I’m Katarina.
I have a background in international relations and humanitarian crisis, integrative nutrition and nervous system regulation work, and now am a Somatic Health Coach and Focalizing Practitioner for women with high-functioning professional lives, navigating chronic health issues and facing burnout.
I live Cirencester in the beautiful Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, with my husband David and our super playful, fluffy and affectionate kitten Taggie (short for Agatha, inspired by the lead character in The Rivals).
I speak on health, healing trauma and overcoming fear and anxiety to cultivate a healthier and more compassionate relationship with yourself, your body to live your best life.
I have shared my wisdom in corporate companies such as CapGemini, Diageo, Infineum, and APCO Worldwide in awareness events, bringing the new and fresh perspective of biology of stress and trauma as the root cause resolution to stress management and burnout prevention, and cultivating wellbeing through embodied leadership. I have been honoured to dialogue with other practitioners and my mentors and appear in podcasts such as The Juggle is Real and the Sensitive Professional.
I was born in Slovakia (the then Czechoslovakia) under the totalitarian regime and have immigrated to the UK at the tender age of 19, having made home in England for the past 32 years. I spent my childhood running around my grandparents subsistence farm which had undoubtedly sawed the seeds in my deep interest in holistic health in modern world and my love of nature, good food and cooking.
I hold a Master of Science (MSc) in International Relations and Philosophy from the London School of Economics & Social Sciences (2005-07) and a BA in European Studies from London University (2002-05). I bring the same discipline and academic rigour to my current work, education, training, research and practice.
I'm Katarina and a few years ago I stumbled upon an online somatic bodywork session that had a massive impact on my physical, mental and emotional state, and I was hooked.
Something profound was happening when I was working with my nervous system and learning somatic tools of connecting back to my body. Embodiment work was life-changing.
It drew me into doing this work with professional women (and men) who are on the verge of burnout who tried all possible solutions from mindset work, to meditation and journaling but remained feeling stuck, drained and disconnected.
I support them in finding their way back to themselves (as in, their body - because we are embodied beings). Embodiment skills help to restore nervous system regulation, and regenerate their health by rebuilding a sense of self-trust, embodied boundaries and eco-systems of support and self-care that are more aligned with their values and authentic success.
You don’t need to rely on coping strategies to feel better - it’s time to stop chasing symptoms and start investing your time on understanding how your body works, learning to trust yourself (as in, your body) and on living more fully.
I’ve found health and healing over the last decade by harnessing the gentle yet deeply healing and often overlooked power of somatics. As a trauma-educated Integrative Health Coach trained in embodied healing systems, I can tell you that in order to address your health and how you feel about yourself and the world around you - you need to go beyond the brain and address the dysregulation in the nervous system and stored emotional stress in the body.
Somatic self-regulation allows you to tune into the wisdom of your body and work with your own stress response that builds capacity, resilience and provides you with a deeper foundation for a healthier, more authentic and fulfilling life.
We live in a world in which women’s nervous systems are depleted and in need of slowing down, allowing rest, co-regulating and deepening relationships with our bodies, and more focus on understanding and helping one another.
THE SENSITIVE OBSERVER
I’ve been told ‘You’re too loud. Too highly strung. Too emotional’ throughout my life.
In corporate environments, with family (usually through jokes) and social situations alike, I was tuned into what others often missed – how emotions rippled through groups, how stress spreads like contagion, and how empathy could transform an entire room.
My sensitivity became both a gift and a burden. While I could speak up for others, I often froze when it came to advocating for myself. By my 40s, I'd hit a wall – burnt out, disconnected, and weighed down by self-doubt, and chronic health symptoms, despite years of wellness practices.
The turning point came when I discovered my symptoms and being ‘highly strung; weren't character flaws but signs of a highly sensitive nervous system, cultural conditioning being socialised as a woman and emotional trauma I had experienced as a child. Traditional approaches – yoga, nutrition, supplements – helped somewhat, but the true healing happened when I encountered bodywork that addressed what my body had been holding onto for decades.
