Meet Nicole Zimmermann | Somatics Coach & Ceremonialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole Zimmermann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I feel fortunate to be at a place in my life and my career (and life) where I have developed a really beautiful relationship with risk. I actually full-heartedly believe that one’s capacity to take risks and lean into fear will determine the level of their success. Nobody has achieved their wildest dreams by playing it safe or staying in their comfort zone, and when we expand our capacity to take risks, we expand our capacity to grow. To risk means to put everything we have on the line in the name of what is important to us – even if it means failure, even if it means rejection. And we learn so much about ourselves through failure. I actually like to call it “perceived failure” because most of the time when we risk something and it doesn’t end up working out, we are actually just being fine tuned and redirected. If you don’t go all the way out on the branch, you’re never going to get the best fruit. I pretty much feel like my whole life up to this point has been about taking risks. As I’ve grown older, these risks have become more calculated and conscious, but I have always followed my heart, even in the moments it didn’t really make sense. And I will be the first to admit that some of these risks have brought me to some challenging places, both internally and externally, but boy oh boy has all of it helped me to grow, exponentially. This has been the absolute beauty of risk taking for me – really getting to know myself.. all of the shadows, the light and everything in between. It is a spiritual freakin’ journey to go out on those limbs.
I’ve never worked a traditional 9-5 job, never have really had a consistent paycheck and have never followed the status quo. To most of society, my lifestyle would be deemed risky. And had I listened to what society says, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I am absolutely in love with where I am right now. I love the work that I do. I love the people I am surrounded with. I love the disempowering narratives I have shifted. I love all of the places I have traveled to. The lessons I am continually learning – and none of what I have would be possible had I played it safe and comfortable. I’m actually really learning to relish in the feeling of fear & leaning alllll the way in, for I know the treasure that is on the other side.
One of my favorite quotes ever is “feel the fear and do it anyways.” I think that a lot of us let fear swallow us instead of drive us. A lot of us let the fear stand in the way of us going after our dreams. You’re never going to feel fully ready to do the thing that scares you. Ever. No matter how many affirmations you tell yourself. No matter how many achievements or certificates you have. So all there is left to do is lean in and take action. Feel the fear and do it anyways. And this is where true confidence is built – in feeling the discomfort that comes along with taking that risk, but still choosing to do it because it matters to you. And recognizing that no matter the outcome, you came out okay.. and not only did you come out okay, but you came out stronger than ever. I’m a firm believer that the Universe, Source, God. responds very well to us taking risks in the name of our dreams. It may be messy for a little bit, but we will always be guided in the right direction when we are honoring our Truth.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I run a business in the healing arts. Sometimes it can be hard to articulate everything that my business encapsulates, but I’ll try my best. I do everything from 1:1 work, to corporate wellness, to running my own retreats and events (& much more!). My mission as a leader is to create safe spaces for people to return to their hearts. We live in such a masculine, mind-driven society, and people are deeply suffering. So many of us are living on autopilot and struggling with an array of mental, physical and spiritual maladies. To have a human life is so rare and so magical, and I am here to remind people of that through my work. When we return to our hearts, we remember how much love lives inside and outside of us, we remember the miracle of what it means to be alive and we can really begin to heal ourselves. So, what does it look like to return to our hearts and heal? It is a Remembrance – a remembrance of who we really are underneath all of the trauma, all of the conditioning, all of the stories we’ve been told. All of the modalities I work with in my practice facilitate this remembrance of Self. My practice is constantly evolving and growing, but currently I am very focused on somatic work and creating safe containers for my clients to cleanse repressed/ stagnant energy and emotion and return to the wisdom of the body. We all have this innate power to heal ourselves, and it’s really a lot more simple than we’ve been taught. I believe that instead of turning to big Pharma and all of these artificial elaborate protocols, we really just need to return to ourselves and to nature. We need to return the most ancient medicines – breath, community, movement, song, the plants. I work with many of these ancient medicines in my business and the shifts that I continue to witness are incredible. I actually spent the greater portion of my life on SSRIs, addicted to drugs and alcohol and consumed by a terrible eating disorder. The work that I now do is what saved my life when I was at my darkest, and this is why I am so passionate about sharing this medicine with others.
