Amarisa Marie MS, RYT, SEP — Somatic Coach & Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner

For the complicated work of being human.

Holistic coaching that invites the body to lead the process to your natural state of true seeing and spontaneous action.

Aloha! I’m Amarisa

I have a passion for what complexity asks of us.

And I have utmost respect and appreciation for how we survive the most difficult experiences and circumstances. The years I spent navigating brain injury and sensory processing challenges changed how I understand attention, perception, and what it means to truly listen. I am not here to lead you somewhere. I am here to attend with you to what is actually present.

Welcome! Come as you are.

I’m a certified coach, yoga steward, Intuitive Eating counselor, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, and biologist passionate about attending to complexity alongside the people who bring it..

Amarisa with a huge smile sitting on a log hugging her knees lightly, bum and barefeet rooting her to the forest floor in pure delight.

Read my story 🦋

Let’s walk together as you learn new ways of being. When you are ready we can toss what no longer serves and shift the patterns. I am ready to listen at the deepest level and truly follow your process as you learn to befriend your nervous system and trust in your capacity to move forward.

“Meeting Amarisa Marie wasn't an appointment - it was fate. We literally crossed paths on a street in Santa Cruz, and that moment quietly changed the course of my life. When I met her, I was battling intense brain fog, severe balance issues, and mental fatigue so deep I could barely think straight. I wasn't living - I was surviving.
Amarisa, with her rare combination of personal experience, professional expertise, and what I can only call "soul intuition," immediately understood my struggles - even when I couldn't fully explain them myself. She introduced me to proprioception work and guided me patiently each week, knowing exactly how to meet me where I was, without pushing too hard or backing away. She is one of those rare people who listens not just to your words, but to your whole being.
Thanks to her wisdom and dedication, my balance is improving, my clarity is returning, and - unbelievably - I have started two companies in the last six months and written over 20 songs. I'm still healing, but I'm working again, writing again, living again.
Amarisa isn't just a coach - she's a true life-saver. Think Yoda, but in Santa Cruz, and way more personable. If you need someone who sees you, understands you, and can help you rebuild from the inside out, Amarisa Marie is the real deal.
Forever grateful.”
S.V., Songwriter, Entrepreneur, U.S.A.
“I found it hard to find words to capture the fullness and amazingness of Amarisa. I've worked with her as a coach for over two years. Her coaching has allowed me to navigate challenges in my work and personal life in a safe space we created, where I can be curious and sit with discomfort as I shine a light on beliefs that are getting in the way of moving forward.
I especially appreciate the breadth of Amarisa's training and how it connects the mind and body. This has allowed me to integrate what l'm discovering, giving me not just a cognitive understanding, but also a felt sense of what is being learned in my body. I appreciate her commitment to seeing me grow.
I highly recommend working with her to anyone wanting to make meaningful shifts in how they show up in their life. This small step may be a powerful catalyst in helping you break free of familiar paths.”
M.J., Bicultural & Bilingual Trainer, Facilitator, & Coach. Japan
“I've had the privilege of being coached by Amarisa over the past three years, and her warm, intuitive, and deeply relational approach has been consistently supportive and transformative.
Amarisa brings a wealth of knowledge across multiple modalities—including process-oriented coaching, somatic experiencing, and yoga—which means our sessions go beyond traditional coaching. With care and consent, she offers practical tools and insights that have helped me live more in alignment with my values and personal growth.
I highly recommend Amarisa to anyone looking for a coach who integrates a deep understanding of the mind-body connection and trauma-informed support.”
J.H., Coach, Facilitator and Management Consultant, Australia

Amarisa walking on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i through a dry, grassy landscape with bushes and trees, surrounded by hills with orange and green vegetation under a sky with the moon and clouds at sunrise.

Who comes to this work

People facing challenges that feel overwhelming — a health disruption, life transition, sticky pattern, a life that functions but doesn't feel quite inhabited. Creatives, leaders, teachers, people in the helping professions. People navigating sensory complexity, neurodiversity, chronic conditions, medical scares. People who do not appreciate being rushed towards resolution or forced into a method that isn’t resonant. People wanting a collaborative relationship in their process.

I am well versed in tending complex systems arcing from micro to macro and personal to professional. I have decades devoted to caring for rich ecological systems of Pacific islands and atolls, supporting youth and lifetime learners, and healing my own brain, sensory processing system, nervous system, and mind. I know the difference it makes to be with a practitioner who has a care filled non-judgemental presence, genuine curiosity, and trust in the innate capacity to grow and heal..

What we do together

We attend to what is present and ready to be witnessed — internal and external to the body, in the individual and collective fields. The work draws on Somatic Experiencing®, process-oriented coaching, depth psychology, and yoga depending on what is needed or resonating. In general the work centers what is already trying to happen in the body, moving at a pace that gives just enough stimulus to coax greater capacity in the system. A significant element of the work is patterning in a sense of rhythm.

What tends to shift

This will depend on the nervous system pattern that is expressing when we begin the work and the complexity of a person’s situation and/or experience. The work is not prescriptive and rarely linear. What clients tend to describe is a greater capacity to stay present with difficulty without being overtaken by it. Clearer access to their own knowing and teacher within. A relationship with the body that is less conflicted or harmful and instead oriented towards trust and care. They are often more inclined to make decisions that lead to greater appreciation and joy in the body, relationships, and engagement with life..

This is a process of somatic attunement, reclaiming agency if it has been lost, finding trust in the nervous system, connecting to intuition, and feeling empowered to courageously engage with life.