Helping people perform at their best — without burning out.
Build resilience, strengthen communication, improve team effectiveness and create sustainable performance through experiential learning that engages the whole human being.
SOMA Ignite combines leadership development, nervous system science and somatic learning to help people access their best thinking, communication and performance when it matters most.
Performance Insight
Performance starts with state.
Under pressure, we don't rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training.
— Widely used within military performance training
Elite athletes, pilots, military teams and emergency responders understand that performance is influenced not only by skill, but by state.
Focus, communication, decision-making and adaptability become easier to access when people are regulated, resilient and able to recover effectively.
SOMA Ignite brings these principles into leadership, team and organisational development.
01 — Why SOMA Ignite?
We bring the missing somatic layer to leadership, culture and performance.
Traditional development focuses on what people know.
We help people access that knowledge when it matters most.
By combining leadership development, nervous system science and experiential learning, we help people move beyond awareness into embodiment — creating learning that sticks and behaviour change that lasts.
Because knowing what to do and being able to do it under pressure are not the same thing.
02 — Why SOMA?
The word soma means the living body.
Traditional workplace development focuses primarily on the mind.
SOMA Ignite adds the missing human layer — helping people understand not only how they think, but how they respond, communicate and perform under pressure.
Because sustainable performance isn't just cognitive. It's physiological, emotional and relational too.
03 — The equation
Mind plus body equals better performance.
- —Thinking
- —Analysis
- —Knowledge
- —Strategy
- —Decision making
- —Emotions
- —Sensations
- —Energy
- —Nervous system state
- —Presence
- —Clearer thinking
- —Better communication
- —Greater resilience
- —Stronger leadership
- —More effective teams
04 — The principle
State precedes skill.
Knowing what to do and being able to do it under pressure are not the same thing.
SOMA Ignite helps bridge the gap between understanding and embodiment.
05 — Focus areas & outcomes
The challenges we help solve.
Resilience & Sustainable Performance
Burnout prevention, stress regulation and recovery for people who need to perform under pressure.
Leadership Effectiveness & Presence
Building calm, confident leaders who communicate clearly and show up authentically when it matters most.
Team Effectiveness & Connection
Strengthening communication, trust and collaboration across teams.
Change & Transformation
Supporting people through change fatigue, uncertainty and periods of transformation.
Belonging & Culture
Creating psychological safety, trust and healthier workplace cultures where people can do their best work.
Neuroinclusive Learning
Experiences designed to engage different learning styles, neurotypes and communication preferences.
06 — Our signature programmes
Three pathways.
One goal.
Helping people access more of what they are capable of.
Whether the priority is sustainable performance, leadership effectiveness, team connection, communication under pressure, psychological safety, employee wellbeing or belonging, every SOMA Ignite experience combines proven development approaches with experiential practices that help learning become embodied, not just understood.
SOMA Resilience™
Sustainable performance without burnout.
Burnout prevention, stress regulation and recovery for people who need to perform sustainably under pressure.
Outcomes
SOMA Presence™
Communication, confidence and leadership under pressure.
Building executive presence, leadership effectiveness and communication under pressure — so people show up with clarity and impact.
Outcomes
SOMA Teams™
Stronger teams. Better conversations. Greater trust.
Helping teams improve collaboration, communication and psychological safety. Building team connection and belonging — not by teaching it, but by creating the conditions where it emerges.
Outcomes
SOMA Resets™
→Small interactions. Meaningful impact.
Short experiential sessions for stress management, focus, wellbeing, team connection and return-to-office initiatives.
Insights Discovery® + SOMA
→Beyond personality. Into embodied behaviour change.
Helping people move beyond awareness into the body — where behaviour actually lives.
Performance Insight
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
— William James
07 — Inclusive by design
Learning that meets people where they are.
Most workplace learning relies heavily on discussion, reflection and cognitive processing. SOMA engages multiple pathways:
Naturally accessible to a wider range of learning styles, communication preferences and neurotypes. Particularly valuable for organisations investing in neuroinclusion, ERGs, DEI, wellbeing and leadership development.
08 — Who we work with
Built for the teams shaping the future of work.
Learning & Development
- —Leadership development
- —Manager capability
- —Behaviour change
HR & People Teams
- —Culture
- —Engagement
- —Wellbeing
- —Retention
ERGs & Inclusion Teams
- —Belonging
- —Connection
- —Neuroinclusion
- —Community
Leadership Teams
- —Trust
- —Communication
- —Psychological safety
- —Performance
09 — Founders
Bridging organisational development
and human performance.
Jennifer de Chickera
20 years of experience in leadership development, inclusion, organisational effectiveness and culture transformation — combined with extensive training in nervous system regulation, breathwork, meditation and somatic practice.
Credentials
- —Chartered CIPD
- —Korn Ferry leadership coach
- —BPS Level A & B accredited
- —Insights Discovery practitioner
- —SOMAIQ Breathwork Facilitator
- —Functional Medicine Health Coach (candidate)
Ben Murray Watson
The creative and experiential dimension of SOMA. Actor, producer, screenwriter, facilitator — helping people develop communication, presence, confidence and authentic leadership.
Credentials
- —SOMAIQ Breathwork Facilitator
- —Creative performance techniques
- —Storytelling & screenwriting
- —Embodied communication
Together they bridge organisational development, neuroscience, storytelling and embodied learning.
10 — Beyond the Workplace
Developing people.
Creating wider impact.
At SOMA Ignite, we believe resilience, wellbeing, leadership and human potential should not be limited to those who have access to corporate development budgets.
That is why we are building the SOMA Impact Partnership.
As we grow, a portion of our work will help fund resilience, wellbeing and leadership development experiences for social impact organisations, charities and community initiatives.
This means organisations that invest in SOMA Ignite are not only supporting their own people. They are helping create wider social impact.
The SOMA Impact Partnership
We are actively exploring partnerships with:
- —Charities
- —Social enterprises
- —Community organisations
- —Youth programmes
- —Neuroinclusion initiatives
- —Wellbeing projects
- —Cancer and health support communities
Our goal is to expand access to practical tools that support resilience, wellbeing, belonging and human flourishing.
For Corporate Partners
Organisations may choose to sponsor community programmes as part of their engagement with SOMA Ignite.
This can support:
While helping extend access to development opportunities beyond the workplace.
For Social Impact Organisations
If you are a charity, social enterprise or community organisation interested in partnering with us, we would love to hear from you.
Growing Human Capacity Inside and Outside the Workplace.
Small investments. Meaningful impact. Shared value.
What becomes possible
when people spend less time surviving?
Every engagement begins with a conversation. Tell us about your challenge and we'll explore the right SOMA experience for your people.