Somatic Coaching Programmes

Welcome to Okondo WellBeing, we offer a range of tailored Programmes, Workshops, and Holistic Retreats, in service of your Being Well.

'Somatic', from the Greek sōmatikos, soma: "living, aware, bodily person", or "of the living body".

Listening to the Body...

The Okondo Method is a body-centred process. We are trained in traditional talk-based coaching methods but we've also spent years working in the world of breath, movement, and rhythm. So instead of asking you to just sit and talk, we ask you to get up and move!. You will re-discover the amazing language and culture of your own Being, and as you re-discover your own natural rhythms and movement patterns, you will experience a whole range of benefits.

"Wow, what an extraordinary afternoon. It sounds ridiculous...but breathing through your stomach, right through to your toes is totally extraordinary. Just for starters, I discovered this afternoon that I was breathing very shallowly, just from my chest. This was, it seemed to me, cutting off my flow.

Perhaps this was happening all over the place, cutting things off prematurely perhaps...Who knows that the longer term effect might be. I feel so much more grounded, calm and ready for almost anything. No stiff knees, tense shoulders or anxiety."
Catherine.

What is the Okondo Method?

Our experience of WellBeing is a blend of our physical, emotional and spiritual context. This method is an holistic approach, working with awareness through Breath, Movement, Rhythm, and Coaching, designed to allow you find the most appropriate route to create sustainable access to wellbeing, and has been successfully applied to issues such as:

• Finding Direction: Trusting yourself to make the right choices.
• Somatic Shock: Breathing, anxiety, panic attacks.
• Relational issues: Personal, familial, career.
• Self-Esteem, self-acceptance, and belonging: Getting that you are OK, just the way you are.
• Self-expression: Developing your expression and talents.

Our method is based on the integration of Body, Mind and Spirit - connecting to who you really are with all of your senses, skills and intuition. We often feel unwell in those areas of our life where we experience separation or isolation, from ourselves or others.

At the heart of our work is a deep 'listening' field; slowing down to escape the spin of our survival response, and bringing awareness to these areas, allows us to re-frame them and find ways to resolve previously intractable issues.

 'Somatics' , described by Thomas Hanna
Thomas Hanna, Ph.D. (1928 - 1990), applied the term Somatics in the 1970’s to describe various approaches to body-mind integration which he and others were developing. He also founded 'Somatics Magazine: Journal of the Mind-Body Arts and Sciences' and The Somatics Society for those interested in this new field.

A fundamental principle in Somatics is that growth, change, and transformation are always possible at any age. as "The art and science of the inter-relational process between awareness, biological function and environment, all three factors being understood as a synergistic whole."

We believe that lasting transformation is supported by working together in community - it is difficult to Be Well when those around you are not. Being well therefore requires engagement and exchange with the communities we live in.

Our core somatic coaching programme, 'Being Well' includes:

• An introductory workshop, complete in itself, but also setting the context for the programme.
• Four full day workshops exploring the key areas in depth; 'Breath', 'Movement', 'Rhythm', and 'Life'.
• Two intervening 'communes', group evenings for sharing, savouring good food, and providing support in community.
• Excercises and experiments to complete between workshops.
• Group, and individual, coaching calls, and a completion call.

Check our calendar of events for the available programme dates.

In the Programme, participants are given the opportunity to explore their personal concerns within a safe environment. Using somatic, creative and therapeutic practices, participants uncover and explore their "living story" which connects to the incomplete events, issues and questions in their lives.

"When the Breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the Breath is still, so is the mind still."
Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

The Okondo Method One 2 one's are a bespoke programme with Jane or Mudimo (or both of us!).

Our method is structured specifically to your requirements, either as a professional coaching series, or applied in a more therapeutic context. Whatever your professional or personal goals, the heart of the programme is conscious relationship and listening, we will work with you to create a suitable programme drawn from the key themes 'Breath, Movement, Rhythm: Life'.

"For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth."
Sanskrit Proverb.

We work with adults of all ages, young people and couples and we work with all issues, including relationships, lack of confidence, low self-esteem, anxiety, stress, illness, depression, loss and bereavement, trauma, work and education issues, child related issues, self-development, purpose and life direction.

"When I think of my sessions with you, I think - relaxed anticipation, you create a healing space quite naturally, I think safety, softness and opening, allowing and accepting. Your feedback is intuitive and perceptive. You give me an opportunity to experience the Joy of Life."
J.D., Astrologer.

You may also wish to participate in a group event or workshop, and any of our stand-alone events or retreats can be dove-tailed into your bespoke programme as appropriate.

Our introductory workshops are an opportunity to experience how we work, with each workshop targeted at different themes and areas of wellbeing. During the day you complete exercises that you can continue to practice and benefit from at home. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions about the issues you are dealing with, and find out about what else we offer. Although they are complete in and of themselves, the shorter workshops set the context for our core Programme - "Being Well".

