Groups & Workshops
Somatic Survival Skills Groups
Part 1: Somatic Foundations
Part 2: Deepening
Part 3: Community Practice
Online.
A deep dive into the core principles and practices of somatics in the Strozzi /generative somatics lineage, focusing on the foundations of embodied transformation—what creates real, sustainable change, and how to build capacity for meeting life with more choice and resilience. Check below for upcoming groups.
Somatic Survival Skills
for Unruly Bodies
Part 1: Somatic Foundations
Tuesdays, 12-2pm PT, weekly, Jan 27-Mar 31st, online
Moving through this ableist world can often be an assault to our dignity and sense of inherent self-worth and can lead to a feeling of disconnection with the body, along with feelings of isolation and powerlessness. Learn about the transformative Strozzi approach to somatics through the lens of — and in community with people who are also — living in an unruly bodymind.
Cranky Bodies Movement Club
Somatics + Movement + Community
Tues 3-4pm PT / Thur 12-1pm PT / Sat 11-11:45am PT. Online. Ongoing.
A free drop-in space for anyone who identifies as living with chronic pain, illness, fatigue, and/or disability to dip a toe into somatics, have time to do your own movement/exercise of choice, and have fun in community with others who are also living with cranky bodies.
Somatic Survival Skills for Unruly Bodies
Part 2: Deepening, Jan 13 – March 27th, online
This series offers a balance of group sessions and individual coaching. The group sessions will continue to emphasize an experiential component, weaving in different practices to support participants in building our capacity to feel more, to return to center more easily, to move through the world with more choice, more access to your dignity, resilience, and an unshakeable sense of belonging.
Somatic Survival Skills
for SURJ members (Showing Up for Racial Justice)
Part 1: Somatic Foundations
Sundays, 4-6pm PT, weekly, Feb 22-April 26th, (except for March 15 and Apr 12) online/ in person
This group is for SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) members. This is for you if you’re craving a deeper connection with your own embodiment and more tools to stay connected with your center, your vision and your values in these turbulent times and desire new ways to show up more effectively in your work for racial justice and collective liberation.
Somatic Survival Skills
for Creatives and Educators
Part 1: Somatic Foundations
Thursdays, weekly from 4:30-6:30pm PT
April 2 – June 11 (except for Apr 23 and May 28), online
More info coming soon!
All Groups are/include:
- Accessible, inclusive somatic practices, which are body-based, purposeful movement, adapted for your bodymind
- Grounded in an antiracist, disability justice, weight-neutral, body liberation ethos
- Trauma-informed
- Queer, trans, genderqueer/NB-positive spaces
- Neuro-affirming
- Rooted in the dignity and belonging of all beings
Dates and Times
Check below for upcoming groups.
If you don’t see anything that’s a match for you, either based on the timing or the group focus, please let me know and let me know what days/times would work for you and/or what particular focus you’re looking for. I’ll be in touch if I offer something that I think might be a good fit!
Cost
Details for each Somatic Survival Skills Group can be found below with each specific group. Please send payment via Zelle @ reganpb@gmail.com (preferred) or Venmo: @Regan-Brashear.
Who is this for?
Somatic Survival Skills Groups are for you:
if you’re in a place in your life where you’re looking for a sustainable way to move towards your longings and goals,
if you want more from life and you’re interested in exploring more deeply what has shaped you and what might be getting in your way…
if you want to clarify where you want to be going…
if you crave new ways to take new actions towards what you most care about…
and if you want to take these steps in a supportive space with others who are also on this path.
Individual coaching and groups are not a good match if you’re currently in crisis. This work isn’t intended to take the place of therapy, though I welcome working in partnership with therapists and other mental health professionals.
Disclaimer
While these groups and individual coaching offer a space for deep self-reflection, somatic integration and inquiry, I am a Strozzi-certified somatics coach, not a therapist and this is not intended to be group therapy. This is an educational and experiential space. Everything in this group is optional. Please be self-responsive and only do what feels good on any given day.
