieter and less chaotic and we can spend more time in our Awareness Body.
What are the Doshas again?
Doshas: Refer to our physical constitution, and unique energetic blueprint of the body. Through this lens we are mostly interested in Ayurvedic psychology, and how our doshic constitutions leads to behavioral patterns.
Our dosha corresponds with the dominant elements in our physical constitution, and where we tend to veer when we become imbalanced. We each have a Prakruti (original doshic blueprint at birth) and a Vikruti (current imbalance). Our Vikruti can shift over our lifetime corresponding with the seasons, stage of life, and life circumstances, but our Prakruti stays the same.
There are 9 possible dosha types. They include:
o Vata (Air)
o Pitta (Fire/Water)
o Kapha (Earth/Water)
o Vata/Kapha (Air/Earth)
o Vata Pitta (Air/Fire)
o Pitta Kapha (Fire/Earth)
o Kapha/Vata (Earth/Air)
o Pitta/Vata (Fire/Air)
o Kapha/Pitta (Earth/Fire)
Why does the Inner Alignment method root itself in the Doshas and the Koshas?
By working across all 5 layers of the body (Koshas) and educating clients about the energetics of their own bodies (Doshas), we work against a passive form of healing wherein a client shows up to be “healed” by us, and empower them to self-heal by introducing new perspectives, paradigms, tools, and paradigms through which to understand their puzzle pieces.
Many other therapies work on a single layer of the body (yoga asana, physical and energetic; talk therapy, mind and emotional, etc.) to treat the symptoms. We work across the 5(or 6) layers of the body to get at the root cause of the symptoms manifesting in the different layers of the body through a toolbox of techniques and methods. We present an array of tools to the client and focus clearing, rewiring, and rebuilding.
Here are some of the techniques we use and goals we hold as we work each layer of the body:
o Physical:
o Goal: To heal and calm down the nervous system
o Tools: Body scanning, breathwork, yoga, herbal and food medicine
o Energetic:
o Goal: Identify, target, and release energetic imbalances and blockages in the body
o Tools: Chakra and Dosha education, frequency healing, mantra, toning, sound healing, energy tools, Violet Flame, Ho’oponopono to clear energetic residue
o Mental:
o Goal: Rework belief systems, thought patterns
o Tools: Innocent Perception, Soul Questioning, Gratitude, I AM statements
o Emotional:
o Goal: Assist clients in expanding their emotional spectrum and capacity to sit with difficult emotions
o Tools: Energetic weather, pain body, Feel and Process
How does the Inner Alignment method understand trauma?
The Inner Alignment does not distinguish between “T” and “t” trauma. It understands that vibrationally all trauma is trauma. Trauma is an energetic disturbance in the field that threatens our well-being, and leads to reactive patterning and belief systems that come to structure our experience of ourselves and our world.
As humans we put a hierarchy and emotional investment on different forms of trauma. This is very dangerous as people often minimize and downplay their trauma. As a result, often it is the “little t” traumas that are most insipid and dangers, because unlike “T” they are not even on the person’s radar as trauma.
What happens in Trauma?
After a traumatic incident, the sympathetic nervous system becomes activated and we go into fight or flight. Long after the threaten is gone, our bodies stay hard-wired in self-protection mode, burning through prana and keeping us in a reactive state. This is because the physical body is wired for fear to keep us safe. (What happens at different levels of the body p. 32)
What are “Trauma Packets”?
These are the energetic imprints of trauma in the field, that manifest in symptoms throughout the Physical, Energetic, Emotional, and Mental Bodies:
“When the trauma freezes, it gets stored in a physical and energetic space within the body, specific to how the person experienced the trauma. . . this is not a metaphor. The entire trauma situation lives unresolved, in the chest and hips of her adult body and continues to give the six layers signals that the trauma is still happening”
(Beekman 33)
The frozen ages where the wounding occurred resurface when we are triggered, and we are no longer acting from a fully resourced, adult state. We are replaying the script of the original trauma. Trauma packets can be understood as a fire in the basement of a house, threatening the foundation and structural integrity of the ecosystem.
How is this work connected to manifestation and Law of Attraction?
