Journal · Barbara

Does embodiment coaching work online?

Barbara — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 13:30:00 GMT

Yes. Embodiment coaching works online, and for some people it works better than in a room with me. You need a space where nobody walks in, enough floor to stand up and take a step, and a camera. The rest is the same as in person: we talk, we notice what your body is doing, and we try something different.

"But isn't the whole point that you see my body?"

This is a fair question. Embodiment coaching works with posture, breath, gesture and movement, so it sounds as if I'd need to be next to you.

I don't, for one simple reason: embodiment is about your body and what you feel on the inside, not how someone from the outside looks at it. My job is to ask the right question at the right moment ("What just happened in your shoulders?"), to point out what I see if you want me to, and to suggest trying something. All of that works through a screen. What I can't do online is touch. But most of the work we do doesn't require that.

Your own life is right there

When you come to a studio, you leave your life at the door. That can make the work a bit theoretical. We talk about the kitchen where you answer work messages at eleven at night, or the chair you sit in during difficult family calls, and you have to imagine them.

How you are in your body isn't fixed. It changes with the place you're in and the people around you. Habits often are tied to certain surroundings. Doing a session online can have the advantage that you are right there. In the space where the patterns show up. You don't need to imagine being there and this can make it easier to find a more practical way of sitting, standing or moving differently. Nothing has to be carried home, because you're already home.

For a lot of people home also feels safer than a stranger's room. When you feel safe you notice more, and noticing is most of the work.

The camera can become part of it

Some people are very aware of being watched. Usually in a video call you see yourself in a little window, this can be switched off. Still the awareness that we are seen changes something in our behaviour. In a video call we have the option to switch off the camera. This might give you the chance to notice what changes in you when you know that you are not seen.

What changed in your breath? Did your shoulders drop? Did you say something you wouldn't have said with the camera on?

Being seen by others shapes how we hold ourselves more than most of us realise. For people who perform a lot, at work or at home, this can be a very interesting realisation. Camera on or off is fully your choice, just like anything else we do in a session.

What is harder online

Of course some of the aspects of human interaction are lost online. Small changes in body and movement for example. In a room we can stand face to face, feel each other, notice what happens when one of us comes a step closer. Eye contact is different because we look at the screen and not directly into each other's eyes.

It can also be harder to arrive. You might come from another online meeting where you used your brain and suddenly I ask you to feel your body. So we start slowly, with a few minutes of centring, for example with noticing your feet and your breath, finding your balance, softening a little. We don't rush into the topic.

And then there are the ordinary interruptions. The internet connection might freeze, the doorbell rings or a flatmate comes.

What you need at home

Very little:

a room where you won't be interrupted
enough space to stand up, take a step or move a little
a camera placed so I can see more than your face
headphones if you share your home
comfortable clothes, water, and a notebook if you like to write things down

No mat, no special clothes, no experience.

How an online session runs

The same way as in person. You bring what's on your mind and we talk. We centre for a moment. While you talk I ask what you're doing in your body, and then I might invite you to move or change something.

At the end you leave with something small to practise during the week. I've described this step by step in What is embodiment coaching?

Questions people ask

Do I have to be on camera the whole time?

Mostly, yes, if you are comfortable, so I can see how you sit and move.

I live with other people. Will it still work?

Yes, if you can have one room to yourself for the hour. Headphones mean nobody hears my side of the conversation.

Will I have to move a lot?

No. Most of it is small: sitting differently or moving a little. Nobody has to look good doing it.

Which time zones do you work with?

I'm in India (IST). Mornings in Europe and afternoons in Southeast Asia usually work well. Write to me and we'll find a time.

In which language?

English or German.

Book an online session

If you're wondering whether this would work for you through a screen, one session is the simplest way to find out. Write to me and we'll find a time.

Book a 1:1 session

Barbara · yoga teacher, embodiment coach and Tao Tantric Arts facilitator

What is embodiment coaching?

Barbara — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 13:25:56 GMT

Embodiment coaching is about how you are in your body. How you do things. It's not just about what you think about them. Rather than just talking we look at things through your body. When a difficult topic comes up, your body does something: you hold your breath, lean back, smile when you don't mean it, speed up or go blank. You can bring awareness to those things and this awareness brings the choice to do something different.