Somatic Survival Skills Groups
Somatic Survival Skills Groups are virtual, small-group, experiential deep dives into the life-changing power of somatics. These groups are offered periodically, each with a specific focus and community context.
Currently, offerings include groups for:
- Unruly bodyminds (folks living with chronic pain, chronic illness, and/or disability)
- Creatives and educators (writers, filmmakers, artists, academics, and teachers)
- SURJ members (Showing Up for Racial Justice)
All groups and individual coaching sessions are held via Zoom. Individual coaching and groups may also be offered in person for those local to Santa Cruz, CA.
Part 1: Somatic Foundations
Somatic Foundations explores the core principles and practices of somatics in the Strozzi /generative somatics lineage.
Over the course of 8 two-hour group sessions and 1 individual coaching session, we focus on the foundations of embodied transformation—what creates real, sustainable change, and how to build capacity for meeting life with more choice and resilience.
Each session is highly experiential and practice-based, introducing core Strozzi somatic (body-based) practices. All practices are adaptable and can be done seated, standing, or lying down, honoring the needs of different bodyminds.
Somatic Foundations is a prerequisite for:
– Part 2: Deepening
– Part 3: Community Practice
– Future shorter series on specific topics (offered beginning in 2026)
You are welcome to take Part 1 as a complete experience, without continuing on to Parts 2 or 3.
Part 2: Deepening
With 5 two-hour group sessions and either 5 or 10 individual coaching sessions, Part 2: Deepening offers a balance of group learning and individual coaching, combining the healing power of shared practice and community with the depth and specificity of one-on-one support.
Group sessions continue to emphasize experiential learning, weaving in somatic practices that support participants in:
-
Expanding capacity to feel more without overwhelm
-
Returning to center with greater ease
-
Moving through the world with more choice under pressure
-
Accessing dignity, resilience, and an unshakeable sense of belonging
This series deepens and integrates the frameworks, concepts, and practices introduced in Part 1, with an emphasis on applying them in daily life. We will also explore a small number of new topic areas, shaped in conversation with the group. Individual coaching sessions provide space for a deeper dive into your own embodied transformation. Together, we partner toward your declaration and/or 1–3 personal goals over a 2–3 month period.
Note: Part 2 groups are offered only when there is sufficient interest from a Part 1 cohort.
Part 3: Community Practice (Coming Spring 2026)
Community Practice will be a bi-monthly, drop-in somatic practice space, open to anyone who has participated in a Somatic Survival Skills Group or worked with Regan through individual coaching. More details coming soon.
Questions or access needs?
Email regan@welcomehomesomatics.com
Dates and Times
8 two-hour group sessions + 1 individual coaching call, all on Zoom.
Tuesdays, 12-2pm PT, weekly, Feb 10 – April 14th, except March 3 and 31st.
Group #1 – Feb 10
Group #2 – Feb 17
Group #3 – Feb 24
BREAK – March 3
Group #4 – March 10
Group #5 – Mar 17
Group # 6 – Mar 24
BREAK – March 31
Group #7 – April 7
Group # 8 – Apr 14
Individual coaching calls will happen on Zoom as well.
If this timing doesn’t work for you but you’d like to hear about future rounds of this group, please let me know and let me know what days/times would work for you.
Cost
I offer sliding-scale pricing as a practice of access, integrity, and mutual aid. Please choose the rate that best reflects your current financial capacity. No justification is needed. Thank you for your integrity with this decision.
Sliding scale price points:
Mutual Aid Rate — Helps sustain access for others and supports the long-term viability of this work
Sustainable Rate — Covers the actual cost of my time, training, and labor
Access Rate — For those with limited financial resources or unstable income
Cost for 8 two-hour group sessions + 1 individual coaching call:
- mutual aid/care-forward rate: $700
- sustainable rate: $550
- access rate: $400
Payment plans available; you’re welcome to break this into 1-3 payments over 3 months.
*I reserve a few spots to be offered at a steeper discount or scholarship basis, if needed; please contact me if the “access rate” is not possible for you right now.
