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The Impostor Archetype: Somatic Belonging and the Art of Being Seen
January 26 – March 9, 2026
Six 90-minute classes • Mondays at 4pm PST • No class February 16
Cost: $147
Limited to 6 participants
**You’re accomplished. You’re qualified.
And yet visibility still feels like exposure.**
Many of us move through our work with an internal tension we don’t talk about: that quiet sense of being “found out,” or the pressure to prove we belong, or the exhausting need to be prepared for everything.
It’s not a lack of confidence. It’s not a failing. It’s an archetype: a pattern that formed long before you ever stepped into a studio, classroom, or stage.
The Impostor Archetype isn't who you are. It’s how you learned to stay safe.
This course is an invitation to explore that pattern with clarity rather than judgment — and to find a steadier way of being seen.
What This Course Is
A six-week live, small-group experience where we explore:
How impostor feelings develop through roles, expectations, and history
How those patterns shape your preparation, expression, and visibility
What happens when “proving” is no longer the only strategy
How authenticity becomes more available through accurate, embodied understanding
This is not therapy. It’s not mindset coaching. It’s not a performance-fix.
It’s a structured, guided, reflective space where you can understand your own patterns and discover new ways of showing up.
Why the Impostor Archetype Deserves Its Own Course
Trying to think your way out of impostor feelings doesn’t work because the pattern isn’t intellectual.
It’s behavioral. It’s relational. It’s learned.
Most people who experience impostor patterns also:
over-prepare to feel safe
shrink or tighten when praised
downplay their accomplishments
hide the parts of their work that feel tender
confuse exhaustion with excellence
lose their own voice inside expectations
These are not flaws. They are strategies you developed to navigate pressure and survive environments that demanded more than they gave.
This course helps you understand those strategies without pathologizing them — and without holding them up as permanent.
What We’ll Explore Together
Week 1 — Naming the Pattern
Understanding the Impostor Archetype as a survival strategy, not a personality trait.
Week 2 — Visibility and Self-Protection
How visibility became intertwined with pressure, performance, or self-erasure.
Week 3 — The Body’s Role in Belonging
Noticing habitual preparation, tension, and expressive habits with clarity and accuracy.
Week 4 — Over-Performance vs. Presence
Learning what grounded expression actually looks and feels like in real contexts.
Week 5 — Rewriting the Story of Being Seen
Exploring new ways of showing up that do not rely on bracing or perfection.
Week 6 — Integrating Belonging
Strengthening patterns that support sustainable visibility in teaching, performance, and leadership.
What You’ll Learn
How to recognize your visibility patterns without judgment
What drives over-performance and how to shift it
How to show up without defaulting to “proving”
How to build a sense of belonging that doesn’t collapse under pressure
Skills for using breath, voice, and presence in ways that feel grounded and real
These skills support:
pre-tenure faculty navigating evaluation and scrutiny
professional musicians navigating comparison and exposure
performers stepping into new roles
teachers balancing visibility with vulnerability
Who This Course Is For
People who feel pressure to defend their place in the room
Artists and educators who over-prepare to feel secure
Individuals who shrink, tense, or deflect when praised
High achievers who still struggle to believe their accomplishments
Anyone who wants a steadier way to be seen — without bracing for impact
If you’ve been moving through impostor patterns quietly, this space is designed for you.
What’s Included
Six live 90-minute classes
Recordings of every session
Small group (maximum 6 participants)
Optional 1:1 coaching add-on after registration
Guided practices, reflection prompts, and Body Mapping applications
A clear pathway for deeper work after the course
Course Format
When: Mondays at 4pm PST
January 26 – March 9, 2026
(No class February 16)Where: Online via Zoom
Capacity: 6 participants
Investment: Regular: $147
What Participants Often Discover
“I don’t need to prove myself to belong here.”
“Visibility doesn’t have to cost me.”
“I’ve been performing competence instead of inhabiting it.”
“Small shifts change how I teach, create, and lead.”
“There’s a steadier version of me I didn’t know how to access.”
A Note From Shawn
Many artists and educators were taught to stay composed at the expense of themselves. I know the shape of that story because I lived inside it.
The Impostor Archetype isn’t a limitation. It’s a doorway.
