Tara Dakin
SELF
Wellness Architecture
This time is Psychēra.
At the Centre of Everything is
SELF
Understanding ourselves is fundamental to lifelong wellness.
SELF is founded on a simple belief: the more deeply we understand our thoughts, emotions, beliefs, choices, nervous system and embodied experiences, the better equipped we become to support our own health, healing and wellbeing.
At the heart of SELF are four guiding principles:
Understanding precedes healing.
Healing supports regulation.
Regulation creates the conditions for restoration.
Restoration allows us to live with greater presence, purpose and vitality.
The SELF Collection is an integrative wellness framework, philosophy and body of work that brings together developmental psychology, positive psychology, neuroscience, somatic awareness and restorative practices to cultivate deeper self-understanding and lasting wellbeing.
SELF, The Book
SELF takes readers on a fascinating journey into the biological, psychological and social aspects of who they are. Through developmental psychology, positive psychology, metacognition and interoception, readers are invited to explore the science of the self through reflective enquiry, practical experiences and guided journalling that encourage meaningful and lasting personal insight.
SELF, The Journals
SELF Journals I, II and III are beautifully designed companions that transform understanding into daily practice. Through thoughtful reflection, intentional enquiry and restorative exercises, they nurture an ongoing relationship with the self and support the lifelong practice of self-awareness.
The Private SELF Sessions
Experience a bespoke one-to-one SELF Session with founder Tara Dakin. Every session is individually curated, drawing upon the SELF methodology to support greater understanding, emotional healing, nervous system regulation and deep restoration through reflective conversation, embodied practice and restorative techniques.
SELF Retreats
SELF Retreats provide an immersive sanctuary away from the demands of everyday life. Through reflective practice, restorative experiences and intentional living, participants are invited to reconnect with themselves, restore balance and cultivate lasting wellbeing.
SELF Practitioner Training
SELF Practitioner Training offers selected professionals the opportunity to study the SELF framework in depth, enabling them to embody and deliver the methodology with integrity, compassion and excellence while supporting others on their own journey towards understanding, healing and restoration.
Everything within the SELF Collection is connected by one unifying purpose:
To help people understand themselves more deeply, live more consciously, and create the conditions in which health, healing and human flourishing can naturally emerge.
At the centre of everything is
SELF
The SELF Experience
The SELF Experience
Here we see ‘Clenching’.
Clenching is a simple, intentional way of bringing awareness to tension in the body. It involves deliberately tightening specific muscle groups, such as the fists, jaw, shoulders, or legs, holding briefly, and then releasing.
We use clenching as part of a tension-release toolkit when the body feels overwhelmed, restless, or dysregulated. By consciously creating tension and then letting it go, we help the nervous system recognise the difference between holding and releasing. This can support a return to a calmer, more regulated state.
Clenching is especially useful when stress feels “stuck” in the body, or when relaxation feels out of reach. It offers a controlled, physical pathway to discharge tension and reconnect with a sense of ease.
The Six Elements of The Private SELF Sessions
We begin with an enquiry of the self. Through reflective conversation and metacognitive enquiry, we consider what is present, what may require attention, and what is asking to be understood. Together, we gently explore how our experiences may be carried within the body. Through interoceptive enquiry, we begin to notice areas of tension, holding, discomfort, or disconnection, allowing intention to emerge naturally.
From here, we move into Intentional Movement on the mat. This gentle, embodied practice supports awareness, mobility, and connection with the areas that may be calling for attention. The journey may remain on the mat, where a guided meditation invites an interoceptive exploration of the body. Through this inward awareness, we visit the sensations, responses, and experiences that arise, allowing the body to become part of the conversation.
Alternatively, the experience may continue on the massage table. Therapeutic touch and restorative massage are combined with meditation and interoceptive guidance, creating space for deep relaxation, awareness, and connection.
Following the practice, time is given for grounding and integration as we return to the reflective space. Many clients benefit from several quiet moments before concluding the session. Experiences may include deep relaxation, shifts in body awareness, changes in temperature, emotional release, or a sense of lightness and calm.
The sixth and final element is offered through your SELF journal or the SELF book, allowing your enquiry to continue privately and at your own pace.
Returning clients often choose to explore particular aspects of SELF that emerge over time, allowing each session to build upon previous experiences and insights.
SELF is unique in its somatic approach. It works with both mind and body while supporting individuals to understand themselves more deeply: what they need, when they need it, and how they may respond with greater awareness, coherence, and agency.
At the centre lies SELF: the source of organisation, coherence, and agency.
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Self, The Private Self session
2 hours = £220
3 hours = £ 330
We begin with your personal copy of ‘SELF’, a beautifully guided companion into your inner world.
The first chapter opens gently, inviting you into a reflective enquiry of your daily life.
From here, your Life Story begins to unfold, softly, thoughtfully, before we pause, allowing space for awareness to emerge.
We then move into interoception, the practice of tuning into your internal bodily experience. Together, we explore your sensations, noticing where your attention is naturally drawn, and consider what your body may be holding across time, experience, and emotion.
From this awareness, we may gently introduce movement, some stretching, soft release, and the unwinding of held or accumulated energy. that can manifest in the hips, back, shoulders, neck. This is guided by you, your body, and what feels held and ready shift.
Your session closes with the choice of a guided meditation, on the mat or a with a deeply relaxing head, neck, and shoulder healing touch massage.
We then close and ground. the final element is that you leave with your book to continue reading, reflecting, writing, and journeying with yourself.