Redistribution
10% of money received for all of Welcome Home Somatic’s offerings is donated, split between the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Land Trust, BOLD – Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity and the Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led effort to bring food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.
Disclaimer
While these groups and individual coaching offer a space for deep self-reflection, somatic integration and inquiry, I am a Strozzi-certified somatics coach, not a therapist and this is not intended to be group therapy. This is an educational and experiential space. Everything in this group is optional. Please be self-responsive and only do what feels good on any given day.
How to Register
Please sign up here by Feb 1st. Space is limited. Please send either payment in full or 15% along with your registration fee to secure your spot.
Somatic Survival Skills
for Unruly Bodies
Part 1: Somatic Foundations
Who is this for? If you identify as chronically ill, sick, disabled, or living with chronic pain and/or fatigue, this space is for you—for us.
About: Moving through this ableist world can often be an assault to our dignity and sense of inherent self-worth, to say the least, and can lead to a feeling of disconnection with the body, along with feelings of isolation and powerlessness. Learn about the transformative Strozzi approach to somatics through the lens of — and in community with people who are also — living in an unruly bodymind.
Sessions are experiential and practice-based, weaving in accessible, body-based explorations that support dignity, resilience, and a deeper, steadier sense of belonging. All practices are adaptable and invitational, with respect for each participant’s unique bodymind. Find more general info in the Somatic Survival Skills section above.
About the facilitator: Learn more about Regan.
Questions? Email regan@welcomehomesomatics.com with any questions or access needs.
Testimonials from previous Somatic Survival Skills for Unruly Bodies participants:
I highly recommend this group to anyone who is interested in learning more about somatics, particularly with a disability justice lens. I greatly appreciate how Regan creates such a welcoming community of care and support as we learn together how we have been shaped and how to move toward embodied dignity, safety, and belonging as we strive for collective liberation. – L.S.
Regan shaped a warm space to explore my own embodiment and deepen my connection to myself and others. It’s just what I needed in these perilous times — embodiment and connection are key to creating the world we deserve. – Cynthia
Somatic Survival Skills has helped me tap back into this great big life. I’ve been needing to come back into my body, to learn its lessons, and have been trying to will it without guidance. This course carried me gently back home, and cheered me on to make the change I truly believe in. . . If you have that itch like your body is calling you to come back, and want to be in a space that actually calls out the unjust systems that make it difficult to do so, you will be in good hands with Regan. My mind and my body are both getting on the same page that healing is allowed to happen in community thanks to this wonderful class. Thank you! – Adrian
I recommend this group to anyone who wants to better understand their nervous system and survival patterns…and wants to do so with a coach who leads with compassion rather than pressure. Regan created a safe space that encouraged honesty and supported the individual journey of each participant. – L.F.
Dates and Times
Our group calls meet via Zoom from 4:30-6:30pm PT / 7:30-9:30pm ET. Individual coaching calls will happen on Zoom as well and will be based on each participant’s availability.
Group #1 – Thurs, Jan 22nd
*Coaching week – week of Jan 26-30
Group #2 – Thurs, Feb 5th
*Coaching week – week of Feb 9-12
Group #3 -Thurs, Feb 19th
*Coaching week – week of Feb 23-27
Group #4 – Thurs, March 5th
*Coaching week – week of March 9-13
Group #5 – Thurs, March 19th
*Coaching week – week of March 23-27
Cost
I offer sliding-scale pricing as a practice of access, integrity, and mutual aid. Please choose the rate that best reflects your current financial capacity. No justification is needed. Thank you for your integrity with this decision.
Sliding scale price points:
Access Rate — For those with limited financial resources or unstable income
Sustainable Rate — Covers the actual cost of my time, training, and labor
Mutual Aid Rate — Helps sustain access for others and supports the long-term viability of this work
Option #1 : 5 Group Sessions + 10 individual coaching sessions (to be held within 6 months)
Combined cost 5 group sessions + 10 individual coaching sessions:
- mutual aid rate: $1225
- sustainable rate: $1025
- access rate: $825
Payment plans available; you’re welcome to break this into 1-6 payments over 6 months. This option also includes a 15% off discount off your next 5- or 10-pack of individual sessions, in addition to the 25% discount included in this offer.
