Train Your Nervous System. Transform Your Practice.
Most of us working in high-pressure environments were trained to think our way through intensity.
But performance isn’t just cognitive. Trauma isn’t just emotional. And burnout isn’t just a bad week.
It’s physiological.
Somatic Performance Enhancement (SPE) is a trauma-informed, nervous-system-based professional training for people who work with intensity – and want to do it sustainably.
Whether you’re a psychologist, coach, therapist, bodyworker, educator, or high-performance professional, this training will help you:
Read and respond to nervous system states in real time – freeze, flow, overdrive – for recovery and performance
Integrate somatic tools like interoception, touch, and movement – safely, effectively, and intentionally
Build presence that’s felt, not forced – so you can meet intensity without burning out
Know when to stabilise, deepen, or mobilise – in yourself and those you support
SPE gives you a map of the body in performance – and the skills to work from the inside out.
Who it’s for
You work with intensity.
You hold space for people under pressure – whether in therapy rooms, boardrooms, classrooms, gyms, or changing rooms.
You know that performance, trauma, and (dys)regulation often show up together – and you want to be better equipped to meet them when they do.
This training is for professionals who want to build real fluency in nervous system dynamics, so they can work more ethically, effectively, and sustainably.
It’s designed for:
Psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors, and psychiatrists
Coaches, facilitators, and educators
Somatic practitioners, movement professionals, and bodyworkers
Physiotherapists, massage therapists, and allied health professionals
High-performance professionals in sport, leadership, healthcare, and wellbeing
Why Somatic Performance Enhancement?
Somatic language is everywhere right now – from “vagus nerve resets” to “nervous system hacks.” And whilst it’s encouraging to see awareness of the body becoming more mainstream in performance spaces, there’s also a risk: that somatics gets reduced to just another technique, another optimisation bro biohack, or acronym – divorced from the depth, philosophy, and feel that make it transformative.
We designed Somatic Performance Enhancement for practitioners who want to go deep.
This course is not a checklist of tricks. It’s a framework for understanding the nervous system as a living, adaptive system shaped by history, environment, and relationship. It’s for professionals who know that embodiment cannot be faked, and that you can’t guide someone through what you haven’t learned to stay with yourself.
SPE brings together science, somatics, and applied skill-building to help you:
Build nervous system literacy and embodied presence
Recognise and work with activation, freeze, flow, and recovery states
Confidently integrate movement, touch, and trauma-informed tools into your work
Develop a grounded, ethical somatic style for high-functioning clients that you can trust in complex moments
This training is for practitioners who want to do the work – to do the work ethically.
So, why Somatic Performance Enhancement?
Because high performance without nervous system attunement leads to burnout, injury, and disconnection.
Because mental strategies only go so far.
Because trauma, shutdown, and overactivation are part of the performance landscape – and we need a better map.
Because you can study the theory. You can memorise the nervous system states. You can even be told what to do, when to do it, and why it matters. But how you do it – how you sense, track, and respond in the moment – requires direct experience. You need to be in the room with other nervous systems. To feel different patterns, to practice your responses, to develop attunement through feedback and relationship. That’s what builds embodied skill – and that’s why this training is live, relational, and immersive.
Real
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Real 〰️ Change 〰️ Happens 〰️ Below 〰️ The 〰️ Neck 〰️
Course Structure
Level 2
Level 1
A foundational deep-dive into the somatic roots of sustainable performance.
The philosophy and history of somatics
Core concepts: embodiment, the felt sense, the nervous system
Integration, reflection, and personal exploration
Book Your Spot – the latest dates are always listed on my Eventbrite page.
Level 3
Details coming soon...4 In-Person Weekends (Sat–Sun, 9am–5:30pm)
Mornings: Conceptual learning
Afternoons: Applied somatics and group practice
Topics include:
Embodied anatomy and sensory awareness
Nervous system regulation and states
Flow, play, and performance
Freeze responses, trauma, and recovery
Touch, stillness, co-regulation, and presence
3 Online Integration Labs (3hrs each)
Between weekends, practice and reflect with your group in a live, supported space.