Working with my nervous system changed everything. I realised healing doesn't come from doing more but from being present with our experience. This wasn't self-improvement; it was self-acceptance and coming home to myself.
This journey helped reveal my purpose: helping women reconnect with their bodies' wisdom and heal from emotional and childhood trauma. When conventional approaches fail, I guide clients to that deeper level where true transformation happens – the same path that finally freed me from emotional paralysis and restored me back to health, wellbeing and true resilience.
My mission is to support you in cultivating your connection with your body for lasting health and balance, more ease and joy -
- so you can live the next stage of your life feeling healthier, happier, connected and more fulfilled.
Book your Free Personalised Path to Recovery >>
THE REBEL’S JOURNEY
‘Be a good girl. Stay in your lane. How dare you.’
These words also echoed throughout my life – in classrooms, workplaces, and relationships – creating a paradox of freedom and constraint that defined my early years. Expectations and my unmet needs weighed heavily on my shoulders and my heart.
Despite my many accomplishments, I didn’t feel satisfied or that I belonged in any conventional box. At first, I blamed myself, questioning my worthiness and doubting my intuition. Even as I overcame many big challenges in life, the sense of fulfilment remained elusive that drove me to doing more to be accepted.
Everything shifted when I recognised my empathy is a superpower rather than a liability. This insight led me to the most confronting decision of my life: embracing my authentic path instead of fitting into prescribed roles. Essentially going against the grain of our culture a lot of the time. And then, I discovered that changing circumstances – jobs, careers, relationships, geography – couldn't solve the disconnection I felt inside.
My mentor's words became my turning point: ‘If you're up to big things in life, you have to address your traumas and nervous system because your body won't feel safe to go after what you deeply desire.’
The very qualities that made me ‘too much’ – my sensitivity, my questioning, my refusal to ‘stay in my lane’ – became the foundation of my work. Now I invite you to do the same: address the emotional stress and trauma held in your body so you can move beyond self-doubt and into your full potential, regardless of the boxes others try to place you in.
MY CREDENTIALS
Certifications and trainings:
Focalizing Practitioner Training - a somatic healing modality that helps people build resilience, heal from trauma, and develop a roadmap for navigating potential triggers (in progress).
Nerve Apprenticeship - a trauma-educated Embodiment and Nervous System Regulation using body work and movement training with Sukie Baxter, Whole Body Revolution, Functional Balance.
Integrative Nutrition Health Coach certification, one-year holistic health coaching and nutrition certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) in New York.
Courses:
Treating Trauma Master Series, a 6-module self-study trauma-informed course with world-leading trauma researchers
The Power of Attachment, Trauma-informed Attachment Styles self-study course with Dr. Diane Poole Heller.
Embracing All of You, a 6-part introductory self-study course for somatic therapeutic tools of Internal Family Systems (Dr. Richard Schwartz) and Compassionate Inquiry (Dr. Gabor Mate), with Sounds True.
Biology of Trauma 2.0 (August 2022), a 7-part Trauma-Disease Connection Summit with Dr. Aimie Apigian, Trauma Healing Accelerated.
Empowered Aging using Ayurvedic Wisdom & Modern Science, a 7-module training in reparative approach, including digestion-lympth connection and circadian wisdom, with Dr. John Douillard, (2020)
Aligned with Purpose, Yoga Therapy course with Susan Hopkinson. (2017)
I’m a member of the International Association for Health Coaches (IHCA).
Plus countless hours of reading, researching, practicing, and thinking deeply about these topics and engaging with friends and colleagues in conversation around them.
I am currently inspired by and exploring body-based practices and classes with pioneers and leaders in body work and somatic movement of Jo Miller Unshaming Shame using somatic awareness, Sukie Baxter of Whole Body Revolution, Liz Koch's Core Awareness, Megan McCarthy’s Somatic Yoga, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen's Body-Mind Centering, and Emily Conrad's Continuum Movement.