Option #2: 5 Group Sessions + 5 individual coaching sessions (to be held within 3 months)
Combined cost of 5 group sessions + 5 individual coaching sessions:
- mutual aid rate: $845
- sustainable rate: $715
- access rate: $585
Payment plans available; you’re welcome to break this into 1-3 payments over 3 months. This option also includes a 10% off discount off your next 5- or 10-pack of individual sessions, in addition to the 20% discount included in this offer.
Option #3: 5 group sessions only
- mutual aid rate: $350
- sustainable rate: $300
- access rate: $250
Payment plans available.
*I reserve a few spots that can be offered at a steeper discount or scholarship basis, if needed; please contact me if the “access rate” is not possible for you right now.
Redistribution
10% of money received for all of Welcome Home Somatic’s offerings is donated, split between the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Land Trust, BOLD – Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity and the Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led effort to bring food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.
How to Register
Please sign up here by Jan 10th.
Somatic Survival Skills for Unruly Bodies
Part 2: Deepening in Dignity & Belonging
Who is this for? This group is open to participants who have taken part 1 of the Somatic Survival Skills for Unruly Bodies.
About: This series will offer a balance of group sessions and individual coaching. The group sessions will continue to emphasize an experiential component, weaving in different practices to support participants in building our capacity to feel more, to return to center more easily, to move through the world with more choice, more access to your dignity, resilience, and an unshakeable sense of belonging. We will focus on deepening in the content covered in part 1, integrating the framework, concepts and practices more and more into our daily lives, as well as exploring a few new topic areas, to be determined by the group.
Individual coaching sessions offer a space to do a deep dive into your own embodied transformation. We partner to work towards your declaration or 1-3 other personal goals over the course of 2-3 months.
While the heart of this series — and all of my somatics work — is deeply shaped and influenced by the Strozzi/generative somatics methodology, for this part 2, depending on the group’s preferences as far as topics, I may be drawing from other methodologies that I’m trained in as well.
Questions? Email regan@welcomehomesomatics.com with any questions or access needs.
Disclaimer: While these groups and individual coaching offer a space for deep self-reflection, somatic integration and inquiry, I am not a therapist and this is not group therapy. This is an educational and experiential space. Everything in this group is optional. Please be self-responsive and only do what feels good on any given day.
Dates and Times
There will be 8 two-hour sessions. We will meet on Sundays from 4-6pm PT. If there’s enough interest local to Santa Cruz, this could be an in-person group. If not, this will happen via Zoom. Please let me know your preferences in the registration form.
Individual coaching calls will happen on Zoom as well.
Group #1 – Feb 22
Group #2 – Mar 1
Group #3 – Mar 8
BREAK (no group) – March 15
Group #4 – March 22
Group #5 – March 29
Group # 6 – Apr 5
BREAK (no group) – April 12
Group #7 – Apr 19
Group # 8 – Apr 26
Cost
I offer sliding-scale pricing as a practice of access, integrity, and mutual aid. Please choose the rate that best reflects your current financial capacity. No justification is needed. Thank you for your integrity with this decision.
Sliding scale price points:
Mutual Aid Rate — Helps sustain access for others and supports the long-term viability of this work
Sustainable Rate — Covers the actual cost of my time, training, and labor
Access Rate — For those with limited financial resources or unstable income
Cost for 8 two-hour group sessions + 1 individual coaching call:
- mutual aid/care-forward rate: $700
- sustainable rate: $550
- access rate: $400
Payment plans available; you’re welcome to break this into 1-4 payments over 4 months.
*I reserve a few spots to be offered at a steeper discount or scholarship basis, if needed; please contact me if the “access rate” is not possible for you right now.
Redistribution
10% of money received for all of Welcome Home Somatic’s offerings is donated, split between the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Land Trust, BOLD – Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity and the Sameer Project, a Palestinian-led effort to bring food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.