Your Journey Beyond the Session
You may choose to continue to complete the book independently. alternatively, you may choose to return for further in-person sessions, or we can meet online to explore the insights and patterns that begin to emerge.
What is so beautiful about this offering is that unless you have already written your autobiography, kept journals, or captured your memoir, this process becomes a first true gathering of your life onto the page, a powerful act of witnessing yourself. Time spent in this way is profoundly individual.
It is enlightening, reflective and transformative. You may find yourself in moments of quiet contemplation…
and moments of sudden clarity—
"Ah… that’s why I did that."As your awareness deepens, we find we have enlightening shifts in our sense of connection to self, and others, a growing of clarity and inner calm.
The gentle release of energy held in the body alongside the journey of awareness of the self can feel like a profound gift of freedom.
Session Options
2 hours
A deeply nourishing introduction to the work.3 hours
An extended, immersive experience for deeper exploration and integrationShorter follow up sessions are also available online or in person
1 hour 30 minutes in person
1 hour - online
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90 minutes- £165
SELF
A restorative ritual designed to rebalance the body, soothe the mind, and return you to a state of effortless calm.
Your experience begins with a quiet moment of arrival and a gentle wellness enquiry.
This is an invitation to pause, to be heard, and to reconnect with how you are feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally. Through thoughtful conversation, your experience is intuitively and expertly tailored to your individual needs.
Where appropriate, we may begin with intentional movement on the mat, using gentle embodied practices to support awareness, mobility, and connection with areas of the body that may be asking for attention.
For your massage, you may choose to remain seated or fully reclined and select the areas you wish to focus upon.
Using slow, flowing, and intentional techniques, the restorative massage works interoceptively with both mind and body. Through guided awareness and therapeutic touch, attention is gently brought to areas of holding, discomfort, or disconnection, encouraging relaxation and supporting the nervous system toward a state of greater regulation and ease.
Each movement is delivered with precision and care, allowing the body to soften and the mind to become quiet.
As your treatment draws to a close, you are guided through a tranquil meditation, gently centring awareness, grounding the body, and cultivating a lasting sense of inner stillness.
Time is then given for rest and integration. Clients often benefit from several quiet moments before returning to the day. A glass of water is offered to support hydration and continued wellbeing.
You are invited to leave slowly, carrying forward a greater sense of calm, connection, and awareness.
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from £ 360
Wellness Private Mini-Retreat. A two-three hour SELF movement and meditation experience -for a group of friends.
Step into a SELF wellness space for a two-hour private mini-retreat, where you and your closest friends are guided on a profound journey of awareness and connection to your body, your intuition, and energetic awakening.
During this experience, you will lie comfortably and be guided through body scanning, known as introspection, nervous system knowledge, meditation, energetic clearing, awareness, and gentle movement . We allow tension to dissolve to enable a space to connect deeply with your higher self,
Journaling and reflection are integrated, giving each participant the opportunity to capture the wisdom that arises .
Price is dependent on location and numbers, contact us for more details and pricing.
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Complimentary 10-Minute Consultation
A brief, focused conversation to begin your journey.
This initial call offers you a calm and confidential space to share what has brought you here, ask any questions, and gain a sense of how we may work together.
In these few minutes, we gently explore your needs and intentions, allowing you to feel informed, reassured, and clear about the next step.
Whether you are seeking support, insight, or simply a place to begin, this call is designed to offer ease, clarity, and connection.
We are entering Psychēra.
Psychēra is a time to understand the psychological aspects of human development though informed research.
Psychēra marks a cultural and psychological shift, one that recognises the need for deeper self-understanding in order to navigate the complexity of modern life. We are all experiencing the world differently and it can be exciting and disorientating, alongside our lived biology and social environment.
2026 onwards, represents a movement toward psychological literacy, nervous system awareness, emotional regulation, and a more integrated understanding of the self.
Through knowledge of psychology, the nervous system, emotional processes, and life-force energy, we begin to understand how we are shaped, and how we can live with greater agency and choice.
When we understand our nervous system, how energy moves through us, and how the mind, body, and inner life operate as a single system, a coherence becomes possible. We can begin to think, feel, move, and live with greater clarity and awareness
Within Psychēra
Within Psychēra sits the SELF experience, Psychēra Publications, Mind in Motion and SELF Practitioner training
Individual SELF sessions provide a bespoke and deeply personal experience, combining reflective enquiry, interoceptive awareness, intentional movement, meditation, and restorative touch. Each session is tailored to the individual, creating space for insight, regulation, connection, and embodied understanding.
SELF: The Book and Journals
The book SELF introduces the concept of Self Architecture, the internal structures shaped by our experiences, relationships, beliefs, environments, and histories.
Alongside the book sit three SELF journals, each offering a guided exploration of different aspects of the self. The journals divide the work into manageable stages, reducing overwhelm and allowing the enquiry to unfold gradually and accessibly.
MIND in Motion
MIND in Motion classes bring together psychology, movement, and nervous system regulation within a shared group experience.
Participants are invited to bring a mat and begin with a period of centring and reflection. Each session explores a psychological aspect of the self before moving into intentional movement practices that encourage awareness of areas of holding, tension, or disconnection.
Classes conclude with guided meditation and grounding practices, supporting regulation, breath, and a return to centre.
MIND in Motion offers an opportunity to experience the relationship between mind, body, and nervous system through movement, awareness, and reflection.
SELF Practitioner Training
SELF Practitioner Training offers selected professionals the opportunity to study the SELF framework in depth, enabling them to embody and deliver the methodology with integrity, compassion and excellence while supporting others on their own journey towards understanding, healing and restoration.
