The Embodiment Coaching Podcast

I'm joined once again by my colleague Dr Helen Machen-Pearce to talk about real learning, not the tidy version sold in courses. We dig into how learning shows up as humility, awkward practice, and repeated failure, and why unlearning is often part of the job. We talk about concrete ways to set up experiments, how the body and attention shape what we actually absorb, and why learning is less about...

I spoke with Carolina Padilla, an embodiment teacher, CEC course manager and cultural activist from Colombia, about how embodiment can be a force for healing and leadership. We explored how movement, community and ritual help people reconnect to belonging, and how these practices can repair the social and cultural wounds left by colonisation and conflict. Carolina shares her perspective on leading...

I spoke with Dr. Kandis Lock about what true healing looks like in a time of quick fixes and chronic stress. We explored how naturopathic medicine approaches health through connection - between body systems, emotions, lifestyle and environment. Kandis shared insights from her clinical experience, including the patterns she sees again and again in modern illness, and why many people don't really ne...

I talk with Myriam Hadnes about what good facilitation actually looks like, and why it matters now more than ever. We cut through the jargon and compare facilitation, coaching and training, then get practical about how you create learning that sticks. Myriam and I dig into nervous system overload, psychological safety, and why embodied practices outperform information-only approaches. We also cove...

I spoke with coach, youth worker and martial arts teacher Ranko Čerić about how technology is shaping children's lives, health and attention. We explored what happens when screens become a constant presence from early childhood, how digital habits affect brain development, and why society has been slow to treat this as a public health issue. Ranko brings a systems view, looking at how parents, sch...

I sat down with Dr. Helen Machen-Peace to explore ADHD through an embodied lens - what it really feels like, how it shapes attention and emotion, and how practices from embodiment can help with focus and regulation. We talk about our personal experiences, the shifting understanding of ADHD, and why reframing it from "disorder" to "difference" changes everything. Helen brings insight from her clini...

I sit down with Carlos to unpack a question every founder hears but few answer well: can a business genuinely do good and still be profitable? We map the Venn diagram of purpose and profit, talk about the kinds of people who join this game, and name the bad actors who make the whole idea look naïve. Carlos explains how scalable businesses can stay grounded in meaningful value, why shareholder-firs...

It's the Embodiment Coaching Podcast's birthday! After 8 years of the podcast, we're re-releasing the first ever episode with an intro from Mark looking back at the over 700 episodes so far. Listen for a thorough description of what embodiment is and is not; where it comes from, and Mark's own embodied story through addiction, aikido, war zones and taking the work to business. --------------------...

I sat down with Michael Serwa, probably one of Britain's best-known no-nonsense coaches, to talk about what really makes a coach effective. Michael has built a reputation for his straight-talking style, and in this conversation he shares why honesty, directness, and cutting through excuses matter more than fancy tools or techniques. We explore his own journey from growing up in Poland to coaching...

I sat down again with Miles Kessler, an old friend and long-time aikido and meditation teacher, to explore the urgent issue of polarization. We talk about why societies feel more divided than ever, how conflict shows up in the body and mind, and what we can learn from years of aikido, meditation, and peace-building projects in places like Cyprus and the Middle East. Miles brings deep wisdom from h...

I explore why people pleasing isn't just a personality quirk, but often an anxiety pattern rooted in the body. We look at how posture, facial expressions, and attentional habits keep us stuck in trying to make others happy at our own expense. I share practical embodied practices for breaking the cycle - from mindfulness check-ins to centering, from small "micro-poses" to larger embodied experiment...

Join our free training event on how to tackle trauma and a disregulated nervous systems. Running from September 9th-11th, it will feature powerful practices and give you a simple plan you can use immediately. https://embodimentunlimited.com/dysregulated-nervous-system-trauma-training/ ----------------------------------------------- As a special gift for you, our loyal listeners, we are offering $1...