What happens during a workshop?

During our workshops we explore the chosen theme, how this shapes who we are being, and the actions we take. We will complete a number of exercises, with pauses for reflection, looking at all aspects of our communication; our speaking and listening, the expressions of our breathing, our movements, rhythms, and our intentions.

"Our bodies, as our lives, are shaped by movement - from the changing pulse of our hearts, tides of our breath, to the movement of thoughts, feelings, sensations and dreams. In each moment of life we are touched and moved by a myriad of impulses and stimuli, which the body registers and responds to whether we notice or not."
©Miranda Tufnell, 2009.

These workshops can be playful, profound, emotional, and deeply insightful, it all depends on you. Expect to try both familiar and new things involving movement, breathing, and rhythm. Expect to discover what your 'stops and blocks' are. Expect to find new ways forward in your life. Expect to find out what well-being means for You.

Jane discovered Conscious Breath in her late 20's, healing herself of glandular fever, and has subsequently pursued ongoing training and study in many different breathing and healing practices. In June 1999 she co-founded the InBreath Institute, providing a three year training program in Integrative Breath Therapy. She is a qualified Craniosacral Therapist, the first authorised Continuum Movement Teacher in the UK, and a Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator (member of ISMETA).

"Jane's clarity, and highly developed humanity, allows people to experiment with their feelings, openess, emotions - a true gift. Around her you meet yourself... and discover how cool that is! She takes you 'somewhere else', somewhere you can't pin down - that's why it is magical - that makes you feel well, empty minded, moved, and you want to go back there all the time!"
Gaia Pollini, The Hill That Breathes.

Jane has also studied, and integrated into her practice, Integrative Arts Psychotherapy, Somatic Trauma work with Babette Rothschild, and Authentic Movement and Somatic Psychology and movement patterns with Linda Hartley. More recently she co-founded the Somatic Movement Gathering with Mari Winkleman, a Conference for Somatic Movement Educators, students, and enthusiasts in the UK, where ideas and practices can be shared and new dialogues initiated and developed. She has presented at numerous international conferences in Venezuela, Germany, Russia, the USA, and the UK.

"A safe place. A place where I feel free and it is OK to be myself. A place where I feel accepted just as I am. I can express myself freely. Release. Being understood. Fun."
N.S.

"Over the weekend I began developing a new relationship with the breath. Through recognition and appreciation of its simplicity yet monumental and vital importance I began to see it as something in it's own right. There was a deep feeling, which began to develop over the weekend as I followed and listened to my breath. I can only describe it as a sweet ache which held in it sadness, joy, grief and ecstasy. Becoming more observant of the breath I realised that what I was experiencing was unconditional and infinite love, both towards the breath and from the breath. This was nature in it's purest form."
Neil, Counsellor.

"I learnt so much on the two days; for an actor so much of your Breathwork is fantastically useful, firstly in a purely practical sense for opening up the breathing spaces and the body , and secondly because opening to the Breath opens up the connection between the voice, mood, energy and intellect... all of which are vital in performance.
Serena Evans, Actors Voice Trainer.

"...The practical aspects of the work were very clear and the manner in which the practicals were done helped bring such a huge awareness to one's own body, feel it, be it, embrace the stillness.

Finding yourself in uncomfortable situation - what to do with the breath/how to use the breath and your 'picking up a tissue and dropping it' was very helpful in remembering what to do. I have used it effectively since. A very inspiring couple of days."
Tricia Teahan, Chi Kung teacher, shiatsu and cranial practitioner.

What does 'Being Well' mean to you?

Costs & Conditions:

TERMS & CONDITIONS

• A non-refundable Programme deposit or full payment is required to reserve a place for programmes. The deposit is 50% of the cost for Programme's under £100 and 25% of the cost for Programme's over £100.
• The balance of payment for Programmes is due 7 days before the event start date.
• Staged payment for longer programmes is negotiable, with each stage payable in full by the balance due date.
• Full payment is due for any cancellations made less than 48hrs from the event start date.
• Vouchers are redeemable in the amount stated, and solely against the indicated event.
• Concessions and waivers are discretionary.
• All deposits are non-refundable.
• Online payments using PayPal will incur a PayPal processing fee which is added to the total amount before submission. This is currently 3.4% + 20p per transaction.

Click on any Paypal icon to reserve a place. In the window that opens up, simply select a programme from the 'item' drop-down list, and type how many places you would like to reserve into the 'number' field.

We will hold any booking request placed online using our contact form for 48hrs. For Programme bookings in excess of £100.00, the minimum deposit must be paid during this period to confirm the reservation. Alternatively, you can submit the Programme deposit or full payment online with Paypal to reserve a place immediately.