Rest requires regulation.

Nervous system healing, somatic breathwork, and divine feminine wisdom for women moving out of survival mode and into grounded, embodied living.

Yaya Ford
Yaya Ford, MSW
Founder · Goddess Evolution
  • MSW · Certified Spiritual Life Coach
  • Somatic Breathwork Facilitator
  • Divine Feminine Practitioner
  • Ordained Minister
  • Trauma-Informed
An invitation

Come home to your body.

This work is for the woman who has done everything right and still cannot rest. Who reads about regulation in books but lives in survival in her bones.

Goddess Evolution is a return to breath, to feeling, to a nervous system that knows it is safe. We move slowly. We listen to the body. We let the feminine lead.

a note from YAYA
Trusted by women, IOPs, schools, churches, and community organizations
Women
seeking healing
IOPs
clinical programs
Schools
& agencies
Churches
& faith communities
Community
organizations
Retreats
private + group
Therapists
for their clients
Mothers
in transition
Leaders
in burnout
Women
seeking healing
IOPs
clinical programs
Schools
& agencies
Churches
& faith communities
Community
organizations
Retreats
private + group
Therapists
for their clients
Mothers
in transition
Leaders
in burnout

“You’re not broken.
You’re dysregulated.
And that can change.

✦ YAYA · Founder
◦ Purpose, Vision & Mission

The heart behind The Soft Response

The purpose of The Soft Response is to create sacred, compassionate, and trauma-responsive spaces where people can feel safe enough to breathe, soften, grieve, heal, reconnect with their bodies, and return to the truth of who they are.

Rooted in clinical social work, spiritual care, nervous system regulation, somatic healing, grief support, and death doula wisdom, The Soft Response exists to meet people with dignity through life’s most vulnerable moments. It interrupts cycles of survival, disconnection, shame, and emotional overwhelm by offering a gentler way of healing, one that honors the whole person: mind, body, spirit, relationships, culture, grief, and lived experience.

A Gentle Movement

The Soft Response helps individuals, families, caregivers, youth, communities, and organizations move…

SurvivalSafety
IsolationConnection
OverwhelmRegulation
ShameCompassion
GriefSacred Remembrance
StrivingRest
FearEmbodied Trust

“Softness is not weakness. Rest is not failure. Grief is not something to rush. Healing does not have to be harsh.”

Through education, counseling, coaching, workshops, spiritual support, somatic practices, community circles, and end-of-life care, The Soft Response serves as a bridge between clinical knowledge and sacred presence. Its ultimate purpose is to cultivate a world where people feel seen, supported, emotionally safe, spiritually grounded, and empowered to live, love, lead, grieve, and transition with greater peace, truth, dignity, and wholeness.

Vision

The Soft Response exists to cultivate a world where every person experiences emotional safety, embodied peace, compassionate connection, and the freedom to live fully by integrating trauma-responsive clinical care, spiritual wisdom, nervous system regulation, and sacred presence.

Mission

The Soft Response equips individuals, families, schools, organizations, faith communities, and healthcare professionals with compassionate, evidence-informed, and spiritually grounded practices that foster resilience, healing, authentic connection, and whole-person well-being. Through education, counseling, coaching, breathwork, somatic practices, end-of-life support, and community experiences, we create spaces where people remember that healing is possible and love is safe.

◦ The Signature Framework

The S.O.F.T.
Response

A trauma-informed nervous system framework that weaves the science of safety with embodied, ritual-based healing. The curriculum at the heart of every program, workshop, and retreat YAYA facilitates.

step 01
S
Somatically

Healing begins in the body, not just the mind. We listen to what the nervous system is holding.

step 02
O
Orienting

We gently orient toward safety, building capacity to tolerate, process, and release stored stress.

step 03
F
Feminine

Rooted in divine feminine wisdom. Cyclical, receptive, ritual-based, and deeply relational.

step 04
T
Transformation

From survival mode to regulated, embodied living. Measurable shifts in clarity and peace.