Arriving to this place in my career has definitely not been easy, but it also hasn’t felt so hard and I have always felt very supported by Spirit. In 2020, I was forced to slow down and reevaluate everything. During this time I realized that my career in the entertainment industry was no longer serving me or those around me, so I signed up for a few different trainings and by 2021, I slowly began launching my wellness business. The hard and trying moments are inevitable on this entrepreneurial journey. I have moments when I feel like giving up. I have moments when I feel like a failure. Moments when I romanticize having a job that feels more stable. Moments when I question it all. But no matter how hard it feels at times, I just have to keep coming back to my intention and my why, and reminding myself that I didn’t get this far just to get this far. My why is what keeps me going. And there is truly nothing else that fills me up more than the work that I do.
I’ve learned many lessons on my career journey, so I’ll try to narrow it down to the most impactful ones. I think that taking time to rest and slow down and integrate is so so important when we are building something. Burn out can be so real, and unfortunately hinders many people from reaching their full potential. We have to tend to ourselves before tending to what’s around us. If you’re always operating from a half empty battery, that’s the energy you are going to bring into your work. So rather than working 24/7 from a 50% battery, work less from 100% – smarter not harder, as they say. I also think that (as cliché as this sounds) when you believe in yourself, you can do absolutely anything you put your mind to. There are always going to be critics, naysayers, and people who don’t want to see you shine. There will always be a million excuses and reasons as to why you “can’t” do it. There will always be pitfalls. You just have to keep going and keep believing in the magic that you are. Be delusional if you need to be. And don’t let your past define your future. We are limitless beings and the possibilities are endless – we are the only thing standing in our way. Lastly, I will share the importance of compassion, especially with ourselves. Life is not easy, and none of us are perfect. The more we can meet ourselves with grace and compassion, the more we can soften and expand. We cannot shame ourselves into change; we must love ourselves into evolution.
What feels most inspiring to me is all of the new modalities I am incorporating into my offerings, specifically sound and music. I just recently completed a 100 hour sound healing course in Guatemala, and it truly awakened in me this deep love for music and singing, and I am just so excited to explore this more and share with my community. I will also be starting my Yin Yoga Teacher Training starting this month, which I am also excited to share, as yoga has completely shifted my life. Lastly, I have just started making my own medicinal supplements and am working on branding at the moment. Lots of amazing things on the horizon and I am just in awe of the way it is all so organically unfolding. 🙂

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
California has some of the most epic nature in the world, so if I were to show someone the best time ever I would probably take them to some of my favorite hikes and nature spots. My current favorite hike is Inspiration Loop in Will Rodgers State Park. I also love Temescal Canyon Trail, Eagle Rock, Fryman Canyon & Musch Trail. I know that there are so many I’m missing, but these are just my current favs. I would also bring them to the San Gabriel Mountains in Azusa to get some fresh spring water and lay by the river. I would try to hit Joshua Tree as well because it’s one of my favorite places in the world. And of course we’d have to go to Malibu Beach to watch the sunset. Full California experience – mountains, desert & ocean all in a matter of days. I’m not the most extroverted person these days, so I don’t have too much knowledge on the social scene, but my friends are usually always hosting cool wellness events. There are also some fun ecstatic dances.
My current favorite spots to eat are Siamese Garden in Marina del Rey (best Thai food ever) & Great White (I go to the one in Venice, but they have locations everywhere!) & for ice cream, Ginger’s Divine Ice Creams (so many unique flavors!)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve been feeling into this question for a bit now, and it’s really hard to shoutout just a couple of people because I have SUCH an amazing big beautiful support system – my incredible community, my loving family, all of my teachers, mentors & coaches, my spirit guides, my plant allies, & most importantly, God. <3

Instagram: @Nicole_zimmermann