Hidden Gems: Meet Grace Whitlock of Good With Grace

Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Whitlock.

Hi Grace, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a Breathwork Facilitator and Somatic Coach who helps people access the wisdom of the body so that they can embrace the complexities of their human experience and celebrate their vitality.

I believe that one of the most impactful ways that we can begin to access the wisdom of the body is by speaking its language – breath, sound, and movement.

What started off as a passion for physical fitness and dance parties turned it something so much more fulfilling and rewarding. After years of music festival hopping and teaching at SoulCycle, I was introduced to breathwork. Breathwork became the vehicle in which I started to heal my depression, anxiety, and patterning.

After attending David Elliotts Healer Training for Breathwork, I quickly realized I wanted more and found myself feeling gaps in the ways I wanted to support people. Serendipitously I ran in to Samantha Skelly the founder of Pause, built a relationship with her, and received a full scholarship to attend her trauma informed somatic coaching program. This was it. For the first time, all of my passion found an interwoven purpose.

I now know I like to go to the depths with people, explore their edges, and encourage them as they reclaim their power. Whether that happens sweating in a fitness class, dancing in an ecstatic movement class, breathing on a mat, or in a 1:1 coaching session makes no difference. I feel it deep inside. This is where my magic is magnified.

Since becoming a certified, trauma-informed somatic coach, I have held space for people to breathe, laugh, cry, shake, scream, and dance all over LA (and the world).

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
They say that comparison is the thief of joy; I also think it’s the thief of authenticity and forward momentum. I moved to LA after being in DC which was a hard place to try to launch any form of spiritual practice. So I came to the spiritual ‘mecca’ Santa Monica. Immediately I felt like I wasn’t healed enough, woke enough, or ALIGNED enough to do be doing this work. I started meeting a lot of people who had much more exposure to somatic work and had been practicing for much longer than I had. I think that really stunted my ability to get loud, proud, and committed to networking here. It took me a little too long to embrace the reality that space holding is a gift, and I know I hold a very safe space that doesn’t involve any ego or expectations on the individuals who are curious about these practices. All are welcome.

They say you can only take your clients as far as you have been willing to take yourself. I feel like I get asked a lot by people who come to my classes about if it’s “easy” to become a Breathwork facilitator and what the money is like because they see any opportunity for a “side hustle”. I learned quickly that if I really wanted to hold a safe, intimate, and genuine container, I needed to be as committed to my own healing journey. I stopped hosting Breathwork experiences for about 6 months after I received my first round of training simply because I realized that I couldn’t show up as a clear mirror and strong anchor for people if I didn’t address certain wounds in my body. Still to this day, sometimes my clients will bring things up in 1:1 sessions, and I will feel contractions in my body and realize that whatever they are speaking about is something that is pinging my own system and that I need to do my own work in this area.

Being your own boss is hard. Being a coach is amazing and I literally love every second that I get to be in this work with people, but getting individuals to the work, in your world, and investing in a coach is honestly very difficult. I keep thinking that it will start to happen organically, but the reality is social media rules the world, and you have to get very committed to consistently selling and constantly sharing your life with the world to get people engaged these days. That’s hard for me. I actually recently invested in my own support to help me get more comfortable with selling online and sharing my story on social media.

We’ve been impressed with Good With Grace, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a Somatic Embodiment + Breathwork Guide (and SoulCycle Instructor)

I help individuals embrace the complexities of their human experience, liberate themselves, and celebrate their vitality, joy, and shine.

Through somatic and embodiment work, my intention is to welcome people to find a deeper level of belonging in their bodies, reclaim their lives through releasing outdated or stuck energy in their system, and become the most aligned, fulfilled, and vibrant version of themselves.

I am known for hosting somatic healing experiences both in person and la. These events include breathwork + ecstatic dance/somatic movement.

I’m sunshine and safety. People walk away from experiences with me feeling like they were witnessed and supported by someone with clear intention, a lot of compassion, and a deep desire to reflect back to them how worthy they are of being celebrated. They also walk away saying that they have never felt safer doing healing work because of the way I welcome individuals to honor their bodies and not to push themselves too far outside of their window of tolerance, which is sadly something I see a lot of in this industry. People pushing individuals to heal harder, faster, and under the belief that the guides know best…. we don’t, you do. This is about reminding people they are sovereign, unique, beautiful individuals.

I am proud of the fact that this year I held over 88+ Breathwork or Somatic Healing experiences across LA impacting over 600 souls. I am proud of the fact that I know that each and every single one of those experiences had the thoughtful intention, integrity, and opportunity for this work to change someone’s life the way it changed mine. I am also proud of the fact that this year was the first year that I started seeing 1:1 clients where I supported individuals as they addressed the unmet needs of their inner children, fear of showing up, setting boundaries, and embracing their magic.

You can always find me at Unplug Meditation in Santa Monica, where I host weekly Breathwork sessions and in-person somatic healing experiences (breathwork + dance).

You can follow me on Instagram @good.withgrace for all virtual events & 1:1 coaching opportunities, and I have a really fun program launching in Feb. that is great for individuals who have been interested in trying to make a somatic work, breathwork, or spirituality part of their daily life. It is a four-week program here to support those who want to start regulating their nervous system, understanding their inner world, and expanding their state of being.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Find a community of individuals who are passionate about the work that you are doing. I felt so isolated when I started my healing journey, both personally and professionally, and I think it meant that I wasn’t building the confidence to talk about what I was doing for myself and for others.

Protect your energy, as silly as it sounds, once I started holding space for groups every week, I found myself taking on a lot of energy that wasn’t mine, so make sure that you have rituals and energetic boundaries that you set before and after sessions.

Invest in your own support, or make it a priority to receive! One of the things I love about LA is its so easy to go find other classes that replenish you and inspire you as a guide. Make it a priority to use resources outside of yourself. If you have the capacity to hire your own coach, I would make the investment because it reminds you that you aren’t holding it all by yourself.

Figure out your ‘vibe’, what does your space feel like thats different than others, what kind of music do you play in your experiences, have signature statements and class flows, and really embody the energy you want people to feel when they engage with your work. This was something has seriously impacted my success.

Contact Info:

• Website: goodwithgrace.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/good.withgrace/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/user/126663275?si=8383b41ae9a0497c