What we can work with

Did you ever feel like something in your life keeps going the same way? Or felt stuck in a pattern that you want to change but no matter what you try you end up doing the same thing?

"I say yes before I've even thought about it. Afterwards I'm angry, mostly at myself."
"I'm tired all the time, and I still can't switch off in the evening."
"When someone criticises me, I either go blank or I get defensive. Two hours later I know exactly what I should have said."
"I've been going round in circles about this decision for months."
"I want to be more visible with my work, and I keep finding reasons not to."
"I'm the one who holds everything together, at work, at home, for my friends. I don't know how to stop."
"Something has ended, a job, a relationship, a life in another country, and I don't know how to start the next part."

Usually we are good at knowing our patterns and explaining them intellectually. We know where they come from, have read the books and maybe even done therapy. And still, in the moment itself, the old thing happens. This gap between knowing and doing is where embodiment coaching works.

What embodiment means

Most of us grew up treating the body as an object. Something to feed, train, fix when it hurts and improve when it doesn't look right. A vehicle for the head.

From an embodiment perspective you don't have a body. You are the body, the body is part of who and what you are. How you stand, breathe and hold tension. How you move, how you shake hands, how you open a door, how close you let people come. Your way of being in the world, and mostly subconscious.

It works both directions. Your way of being shows in your body, and your body reflects your being. If you've braced your shoulders for twenty years, this isn't only a sign of how you feel. It has become part of how you move through life. This is why working with the body can change something that talking alone doesn't reach.

Where our habits come from

We are not born with a certain embodiment. It's not a conscious process. It builds from your experiences and keeps evolving.

Some of it comes from your family. If while growing up it felt safer to keep everyone happy, your body learned to smile, nod and say yes quickly. If you had to cope on your own early in life, maybe it learned to brace and keep going. Some of it comes from the culture around you. Children soak up how the adults move, sit and speak. Many women I know learned to take up little space, sit neatly and soften every "no". Some of it comes from the place you're in, and from the people in the room with you today.

Most of these habits made sense once. They stay long after the situation that created them is gone. They show up at work, in relationships, in how you take a compliment. Because they're so familiar, they feel like "just me". They are you, but they aren't all you could be.

What embodiment isn't

It isn't body language

Body language is about signs. What crossed arms mean, which pose to strike before a meeting. You put it on like a costume, but in the moment pressure comes you can't hold it. Embodiment works slower and is more personal.

It isn't exercise

You can do an hour of yoga and think about your shopping list the whole time. Movement becomes embodied practice when you pay attention to what's happening and connect it to how you live.

It isn't a look

Embodiment isn't about looking calm, flexible or spiritual. It isn't about feeling good all the time. You can be embodied in tears, in rage, in deep stillness. It starts with awareness of what is there, also tension, numbness or emptiness.

Four things you can learn

My teacher Mark Walsh follows the model of embodied intelligence. It's basically four skills anyone can learn:

noticing your own state, as it is, in the moment
changing your state when you need to, for example calming down or activating
noticing what's going on in other people
influencing others through how you are, not only through what you say

All four come down to the same two things: awareness and choice. First you notice what's there. Then you find out you can change something should you wish to do so.

Why understanding alone doesn't change it

Knowing and understanding patterns and habits intellectually, being able to explain them and saying that we want to change them is one thing. But our habits and patterns do not only live in the mind, we embody them. Therefore change can't happen merely through saying "I want to change this".

For change to arrive in the body we need time and practice. The body doesn't just follow when your mind says "I want this change". Under stress the body reaches for what is known. Some people push harder, some pull away, some go still or blank, some lose all their energy, some reach for the phone, the fridge or another glass.

You think less clearly, you're less kind, you feel less, and you fall back on what you know best. That's why the old pattern shows up exactly when it matters. A big part of my work is helping you notice that moment and get a bit of choice back inside it.

What happens in a session

Every session is different, but a few things come back.

We start with what you want

You bring what's on your mind, we look at it also through the body and find out what you would like to change.