◦ All Offerings

Choose your path

Most Popular
Well-Rested Woman Immersion
6-Week Group Program
$499
or 2 × $265 · Jan 7
  • Nervous system regulation circle
  • Breathwork + somatic movement
  • Divine feminine rituals
  • Small group · women only
Enroll Now
1:1 Coaching
Divine Feminine Healing Coaching
1-on-1 with a Certified Spiritual Life Coach
5 Sessions
$650 · 1:1 coaching package
  • Private 1-on-1 container
  • Personal healing + integration
  • Spiritual life coaching, trauma-informed
  • Deep somatic + spiritual support
Begin Coaching
First Step
1-Hour Intro Session
Meet YAYA · Explore your path
$125
one time · no commitment
  • Private 1-on-1 with YAYA
  • Share your story + intentions
  • Explore fit for deeper work
  • Trauma-informed, held with care
Book Intro Session
S.O.U.L. · Sisterhood
Sisters of Unconditional Love (S.O.U.L.)™
A Soft Response Circle
Contact
for pricing
  • Lay down the pressure to perform, and simply be
  • Guided reflection + gentle nervous system practices
  • Meaningful conversation, breathwork + support
  • Heal, reconnect, and be safely seen
Join the Sisterhood
Community Circle
Diverse Women’s Movement Circle
Meditation · yoga · breath · ritual
Sliding Scale
drop-in and series options
  • Meditation + gentle yoga
  • Breathwork + somatic practice
  • Diverse, women-only community
  • All bodies, all backgrounds welcome
Join the Circle
Signature Workshop
Workshops & Talks
60–90 min · individual or group
Custom
priced per session or series
  • “The Science of Safety”
  • “From Survival Mode to Regulation”
  • “Breathwork for Emotional Healing”
  • Live or recorded
Book a Workshop
Day Experience
Half-Day & Full-Day Immersions
Retreats, orgs, private groups
Inquire
half-day from $3,200
  • Psychoeducation + movement
  • Group breathwork session
  • Somatic reflection + ritual
  • Full facilitation by YAYA
Inquire Now
Most Popular
Well-Rested Woman Immersion
6-Week Group Program
$499
or 2 × $265 · Jan 7
  • Nervous system regulation circle
  • Breathwork + somatic movement
  • Divine feminine rituals
  • Small group · women only
Enroll Now
1:1 Coaching
Divine Feminine Healing Coaching
1-on-1 with a Certified Spiritual Life Coach
5 Sessions
$650 · 1:1 coaching package
  • Private 1-on-1 container
  • Personal healing + integration
  • Spiritual life coaching, trauma-informed
  • Deep somatic + spiritual support
Begin Coaching
First Step
1-Hour Intro Session
Meet YAYA · Explore your path
$125
one time · no commitment
  • Private 1-on-1 with YAYA
  • Share your story + intentions
  • Explore fit for deeper work
  • Trauma-informed, held with care
Book Intro Session
S.O.U.L. · Sisterhood
Sisters of Unconditional Love (S.O.U.L.)™
A Soft Response Circle
Contact
for pricing
  • Lay down the pressure to perform, and simply be
  • Guided reflection + gentle nervous system practices
  • Meaningful conversation, breathwork + support
  • Heal, reconnect, and be safely seen
Join the Sisterhood
Community Circle
Diverse Women’s Movement Circle
Meditation · yoga · breath · ritual
Sliding Scale
drop-in and series options
  • Meditation + gentle yoga
  • Breathwork + somatic practice
  • Diverse, women-only community
  • All bodies, all backgrounds welcome
Join the Circle
Signature Workshop
Workshops & Talks
60–90 min · individual or group
Custom
priced per session or series
  • “The Science of Safety”
  • “From Survival Mode to Regulation”
  • “Breathwork for Emotional Healing”
  • Live or recorded
Book a Workshop
Day Experience
Half-Day & Full-Day Immersions
Retreats, orgs, private groups
Inquire
half-day from $3,200
  • Psychoeducation + movement
  • Group breathwork session
  • Somatic reflection + ritual
  • Full facilitation by YAYA
Inquire Now
◦ The Well-Rested Woman · An Invitation

You are not behind.
You are just tired.

Every January, the world demands that you hit the ground running. You are told to push harder, do more, reinvent yourself, and fill your calendar with endless goals before the year has even had a chance to breathe.

But what if the most powerful thing you could do this year is soften?

Launching under the darkness of the first winter New Moon on January 7, this is your invitation to reject the frantic pace of “New Year, New You” and instead step into a sanctuary built entirely for your restoration. This isn’t just about getting more sleep, it’s an intentional, somatic journey designed to help you understand your nervous system, unravel the habit of chronic over-functioning, and remember what it feels like to feel safe in your own body.

◦ This is for you if

The Well-Rested Woman experience is for you

Your body is physically exhausted, but your mind won’t stop racing long enough for you to actually rest.

You are the anchor for everyone else (your family, your career, your community), and you’ve realized there is no one anchoring you.

The thought of adding “more goals” to your plate right now makes your chest feel tight.

You want to learn how to transition from a state of survival and high alert into a sustainable rhythm of ease, soft breathing, and deep internal peace.

◦ The journey

What we will explore together

The Somatic Language of Rest

Moving beyond the surface-level ideas of “self-care” and learning how to actually calm a hyper-vigilant nervous system through breathwork, sound, and gentle somatic regulation.