At our core, we are merely a collection of energies and vibrations. When we are connected to our Heart Space and Lightbody, we are tuned into the frequency of Divine Love. When we are identifying solely with our 3D human body, we are playing out old fear-based programming, alongside any distortions in our original energetic blueprint stemming from past traumas and triggers, old belief systems and unworthiness stories, and inherited intergenerational patterning and wounding.
In truth, we are creating and manifesting all the time, we are just doing so unconsciously. The most practiced vibration in our field, or in the room, will set the tone, so if we have been running the programming of victimhood, unworthiness, scarcity, loneliness, etc., we are actually calling situations, circumstances, and people into our lives that match that unconscious pattern and vibrations. Simply put, like attracts like:
“Your past patterns and their vibrations predict the future . . . those who follow New Age spirituality’s interpretation of law of attraction believe they should bypass those old vibrations and use positive thoughts to override the negativity so they don’t attract something negative. They stay super focused on keeping a high vibration so they don’t attract the negative, but here’s the thing: Whether you ignore them or not, those trauma packet vibrations are living there. They are loud and kicking up dirt and negative vibes, either way. You can ignore them and pretend they don’t exist, but the Universe responds to the loudest vibration in your body. . . . You must feel like the Universe supports you and that what you want is possible, actually inevitable” (Beekman 45, emphasis mine)
Often Lightworkers and Empaths move through a part of their journey where they are attracting “narcissists” into their field. Empaths will tend to position themselves as victims in this equation and go into a position of duality, labeling themselves as “good” and narcissists as “bad.” This phenomenon is an initiation of sorts, and simply playing out the 3D pattern of polarization and duality. While Lightworkers and high frequency beings will frequently attract those with denser pain
bodies and deep wounding because of their inherent light (think moths to a flame), often those deemed “narcissists” are not intentionally acting as “energy vampires.” They are unconsciously drawn to the light to refill their prana, having lost access to their own. The lesson for empaths in this equation is to be able to recognize as these people as “master teachers,” who are identifying for them their own dormant wounds and pain bodies that still need to be healed before fully stepping into their gifts. Once they do so, they will stop resonating at this frequency and will step out of the fear and victimization pattern that accompany it. In other words, they stop absorbing other people’s frequencies and begin to emit their own. From this healed place they can come into proximity with people of denser pain bodies without taking on their suffering.
What is the coach’s job in this equation?
The Somatics Coach becomes the energetic pillar, inviting the client to meet us in Love. This is why it is essential that we remain vigilant on continuing to identify and clear our pain bodies and wounds, so that we do not become triggered during a session. The more we practice accessing our Heart Space and identifying with the Soul, the more we will be able to stay in our own energy field in the presence of a client without dipping into fear.
Remember, the strongest, most practiced vibration in the room establishes resonance. Coaches are Warriors of the Heart who are able to look into darkness and density without being seduced by the illusion. By receiving whatever the client shares from a place of non-judgement and sometimes sharing stories of our own reactive patterning and imperfections, we model for the client that they do not need to be perfect to be loveable. They ARE love. They just forgot. And we are here to help them remember. This is how we gradually guide them out of Ego and back into Soul Alignment.
Coach as Witness
Ultimately, the Spiritual Somatic coach is a compassionate witness. We hold space for the client and hold a vision of them coming back home to themselves (Soul/Heart Space) until they are strong enough to hold that vibration and vision for themselves.
This is why we must become comfortable staying in our own energy fields in the presence of another’s suffering. If we do not, we will be tempted to “fix,” a client, or even enable or indulge their Ego stories and victimhood patterning.
When we are not neutral in our own pain our own Doshic constitutions and Fear Responses can threaten to dictate how we respond. Depending on our makeup, we may try to:
Solve (Fire)
Indulge (Water)
Comfort (Earth)
Avoid (Air)
Fix (Fire)
Give Advice (Flight)
Bolster Client Ego (Fawn)
Enable/Indulge Client’s Suffering (Freeze)
How
do you set the container for a spiritual coaching session? What spiritual/energetic hygiene is required?