We centre

Centring is a major part of embodiment coaching. We use different techniques that help you to connect to yourself and your body rather than being too much in your head or guided by your worries. It isn't always about calming down. Sometimes what you need is more energy, not less.

I ask what you're doing in your body

"As you're telling me this, what's happening in your shoulders? Your jaw? In your breath?" I ask rather than telling you what I see. You find the answers in yourself, I guide and support this process.

If you don't notice anything, that's fine. Sometimes I ask if I can tell you or show you, and copy what you do. We all have habits we no longer notice, the way you stop hearing a clock that has ticked in your room for years. Someone else often sees it straight away.

We try another way

Say you've been telling me about a colleague who keeps handing you his work. I might ask you to stand up and say "no" out loud, with one hand in front of you. You might lean back, speak with a quiet voice. We bring your awareness to that and then we change something. You stand firm and say "no" with confidence. Then we look at how that feels. Maybe you can say "no" and still be kind?

Other times the body does the brainstorming. We look at the same question slow and solid, then soft and flowing, then fast and direct, then light and playful. Each way of moving brings up different ideas. Some of these ways to move will feel familiar, others new, pleasant or uncomfortable.

When you need to make a decision and feel stuck, we might practise listening not only to what your head says but also to what you feel in your heart and your belly. The loudest voice is not always the best one to follow, but the one that keeps other parts unheard.

We come back to your life

Before we finish I ask what you noticed, what's different now, and what you'll do with it. We discuss what is useful for you to take with you into your daily life. A small practice, or awareness for something specific.

Most of the practising happens between sessions. Whatever you repeat, you get good at, including the habits you want to change.

The body is wise, but it isn't an oracle

There is this saying that the body never lies. My teacher Mark Walsh points out that our body is not always trustworthy though. A strong feeling can be an old survival strategy or a habit. What feels like intuition is sometimes fear. Learning to tell the difference is part of the work. Therefore rather than asking your body "What should I do?" we look at "What's here that you didn't notice before?"

Questions people ask

Is embodiment coaching therapy?

No. Therapy often looks at where something comes from. Coaching looks at where you want to go and what you need to practise to get there. I might make suggestions but you decide what we do, and you can say no. I don't diagnose or treat anything. If something needs a therapist or a doctor, I'll tell you.

What if I don't feel much in my body?

That's common, and a good place to start. A lot of modern life numbs us: long hours sitting, screens, always being busy. We go slowly.

Do I need to be fit or do yoga?

No. The movements are small: standing up, a gesture, a change in how you sit. Nobody has to look good doing it.

Is there science behind it?

Some. Research on how the body shapes thinking and emotion, on stress and on meditation supports many of the basic ideas. I don't sell embodiment as proven science. I'd rather you try it and see what it does for you.

Can embodiment coaching work online?

Yes. I've written about it here: Does embodiment coaching work online?

Where did you train?

With Embodiment Unlimited: the Coaching Embodiment Certification in 2024, and since 2025 the Masters of Embodiment Coaching and some certifications.

Book a session

I work one to one, online or in person in Canacona, South Goa, in English or German. If something here sounds familiar, write to me and we'll find a time.

Book a 1:1 session

Barbara · yoga teacher, embodiment coach and Tao Tantric Arts facilitator

How a Chakra Kriya class is built

Barbara — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Chakra Kriya Yoga works through one chakra at a time. A single class follows three stages, and a week of classes moves through all seven, from the base of the spine to the crown.

The asanas

The class begins with asanas chosen for that chakra. They prepare the body for the kriya.

The breath

Then pranayama chosen for that centre: bhastrika, kapalabhati or alternate-nostril breathing, depending on which chakra the class is working with.

The kriya

The class closes with the kriya itself: a seed mantra, a mudra, a colour and a point of attention held together, sometimes with a gentle bandha.

A week, seven chakras

Run as a week, one class covers one chakra a day, so that a full course moves through all seven in order. A single class stands on its own too.

I teach Chakra Kriya Yoga as a single class or as a seven-day course. If you run a studio or retreat and would like it there, write to me.