Honoring the Cycles

Aligning our healing with the natural rhythms of winter and the moon, using this incubation period to turn inward, listen to our ancestors, and protect our vital energy.

Setting Sacred Boundaries

Practical, protective tools to help you stop absorbing everyone else’s emotional weight, say “no” without guilt, and claim space for your own peace.

A Community of Collective Safety

A soft, shared container where you don’t have to perform, explain, or take care of anyone else. You only have to show up and receive.

◦ The details
Begins
Thursday, January 7, 2027
Under the New Moon
Duration
6 weeks
A slow, seasonal arc
Format
Live Virtual Circles
Somatic audio guides & rest rituals
Investment
$499
or 2 payments of $265

“Rest is not a reward we earn after we’ve burned ourselves out. It is the very ground from which our life, our clarity, and our power bloom.”

✦ YAYA · Founder
◦ Who this is for

YAYA speaks two languages. Clinical, and embodied.

Women
seeking healing

Tired of surviving. Ready to regulate, rest, and return to themselves.

IOPs
clinical programs

Somatic groups that complement therapy and support real-time regulation.

Schools
& agencies

Improve student behavior, emotional regulation, and engagement through evidence-based interventions.

Community
organizations

Trauma-responsive wellness programming for communities who need it most.

Churches
& faith communities

Soul-centered rest and nervous system care that honors faith, spirit, and sacred community.

A woman at rest in the desert at sunrise
◦ About YAYA

A bridge between
clinical + embodied healing.

I’m an MSW, Certified Spiritual Life Coach, Somatic Breathwork Facilitator, and trained Death Doula devoted to nervous system regulation and the wisdom of the divine feminine. My work weaves trauma-informed clinical training with breathwork, somatic movement, and ritual, guiding women out of survival mode and into grounded, embodied living, and holding sacred space through grief, loss, and life’s final passages.

✦ Yaya Ford, MSW
Founder, Goddess Evolution LLC
YAYA, Soft Response album cover
◦ YAYA’s Music

Healing
through sound.

YAYA’s music is an extension of her healing work: devotional, somatic, and deeply felt. Press play to hear a preview, or follow the link to experience the full album.

Soft Response
YAYA · Denim Record Co.
◦ Her Forthcoming Book

Her book, the Well-Rested Woman.

YAYA is writing a gentle path to heal, transform, and live in alignment with love. Part guide, part companion, it distills years of clinical wisdom and soulful care into practices any woman can return to, for healing, clarity, and meaningful transformation.

Coming Soon
The Soft Response, a book by YAYA Ford, MSW
◦ The Soft Response · Grief & Sacred Transition Care

Held through life’s most sacred transitions

Compassionate, holistic support for individuals and families navigating grief, trauma, caregiving, and end-of-life. A blend of clinical social work, somatic healing, breathwork, and death doula care, guiding you toward peace, meaning, and connection.

Trauma-Informed · Death Doula · MSW
Nervous System & Trauma Healing
Somatic, breath-based regulation
  • Trauma-informed counseling
  • Breathwork for stress & anxiety
  • Polyvagal nervous system education
  • Burnout prevention & recovery
Grief, Loss & Bereavement
Space to feel, process & remember
  • Anticipatory & bereavement support
  • Grief counseling & emotional processing
  • Pet loss & relationship loss
  • Rituals for healing & remembrance
End-of-Life & Death Doula Care
Presence for the final passage
  • Advance directive & living will guidance
  • End-of-life wishes documentation
  • Bedside companionship & vigil planning
  • Family meeting facilitation
Caregiver Support
Care for those who care
  • Compassion fatigue prevention
  • Emotional support for caregivers
  • Self-care & resilience planning
  • Resource navigation & referrals
Legacy & Remembrance
Honoring a life, preserving its story
  • Legacy letters & memory projects
  • Guided life review & storytelling
  • Celebration-of-life & memorial planning
  • Remembrance ceremonies
Every journey is unique
Inquire for pricing

Care is tailored to you and your family. Reach out for a personalized quote, and ask about partial scholarships.

Inquire Now
Partial scholarships available.

No one should be turned away from healing because of finances. Scholarship consideration is available for any offering. Reach out, and what’s possible might surprise you.

Inquire
◦ Free call

The S.O.F.T. Reset. A free 20-minute exploratory call.

A gentle, no-pressure conversation to explore where you are, what you need, and whether this work is a fit. Reach out by email and we’ll find a time.

◦  Reaching out sends Yaya a note and gifts you the free Soft Response reset (PDF)

Reach out to Yaya