How to Register
Please sign up here by Feb 15th. Space is limited. Please send either payment in full or 15% along with your registration fee to secure your spot.
Somatic Survival Skills
for SURJ members
Part 1: Somatic Foundations
Who is this for? This group is for SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) members. This is for you if you’re craving a deeper connection with your own embodiment and new tools to stay connected with what most matters to you in these turbulent times and new ways of showing up more effectively in your work for racial and economic justice.
About: These small group sessions will emphasize an experiential component, weaving in different body-based practices to support participants in building our capacity to feel more, to return to center more easily, to move through the world with more choice when under pressure, more access to your dignity, resilience, and an unshakeable sense of belonging and community as we continue the work towards collective liberation.
About the facilitator: Regan has been an active SURJ member for many years, co-organizing the Study & Action multi-week program for white folks ready to challenge white supremacy, through both the SURJ Bay Area and SURJ Santa Cruz County chapters. Learn more about Regan.
Questions? Email regan@welcomehomesomatics.com with any questions or access needs.
Disclaimer: While these groups and individual coaching offer a space for deep self-reflection, somatic integration and inquiry, I am a Strozzi-certified somatics coach, not a therapist and this is not intended to be group therapy. This is an educational and experiential space. Everything in this group is optional. Please be self-responsive and only do what feels good on any given day.
Testimonials from previous Somatic Survival Skills for SURJ members groups:
“Regan demonstrates their passion and commitment for expanding our individual and collective movement work from the depth of somatic alignment. Her training sources from a rich and deep vein of the possibilities for our collective healing and transformation. I was touched most by their embodied way of being with our group, her presence, attunement, respectfulness, and care. This moved us to be more present and connected with ourselves and each other.” — Leslie Potenzo
“Regan offers a range of practices, insights, and resources, and, by bringing some of those practices into my life, I’m beginning to feel more at ease in the world and in my body. They are also such an advocate for disability justice, which I also appreciate immensely. ” – E.W.
Dates and Times
Tuesdays groups are open to folks who identify as living in both cranky and larger/fat bodies.
Tuesdays, 3-4pm PT / 6-7pm ET
Thursday and Saturday groups are open to everyone who identifies as living in a cranky body.
Thursdays, 12-1pm PT / 3-4pm ET
Saturdays, 11am-11:45am PT / 2-2:45pm ET
Cost
FREE! Lisa and Regan offer these groups to serve our spoonie/crip/chronically ill/disability communities, so we can all have more access to somatics and spaces that honor our wholeness as we are.
We welcome donations, but it’s totally optional, and you’re very welcome to attend, regardless of ability to donate. If you would like to make a donation at any point, you can send it via Zelle @ reganpb@gmail.com (preferred) or Venmo: @Regan-Brashear.
About Us
About us: Regan and Lisa met in the summer of 2023 in a Mind-Body Coaching program through the Embody Lab. They helped form a group of somatic coaches and coaches-in-training who live with chronic illness/pain/disability which has continued to meet ever since.
Lisa Scheff (she/her) is a white, queer, neurodivergent, fat, disabled pleasure activist and somatic coach in training. She builds resilient communities of care and helps people shed shame and dominant narratives of value to expand our capacity for joy, delight, wonder, creativity, and connection.
Regan Brashear (they/she) is a white, queer, genderqueer, larger-bodied somatics practitioner, filmmaker, community organizer, and a person living with an invisible disability since 1997. Through individual coaching and small group work, Regan’s practice, Welcome Home Somatics (www.welcomehomesomatics.com), focuses on supporting disability/chronically ill/chronic pain, fat, queer, genderqueer/trans/nonbinary communities in reclaiming access to a felt sense of dignity, joy and belonging in our bodies.
Group Agreements
***Two community agreements that we hold for this space:
1) The goal for this group is to have a body-positive, fat-friendly, disability-friendly, queer and trans-friendly, body-lovin’ come-as-you-are-with-your-bad self space. To support this, we ask that we skip any diet talk, fat, racist, ableist or body-shaming comments, even if they’re focused on your own body. Thanks for respecting this. Let’s use this space to cheer each other on!