SpiritualHygienePractices
The practices, tools, and frameworks that we cultivated through Transform!, Align!, and Ascend! have been providing you with everything you need to hold Sacred Space for your client, energetically. It is a must that we keep up with our practices as we step into the role of coach, and often requires that we even dial them up a bit. Often this is something that naturally happens out of necessity—we find that we cannot sustain the prana it takes to hold space for clients if we are not taking care of ourselves.
Below are a list of practices that you can draw upon to keep your energy field clear and maintain your prana.
Regular yoga, meditation, pranayama practices
Living-affirming diet and nutrition
Energy tools and practices, including the Violet Flame, Golden Bubble of Light, Heart Cave
Regular Feel and Process to clear emotional energies and residue, especially after a session
Regular Ho’oponopono, especially with clients
Herbs to clear field before/during/after a session
Epsom salt baths to clear after sessions
Grounding in nature
Quiet time
Spiritual reading
Spiritual hygiene is ongoing and includes both preparation and after care when meeting with clients. We also want to make sure that we disconnect from their energy field at the end of a session by unplugging from their field. Find some visuals, words, or intentions that feel resonant to you.
CreatingRapportwithClient,IntakeandContextualInformation
So you have a client, yay! This is a beginning of a co-journeying and co-creation process that begins with you establishing an energetic connection and learning more about their motivation, goals, and reasons for seeking out your services. It is important to note that there will be their Ego Story about why they are there, and there will also be their Soul Desire. As a coach, you will begin to learn the delicate dance of how to tune in to a client’s Soul Desire by entering through their Ego Story, without indulging it. Often clients will not consciously know why they are seeking out your services, or what their Soul actually wants. It is important for us to be patient and tender with them so that we do not scare them away, or cause them to retract. We meet them where they are, and as we establish trust, we will be able to gradually begin challenging them to release the Ego Stories that are holding them back from stepping into their Inner Alignment and Soul Purpose.
The initial consult and intake form gives you a lot of information about a client, which is followed up by a first session where you go into more depth about the “data,” or material that help you to formulate a more contextualized, filled in assessment about what might be going on with a client.
The first session is an opportunity for you to learn more about who the client is, including their:
o Routines
o Diet
o Belief systems
o Support System
o Passions
o Self-care practices
o Level of satisfaction with different parts of their lives
o Traumas (invite them to share what feels relevant, do not mandate)
o Spiritual belief systems and language that they use (it is very important to use the language that they feel most comfortable with in your sessions to avoid triggering unhealed religious trauma and keeping their field open and receptive to spiritual journeying with you)
This initial session is about learning each other, setting a tone, and beginning to establish rapport. It provides an opportunity to sense into their energy and establish vibrational resonance. It’s in this sessions that you’ll begin learning about how you will connect with them, your points of connection, and what register you will need to meet them at. Your relationship with each client will be unique, and you’ll need to learn how to translate the tools and practices into a delivery method they can receive.
In this first session, allow the intake form to take all the time it needs. Do not get too caught up in needing to cover the material—be present and receptive to what the client is sharing with you. These are all pieces of their puzzle. When the intake feels complete-ish (remember, you’ll continue getting data from them in every session!) begin to transition to introducing the Doshas and Chakras so they can begin to understand the energetics of the body.
The goal with the introduction of the Doshas and Chakras is not to “solve” the client, but to invite them to begin trying themselves on from a different perspective, one that is not so caught up in the seduction story that their suffering is unique to their individual self. As we use these tools to show them common patterns and types in the field, we are creating space for them to observe themselves from a more impersonal perspective, with less emotional attachment. This is a critical step in guiding them to begin disidentifying with the Ego personality and be able to introduce enough space for them to sense into their Awareness body.
As you engage with the client in this session, you are collecting and piecing together what you are noticing (words, energy, body language) in combination with what they shared on their intake form and dosha quiz, looking for patterns and clues to their Prakruti (energetic blueprint), Vikruti (currently imbalance), and any doshic imbalances. In general, Kaphas do not like to claim Kapha because these traits, especially physically, are undervalued in our current society, so you have to sweeten it up a bit in breaking the news to clients.
