About Ash

I’m Ash Ryzen Witham (with-um, they/she) a queer, nonbinary, trauma-informed Somatic Coach, Facilitator, and Prosci Certified Change Practitioner, creating inclusive spaces for personal and collective transformation. Whether it’s one person navigating change or a group improving how they collaborate, my work is the same: getting clear on what matters, moving what gets in the way, and building the capacity to act in alignment.

My Story

I consider myself a modern-day alchemist.

I entered the world without many basic needs or physical safety as a given, and learned how to transform those early hardships into resilience and capacity. For me, that also meant working through debilitating shyness. I went from freezing when speaking in front of more than three people, even blacking out during group presentations, to public speaking becoming one of my superpowers.

Much like the clients I support, I longed for a life I couldn’t yet see the shape of. What drives my work is my belief that whether inherited or societal, we can break the ropes that bind us and create dignified lives and meaningful futures.

Credentials, Certifications, & Trainings

I know I’ll be a lifelong learner. Here are some of the key experiences that have shaped me and my work so far.

I trained in Somatic Coaching at the Strozzi Institute, which has worked at the meeting point of personal growth, leadership, and social change for over four decades. I’ve also completed Strozzi’s Embodied Transformation with a focus on leadership, as well as Somatics, Trauma, and Resilience with Staci Haines, a leading voice in somatics and social justice.

I’m currently visiting faculty at Esalen Institute, a center for human potential and embodied inquiry since 1962. I was also an invited contributor to Esalen’s Center for Theory and Research (CTR), where I presented as part of the Subtle Body III initiative.

Since 2021, I’ve been a Course Leader at Authentic Relating Training (ART) International, which has reached over 15,000 participants worldwide. I’ve personally guided over 1,000 of them through ART’s Level 1, Embodied Level 1, and Level 2 trainings.

Core Certifications & Training at a Glance:

• Professional Certified Coach (PCC), in progress | International Coaching Federation (ICF)

• Certified Change Practitioner | Prosci®

• Somatic Coaching (ICF Level 2 accredited program) | Strozzi Institute

• Embodied Transformation (Leadership Focus) | Strozzi Institute

• Somatics, Trauma, and Resilience | Strozzi Institute

• Certified Level 1 Breathwork Practitioner | ReWild Breathwork & Somatic Healing

• Level 2 Advanced Breathwork, Somatics & Embodiment | ReWild Breathwork & Somatic Healing

• Certified Trauma-Informed Coach | The Centre for Healing

• Certified in Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy | The Embody Lab

• Certified Relateful Coach | The Relateful Co

• Certified Authentic Relating Facilitator | Authentic Relating Training International

Contributions & Collaborations

My work lives at the intersection of somatics, relational practice, and collective possibility. I’ve created and co-created several offerings that reflect this integrative approach, to highlight:

• The Refinery (Founder, 2026): a somatic group course for personal change and community connection

• Soma & Soul (Founder, 2025): An immersive workshop and retreat experience blending somatics, embodied relating, movement, and breathwork to grow capacity in ourselves, our work, and our relationships

• We AR Queer (Co-founder, 2023-2025): Authentic Relating workshops and events for LGBTQ+ folks, offering intimacy tools and community outside of nightlife

• ARCI Retreat (Co-founder, 2022-2024): A first-of-its-kind residential retreat weaving together Authentic Relating and Contact Improvisation

• Shadow Academy (Co-founder, 2021-2023): Six-part introductory and advanced courses making shadow work approachable and actionable

World Influence

From 2017 to 2022, I lived nomadically, studying and facilitating across the U.S., Western Europe, Central America, Israel, and Southeast Asia. In 2021, I brought the first Authentic Relating Level 1 training to Guatemala, helping seed an Authentic Relating community in San Marcos La Laguna.

Now rooted back in Los Angeles, I facilitate across the U.S. and internationally, and I’m always open to new collaborations.

Early Influences & Creative Roots

With a BA in Fine Art and a minor in Visual and Performing Art Education from UCLA, I bring both critical thinking and artistic vision into all that I do. This early influence, combined with a former career in graphic design, shape how I craft experiences: designed to the detail, thoughtfully structured, and deeply felt.

The Heart of the Work

I take my work in the world seriously, and to me, that means creating space for play, humor, and levity alongside depth and vulnerability.

My approach is rooted in the belief that the ache, tension, and longing we carry, as individuals and as teams, aren’t problems to fix. They’re the raw material of our evolution, and where the alchemy truly begins.

Whether it’s coaching, a group training, a team off-site, or a personal retreat, each offering is designed to:

• Interrupt habitual patterns that keep people and teams stuck

• Build nervous system resilience and embodied capacity

• Develop leaders who stay grounded and clear under pressure

• Make conflict generative instead of draining or disruptive

• Empower how people relate, from giving honest feedback to speaking up when it counts

The invitation here?
To grow the capacity to be with what’s real, moment to moment.
And to create a life and work that feel aligned, alive, and truly yours.

Video Credit: Connor Thorp
Photo Credits: Casey Cooper, ReWild Breathwork, Mark Fisher, ReWild Breathwork