SOMATIC COACHING
WITH ROGER MANIX
A way back
We all come from somewhere — a body, a family, a history that started shaping us before we had words for any of it.
And along the way, most of us lose contact with our bodies as a place we can trust.
It happens to all of us.
A nervous system that learned to brace stays braced. A pattern that kept a family safe once gets carried forward, unquestioned, into a life it was never built for. And so we live from old reflexes — fear, anger, worry, discontentment — mistaking them for who we are.
Away from the ground the body can still return to.
Away from what we’re actually capable of.
The good news is the body can learn something new.
All it takes on your part is the bravery to begin, and a willingness to change
roots: What shapes the work
Roger’s work is guided by the lens of somatics and ancestral healing. Sessions combine both physical and verbal exploration.
Roger is currently in the second year of the three-year Somatic Experiencing® professional training developed by Dr. Peter Levine, and will complete certification as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) upon graduating. Somatic Experiencing is a body-oriented model for resolving the physiological, nervous-system effects of shock and trauma — working with the ways fight, flight, and freeze responses can get stuck in the body long after a threat has passed. This training shapes the way Roger coaches: pacing sessions slowly, treating physical sensation as real information, and paying close attention to how old survival patterns still show up in the body years later.
Roger’s certification in Family Constellations is the foundation of his practice. The modality was created by Dr. Bert Hellinger, and is a healing approach designed to reveal the hidden dynamics in a family or relationship system, in order to address stressors impacting these relationships, how they’re playing out in Roger’s clients’ lives, and how to heal them.
Core Energetics, a body-based approach created by psychiatrist Dr. John Pierrakos, M.D., has also shaped how Roger understands this work, though it’s not a modality he’s trained or certified in. Roger spent a decade as a client in Core Energetics, and that experience, moving the body to access higher states of consciousness, lives underneath how he shows up as a coach, even when he’s not formally practicing it.
While guest lecturing at Stanford University, Roger developed a play-based learning curriculum to teach empathy, togetherness, and creativity. Over the years, he’s adapted that curriculum into a tool he brings into sessions, play opens a different way back into the body than talking does, often loosening things that stay stuck when we only work with words. Roger’s TEDx talk builds on this same thread: it makes the case for why play belongs in higher education, and how it creates joy.
Sessions are 50 minutes, and can be virtual or in-person at my NYC office.
MY CLIENTS
Roger’s clients range from the recovery community, adult children of addicts/dysfunctional parents, artists, entrepreneurs, LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities, adolescents, those in transition…changing jobs, changing relationships, changing careers.
Testimonials:
“A weight has lifted. I’m simply more comfortable in my own skin”
Vanessa
“As someone who is very anxious, and rather shy, I felt my anxieties and defenses begin to dissolve and lighten.”
Erin
“Working with Roger has changed the game for me. He is thoughtful, empathetic, and creates an atmosphere that challenges me in all the right ways. The work we’ve done together has had an immensely positive impact on my ability to show up for myself, in my relationships, and in my career.”
Oscar
“I have had the privilege to learn from and with Roger for almost 10 years now and here’s what I can tell you without a doubt: he is the most caring person, while challenging me to face my deepest shadows. If you want to truly expand, Roger is the person with whom to do that, safely and with love. “
Mikela
“Your work has guided me through many different obstacles with confidence and humility.”
Grace
“Roger has a way to get right through to the light that’s within me, and what’s attempting to dim that light. With compassion, intelligence, and laughter, I feel myself coming back to myself.”
Jason
About
Roger grew up in a home with addiction, and was viciously bullied at school for being gay. From a young age, his nervous system learned to brace — to freeze, stay small, and stay alert before he could ever relax. He didn’t feel safe in the world, like he didn’t belong.
That journey has led Roger to many coaches, therapists, practices, and certifications over the years. Time spent learning alongside Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön, his training in Family Constellations, and his own experience with Core Energetics have all contributed to his personal healing.
Roger is a part-time Assistant Professor at The New School.
Roger is a coach, not a therapist. His work is not a substitute for any professional or medical consultation. Results of somatic coaching are not guaranteed and depend on the individual.
In this TEDx talk, Roger shares his own personal journey with being a bullied kid, and how that led to his life’s work, using play to uplift the potential of others, and create joy.
Contact
Reach out to schedule a 15-minute call to start that journey
Before We Begin
Roger’s work — coaching sessions, workshops, and any related content — is educational and coaching-based, not clinical. He does not diagnose, treat, or provide mental health services, and this work is not a substitute for therapy or psychiatric care.
His approach draws on training in Somatic Experiencing and Family Constellations, and is designed to complement, not replace, the work of licensed mental health professionals. Many clients do this work alongside a therapist. If you’re currently in crisis or working through significant trauma, please have a licensed mental health professional as your primary support.
If you’re looking for a referral to a trauma-informed therapist, Roger is happy to help you find one.