If you’re curious about what might open on the other side, you’re welcome to join us.
January 26 – March 9, 2026
Six 90-minute classes • Mondays at 4pm PST • No class February 16
Cost: $147
Limited to 6 participants
**You’re accomplished. You’re qualified.
And yet visibility still feels like exposure.**
Many of us move through our work with an internal tension we don’t talk about: that quiet sense of being “found out,” or the pressure to prove we belong, or the exhausting need to be prepared for everything.
It’s not a lack of confidence. It’s not a failing. It’s an archetype: a pattern that formed long before you ever stepped into a studio, classroom, or stage.
The Impostor Archetype isn't who you are. It’s how you learned to stay safe.
This course is an invitation to explore that pattern with clarity rather than judgment — and to find a steadier way of being seen.
What This Course Is
A six-week live, small-group experience where we explore:
How impostor feelings develop through roles, expectations, and history
How those patterns shape your preparation, expression, and visibility
What happens when “proving” is no longer the only strategy
How authenticity becomes more available through accurate, embodied understanding
This is not therapy. It’s not mindset coaching. It’s not a performance-fix.
It’s a structured, guided, reflective space where you can understand your own patterns and discover new ways of showing up.
Why the Impostor Archetype Deserves Its Own Course
Trying to think your way out of impostor feelings doesn’t work because the pattern isn’t intellectual.
It’s behavioral. It’s relational. It’s learned.
Most people who experience impostor patterns also:
over-prepare to feel safe
shrink or tighten when praised
downplay their accomplishments
hide the parts of their work that feel tender
confuse exhaustion with excellence
lose their own voice inside expectations
These are not flaws. They are strategies you developed to navigate pressure and survive environments that demanded more than they gave.
This course helps you understand those strategies without pathologizing them — and without holding them up as permanent.
What We’ll Explore Together
Week 1 — Naming the Pattern
Understanding the Impostor Archetype as a survival strategy, not a personality trait.
Week 2 — Visibility and Self-Protection
How visibility became intertwined with pressure, performance, or self-erasure.
Week 3 — The Body’s Role in Belonging
Noticing habitual preparation, tension, and expressive habits with clarity and accuracy.
Week 4 — Over-Performance vs. Presence
Learning what grounded expression actually looks and feels like in real contexts.
Week 5 — Rewriting the Story of Being Seen
Exploring new ways of showing up that do not rely on bracing or perfection.
Week 6 — Integrating Belonging
Strengthening patterns that support sustainable visibility in teaching, performance, and leadership.
What You’ll Learn
How to recognize your visibility patterns without judgment
What drives over-performance and how to shift it
How to show up without defaulting to “proving”
How to build a sense of belonging that doesn’t collapse under pressure
Skills for using breath, voice, and presence in ways that feel grounded and real
These skills support:
pre-tenure faculty navigating evaluation and scrutiny
professional musicians navigating comparison and exposure
performers stepping into new roles
teachers balancing visibility with vulnerability
Who This Course Is For
People who feel pressure to defend their place in the room
Artists and educators who over-prepare to feel secure
Individuals who shrink, tense, or deflect when praised
High achievers who still struggle to believe their accomplishments
Anyone who wants a steadier way to be seen — without bracing for impact
If you’ve been moving through impostor patterns quietly, this space is designed for you.
What’s Included
Six live 90-minute classes
Recordings of every session
Small group (maximum 6 participants)
Optional 1:1 coaching add-on after registration
Guided practices, reflection prompts, and Body Mapping applications
A clear pathway for deeper work after the course
Course Format
When: Mondays at 4pm PST
January 26 – March 9, 2026
(No class February 16)Where: Online via Zoom
Capacity: 6 participants
Investment: Regular: $147
What Participants Often Discover
“I don’t need to prove myself to belong here.”
“Visibility doesn’t have to cost me.”
“I’ve been performing competence instead of inhabiting it.”
“Small shifts change how I teach, create, and lead.”
“There’s a steadier version of me I didn’t know how to access.”
A Note From Shawn
Many artists and educators were taught to stay composed at the expense of themselves. I know the shape of that story because I lived inside it.
The Impostor Archetype isn’t a limitation. It’s a doorway.
If you’re curious about what might open on the other side, you’re welcome to join us.