I had the chance to sit down with Erwan Le Corre, one of the leading voices in natural movement. We dug into why movement matters far beyond fitness, how our bodies are designed for adaptability, and what we lose when we stop moving the way humans evolved to. Erwan also shares his passion for breath work, including his own record-breaking breath-hold training, and why breathing is just as fundamen...

I dive into why working with the body is so powerful in coaching and training. You can't just tell someone to "feel differently" or "think positive" and expect it to work. But when we shift the body, perspective changes, and that makes transformation possible. In this session I share practical ways to bring embodiment into coaching, from noticing patterns, to creating more useful states, to simple...

In this session I explore what it really means to teach confidence. Not just telling people to "be confident," but showing them how through embodiment, modelling, and practice. I share ways I work with clients and students — from exaggeration and contrast exercises, to using archetypes like Freddie Mercury, to simple poses that shift how we carry ourselves. We look at how confidence is often learn...

I wanted to discuss a subject that gets talked about a lot but rarely taught well: self-care. I share what I've learned from years of coaching and teaching people around the world, including the mistakes I've made, the traps most teachers fall into, and the difference between real self-care and consumer nonsense. We also look at how culture shapes what people think they need, and why teaching self...

In this session I break down the most common mistakes I see facilitators making - whether you're a coach, trainer, yoga teacher, martial artist, or anyone leading groups. After decades of teaching in over 50 countries, I've seen the same patterns crop up again and again, and I wanted to put them all in one place. I talk about the practical traps that can derail a session, the mindset issues that l...

I sat down with Steve March, founder of Aletheia Coaching, to explore what it really means to coach beyond surface-level change. We talked about his unique developmental model, how it integrates somatic, emotional, and cognitive work, and why true transformation often means going deeper than goals or performance. Steve shared insights from decades of experience in the coaching world, including his...

I sat down with Dr. Srikumar Rao, one of the most popular speakers from the Embodiment Conference, to explore what really makes people happy or unhappy. We talked about why most of us aren't living in the "real world", how our mental chatter creates unnecessary suffering, and the practical ways to step out of that trap. Srikumar shares how ancient wisdom traditions can be translated into everyday...

If you've ever wondered what the most powerful coaching tool is, you won't find it in a book or behind a paywall. It's you. In this solo episode, I unpack the real heart of coaching - not just techniques or tricks, but the human being behind them. I talk about how personal presence, lived experience, and behavioural range shape the effectiveness of any coach. We get into what it means to teach thr...

I've spent the past two years teaching trauma education in Ukraine - sometimes in classrooms, sometimes in basements, and once or twice with air raid sirens going off overhead. In this solo episode, I share what that's actually been like. I talk about what trauma education looks like in a country where it's not a luxury, but a lifeline. I've worked with therapists, teachers, soldiers, and voluntee...

Stephen Jenkinson doesn't offer comfort. He offers presence, precision and poetry. In this wide-ranging and unsparing conversation, we explore what it means to live in a time of endings, and why grief isn't something to get over, but something to serve. We speak about the crisis of meaning in modern life, the cost of a death-phobic culture, and how elderhood is a task, not a stage. Stephen challen...

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Helen for a chat about something we all need more of - rest. Not just sleep, but the kind of deep rest that actually restores us. We go into how rest supports the nervous system, helps with burnout, and why most of us aren't nearly as good at it as we think. I share how my own views on rest have shifted over the years, and Helen brings some great insights around...

I sat down with Marcus Filly to talk about what happens when training stops being about beating records and starts being about feeling better - mentally, emotionally and physically. We explored how Marcus shifted from elite CrossFit competition to founding Functional Bodybuilding, a method that puts longevity and mental clarity at the centre of fitness. Marcus opened up about burnout, fatherhood a...

What does it mean to think clearly in a world full of noise? Philosopher Jonny Thomson joins me for a rich conversation about thinking, meaning, and the messiness of being human. We explore how to sharpen reasoning without becoming robotic, why nuance matters more than ever, and how philosophy can help us live—not just argue. Jonny shares insights from teaching thousands of students, writing for m...