2) Please listen to your body and only do what feels good and safe on any given day. You are very welcome to join us and use this time to rest or do house chores, or for more traditional exercise, physical therapy, dance or any other type of movement you feel like doing.
How to Sign Up
Please sign up here. The zoom link will be emailed to you within 3 business days after signing up.
Cranky Bodies Movement Club
Tuesdays 3-4pm PT / Thursdays 12-1pm PT / Saturdays 11-11:45am PT
Somatics + Movement + Community
This is a space to dip a toe into somatics, have time to do your own movement of choice, and have fun in community with others who are also living with cranky bodies.
Who is this for? The Cranky Bodies Movement Club is for anyone who identifies as living with chronic pain, chronic illness, fatigue, and/or disability. Trans, queer, non-binary, genderqueer, and neurodivergent folks are very welcome here.
Group offerings
Tuesday groups are for folks who identify as living in both cranky bodies and larger/fat bodies. Thursday and Saturday groups are open to anyone with a cranky body.
The short “somatic snacks” woven into Cranky Bodies are designed to support connection—with our bodies, moods, emotions, and each other—and to offer a kind of somatic first aid for these turbulent times. Lisa and Regan draw from our training across a wide range of somatic approaches, alongside practices we’ve developed ourselves.
Cranky Bodies is a somatics playground for spoonies, chronically ill and disabled folks, grounded in community care. You’re welcome to come try it out and see if it feels like a good fit.
If you’re looking for a more in-depth, deep-dive somatic experience rooted in the Strozzi / generative somatics lineage, be sure to check out Regan’s Somatic Survival Skills Groups.
Basic flow of each group:
1. Each group kicks off with a brief check in;
2. This is followed by a short somatic practice led by Lisa or Regan or a guest practitioner (all of which can be done seated, standing or lying down);
3. Next is *self-directed time* choose-your-own-adventure movement time where you can do whatever movement feels good to you, on or off camera, be that dancing, your physical therapy exercises, or any other movements that you’re drawn to for that day, including resting or doing house chores. Please note: This section is self-led, not a guided class.
4. Then we come back together and end with a dance party to a closing song. (Dancing is totally optional and can be done seated, standing or lying down.)
5. We close with a short check-out.
Everything is optional–you are encouraged to participate in the way that feels best for you: check in verbally or in the chat or not at all, join us for the grounding practice and dance party or skip them. There is never any pressure to turn your camera on or speak.
Access: Captions and live transcript are enabled on the Zoom. You’re welcome to have your camera on or off. You’re always welcome to pass during check-ins or use the chat. We play music during the “choose-your-own-adventure” movement portion of our time together and occasionally as part of our somatic practice of the day. We don’t currently offer ASL, but please let us know if this would support you in joining or any other access needs.
Questions? Email regan@welcomehomesomatics.com with any questions or access needs.
Disclaimer: We are not physical therapists, therapists, trainers, or medical practitioners. Nothing here is intended as advice, medical or otherwise. Everything in this group is optional. Please listen to your body, be self-responsive and only do what feels good on any given day.
Why are group spaces important for healing and transformation?
One of the most insidious ways that white supremacy culture and late-stage racial capitalism manifests is in a rampant individualistic “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality which has resulted in deep social isolation, massive inequality, and a pervasive sense of loneliness and disconnection from our bodies, each other and the earth. Experiencing authentic community where you can be seen and feel held is one of the “survival skills” which nourishes true resilience and is something that humans, pack animals that we are, all dearly need.
The harms exacted by systemic oppressions, such as racism, ableism, anti-fat bias, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, etc… are not things we can heal from, end or solve solely on our own in the individual coaching or therapy space. These oppressive systems require collective push back, organizing and dreaming to dismantle and build life-sustaining ones in their wake.
Rooted in this belief that we need each other for true individual and societal transformation, Welcome Home Somatics offers a range of somatics-focused groups where we can learn, practice, heal and transform together in community.
Come join us!
Feel free to email Regan at regan@welcomehomesomatics.com with any questions.