Remember that this is just a first session! It’s a soft opening. You can let clients know you’ll be working with the Doshas and Chakras in different ways throughout your work together, and it will take time to develop an accurate picture of what’s happening in their field. Encourage them to spend some time reflecting further on the information, and assuring them they can come with any questions the following meeting.
StructureofaSession
Spiritual Somatics is an intuitive, Spirit driven craft. Precisely for that reason, it is imperative that we establish a safe, secure, structured container for clients to feel safe enough to sit with their deepest fears, traumas, shadows, and unworthiness stories. Otherwise, the practice doesn’t work.
For coaching work, aim for 90 minutes. This allows plenty of time and space to transition out of 3D rational/analytical mode, and for the Ego personality to surrender to the Soul Desire bringing them there.
Here is a general time breakdown for a session, though obviously each session is unique and the blueprint will need to be adapted to what presents itself:
5 minutes niceties, settling in
15-20 minutes getting the material, receiving any updates, getting an intuitive hit about where to take the session
10 minutes guiding the client into their bodies
45-50 minutes somatic fear chasing and/or feel and processing together, preferably with the video off if you are conducting a video conference. Too short and there won’t be enough time to take them to a deep place, too long and they can get tired and overwhelmed.
10 minutes before the end of the session get them grounded back in 3D, tying up the sessions and holding them in Love. Bringing them back to human realm. Make sure they are complete and not still in process before you close a session. End with levity and/or tenderness to help them transition back into their day.
Here are the main components of a structured coaching session:
Meet them at the human level to get updates, see what “material” they are working with, establish resonance between your fields, and allow them to feel heard and witnessed
Create a sacred, energetic container for the session for ourselves and the client
Connect clients with their physical body, grounding
Establish baseline vibration
Begin to have them try on the situation you’ll be doing work around. Have them pull up the energetic file in their body, and encourage them to transport themselves there. Ask for the “data” of this association/memory so that you can help them to visualize it and really be there.
Sit with them and hold the space while they vibrationally re-experience this situation so we can get the data to neutralize and release these old vibrations in their field. Have them ask what their younger self needs, what this self is feeling and/or still needing to do or say to stay in integrity with their Truth and in alignment with their Solar Plexus (Willpower/Sovereignty) and Heart (Soul). Support them in giving their younger self what they need.
Slowly guide them back into 3D and the present moment.
Journaling Prompts/Practices
1. Comb through the energy tools and practices that you have available to you and that feel resonant. This can include practices you’ve cultivated through Transform!, Align!, and Ascend! but needn’t be contained to these. Spend some time thinking about what feels like a helpful Spiritual Hygiene routine for you to practice to become more disciplined and intentional about keeping your energy field clear.
2. Spend some time considering what feels like a generative way to energetically prepare for holding a coaching session:
How will you transition out of 3D and get into your Heart? Are there any practices you want to do just before a session? How much time will you need to energetically make this transition?
How will you create Sacred Space? Where will you hold a session? What physical considerations do you need to keep in mind so you can stay fully present and not be distracted?
What energetic support might you want to bring with you into session? This can include incense, candles, crystals, essential oils, teas, sacred objects, etc.
3. Spend some time looking at how unhealed wounds in coaches can show up corresponding with the Doshas and Fear Responses. Consider if these feel resonant for how you might show up to meet a client when you fall out of Heart Space and back into Ego:
What does this look like for you? How might these patterns manifest themselves?
How can you remain vigilant about these possible tendencies? What are ways you can identify these Ego traps in the moment?
How will you guide yourself back into your Heart? How can you do so while being compassionate with yourself and not going into fear or judgment?
4. Spend some time visualizing a hypothetical initial session with a client:
What tone do you want to establish in this first session?
How will you work to create this tone?
Consider how your choices of clothing, backdrop, tone, posture, speech patterns, and language can contribute or detract from this intention.
How do you want the client to feel during this session?
What do you want their energetic takeaway to be from this session?
Watch all of this playing out. See yourself there. Hear yourself. Feel your deep state of presence. Watch the client feeling safe and secure to open up to you. Feel the resonance. Envision your Solar Plexus (Will Chakra) activated, your Heart (Love) and Throat (Truth, Communication) glowing, as you effortlessly allow Spirit to guide your words.