What You'll Walk Away With
A clear, trauma-informed map of the nervous system – designed for real-world performance, not just theory
A rich somatic vocabulary to use with clients, teams, and yourself – so you can name what’s happening in the body and work with it
Practical tools for navigating overwhelm, freeze, and flow – in the moment, not just after the fact
Greater confidence in working with intensity – without burning out or bypassing complexity
A more grounded, embodied presence – one that clients feel, trust, and respond to
A course manual – packed with frameworks, practices, and prompts to revisit long after the training ends
When you finish, you'll graduate as an SPE Practitioner. The title reflects 66 hours of deep, experiential training in trauma-informed, nervous system-informed performance work – and a genuine commitment to ethical, body-based practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Trauma-informed models often help us understand what is happening and why. Somatic work goes one step further: it teaches you how to respond – in the moment, with your own body as an instrument. You’ll learn to feel nervous system shifts in real time, and to adjust your presence, pacing, and interventions accordingly. This training is about embodied application, not just cognitive understanding.
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Many somatic courses focus on healing trauma or regulating distress. This one is focused on performance contexts – where intensity is the norm, not the exception. We’re not trying to remove stress; we’re teaching you how to work with it, safely and skilfully. We bring together trauma theory, performance psychology, and embodied practice to help you support others in high-pressure environments – without losing connection to yourself.
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Yes. Safety and containment are central to the training. You’ll learn how to work within existing performance demands rather than destabilising them. This includes recognising early signs of overload, pacing interventions appropriately, and knowing when not to go further. The emphasis is on supporting regulation and responsiveness, not eliciting catharsis or deep trauma processing in inappropriate contexts.
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Yes – as long as you’re open to experiential learning. We welcome practitioners who are new to somatic work but grounded in ethical practice. You don’t need to know the language yet – we’ll teach you. What matters most is curiosity, presence, and a willingness to learn through your body as well as your mind.
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This training is designed to integrate with what you already do. Somatic Performance Enhancement is not a modality – it’s an approach, a way of inhabiting your existing skills differently.
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Engaging with somatic work tends to lead to increased bodily awareness, clearer limits, and less depletion in high-intensity work. You’ll learn to track your own nervous system alongside others’, which supports more sustainable practice, clearer boundaries, and better recovery – especially in demanding professional environments.
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The training is experiential, but always invitational. You are encouraged to work at your own edges, with choice and consent built in throughout. There is no expectation to disclose personal material, perform emotionally, or push beyond what feels appropriate. Learning happens through guided experience, reflection, and integration – not exposure or pressure.
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This training is grounded in environments where intensity, pressure, and evaluation are normalised. We focus on states like sustained activation, functional freeze, over-control, and flow disruption – not just distress reduction. The aim is to support performance and wellbeing by working with nervous system dynamics that show up under real-world pressure.
Aura and Aki met whilst training to become Somatic Experiencing® practitioners. Here they are with their teacher, the fabulous Lael Keen.
Who you’ll be taught by
Dr Aura Goldman
Dr Aura Goldman is a Chartered Psychologist, psychotherapist, and certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner with a background in sport and performance psychology, trauma, and the science of transformation. Drawing on her own experience of performing through trauma, Aura integrates talking, embodied, and contextual-relational approaches to support high-performers. She specialises in working with people who live high-intensity, high-performance lives – including elite athletes, medics, entrepreneurs, first responders, and other professionals operating under pressure – alongside those simply seeking to live more consciously and sustainably. Aura is accredited with the BPS, HCPC, CASES, and NCPS, and works to help clients restore regulation and reconnect with their bodies as a source of power, presence, and possibility.
Aki Omori
Aki Omori is an experienced integrative somatic trauma therapist and educator with a background spanning music, physical theatre, yoga, and somatic movement. Based in the UK since 1987, she is a certified practitioner and teacher of Body-Mind Centering®, a Somatic Experiencing® practitioner, and a certified NARM® therapist. Her training includes a 3-year diploma in Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy (IBMT), extensive studies in BMC®, and certifications through ISMETA. Drawing on her own personal history, Aki integrates touch, movement, and trauma-specific modalities to support deep nervous system regulation. She teaches nationally and internationally, co-creates trauma-informed trainings, and maintains a weekly teaching practice in London.