Elemental FEBI: The Embodied Way of Being
Written by: Lyna Phin
Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of exploring two powerful approaches to embodied leadership: FEBI, with its four energy patterns, and Embodiment Coaching from Embodiment Unlimited, which works through the classical elements of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Experiencing both, I began to notice something striking: these systems speak different languages, yet they point to the same embodied truths.
Both frameworks recognize that leadership is not just a cognitive act; it is a state of being expressed through the body. Both help people shift from habitual patterns into more resourceful ones. And both become transformative when they are felt, not just understood.
As my practice deepened, I found myself naturally blending them. FEBI’s patterns mapped beautifully onto the elemental qualities I was sensing in clients. The result is what I now call Elemental FEBI, a way of working that brings these patterns alive through the intuitive, universal language of the elements, a term I first heard from my instructor Kelly Bannister at the Institute for Zen Leadership.
This integration became even clearer in moments like the one that follows.
A Story From the Path: When the Elements Showed Themselves
We were halfway through our walking session when I noticed it, the subtle shift in my client’s body that told me something deeper was happening. Moments earlier, she had been swirling in ideas, her gestures wide and airy, her attention floating somewhere above the horizon. But as we walked, the wind picked up, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, grounding her feet more firmly on the path. Her breath dropped. Her pace steadied. The airiness softened into something denser and more deliberate.
“I don’t know why,” she said, “but suddenly I feel clearer.”
What she didn’t know yet was that she had just shifted from Air to Earth, from Visionary to Organizer. Not because she tried to, but because her body reorganized itself in response to the environment. This is the magic I’ve witnessed again and again: when people move, the patterns reveal themselves. And when we bring awareness to those patterns, transformation becomes natural.
Experiences like this helped me see the FEBI patterns through a new lens, one that the elements made instantly intuitive.
The Four Patterns Through the Lens of the Elements
When I began blending FEBI with the elemental approach from Embodiment Coaching, the patterns immediately came alive in a new way. Driver revealed itself as Fire, the sharp, forward‑moving energy that cuts through hesitation with its focused gaze, quick breath, and decisive stride. Organizer felt unmistakably like Earth, steady, structured, and grounded, with its vertical alignment, deliberate pacing, and calm, rhythmic breath. Collaborator moved like Water, softening joints and widening gestures into a relational, rhythmic flow that invites connection and adaptability. Visionary rose as Air, light and spacious, lifting awareness upward and outward with slow, expansive breaths and wave‑like movement.
Seeing the patterns through these elemental qualities made them instantly intuitive, not abstract categories but living forces the body recognizes and expresses naturally. And once clients could sense these qualities, the next question became: how do we know which one we need in a given moment?
How to Sense Which Element You Need
Sensing which element you need begins with noticing the quality of your current state. The body is always giving us information, and there is no single “right” element for any situation. What matters is learning to listen, feel the vibe of the moment, and respond from presence rather than habit.
When you feel stuck, hesitant, or unable to take the next step, your body might be calling for Fire, which you can awaken through sharper exhales, brisk walking, or a decisive gesture that brings clarity and momentum. But stuckness doesn’t always need Fire. Sometimes what’s needed is Air, a widening of perspective, a breath that creates space, or a shift in attention that lets a new possibility appear. Other times, stuckness softens through Water, by loosening the joints, swaying, or reconnecting with someone else’s rhythm. And occasionally, what looks like stuckness is simply a need for Earth, a moment to pause, feel your feet, and settle before moving forward.
When your mind feels scattered or overwhelmed, Earth often helps grounding your weight, slowing your breath, and stacking your posture so your system can settle. Yet overwhelm can also be met with Air, giving yourself space to zoom out and see the bigger picture. Or with Water, softening the edges of tension. Or even with Fire, if what’s needed is a clean, decisive action that cuts through the noise.
If tension, isolation, or emotional tightness are present, Water can invite softness through swaying, loosening your joints, or matching someone’s rhythm to reconnect with flow and warmth. But sometimes the antidote to emotional tightness is Earth, a return to your own dignity and boundaries. Or Air, a breath that lifts you out of contraction. Or Fire, a clear “no” that restores your agency.
And when rigidity, narrow focus, or a sense of being closed off takes over, Air can help by widening your gaze, looking upward, or taking slow, spacious breaths that open perspective. Yet rigidity can also be met with Water, melting the edges. Or Earth, grounding the nervous system. Or Fire, breaking the pattern with a bold, interrupting gesture.
There is no formula. No element is universally correct. The body knows what it needs long before the mind does. The invitation is simply to notice: What is the quality of this moment? What energy would support me now? What does my body want to move toward?
As I worked with these elemental qualities, another framework began to weave itself in, adding a deeper layer of understanding to how we shape our presence.
Another Lens: Openness, Stability, Flexibility, and Resolution
Alongside FEBI and the elements, my training with The Coach Partnership (Newfield Network in Asia) introduced me to the four body dispositions: Openness, Stability, Flexibility, and Resolution. These dispositions describe distinct ways we can shape our bodies, and with each shape, we see the world differently. They are not fixed traits but choices, although most of us default to only one or two unless we learn to shift intentionally.
Openness is the disposition of emotional availability and relational warmth. The chest softens, the eyes become gentle, and the arms feel ready to welcome what is in front of us. This quality aligns closely with Water and the Collaborator pattern, where connection, empathy, and relational flow become possible.
Stability is the disposition of grounded dignity. The feet root into the earth, the spine stacks in a vertical line, and the breath drops low. This is the domain of Earth and the Organizer pattern, where clarity, boundaries, and steadiness guide our actions.
Flexibility is the disposition of adaptability and creative movement. The joints loosen, the breath feels spacious, and the body becomes light and responsive, as if dancing with whatever arises. This quality aligns with Air and the Visionary pattern, where imagination, curiosity, and multiple perspectives become available.
Resolution is the disposition of decisive action. The body organizes itself forward, one foot subtly ahead of the other, the breath sharpens, and attention narrows toward what must be done. This is the energy of Fire and the Driver pattern, where we cut through hesitation and move toward completion.
These four body dispositions shape how we carry ourselves and how we use our bodies. By default, our posture and presence are influenced by our past experiences and cultural conditioning. Yet we all have the ability to shift our bodies, and with that shift comes a change in how we communicate, relate, and show up in the world. Some of us spend most of our time in Resolution, while others live primarily in Openness. Before I discovered this work, I realized that I spent most of my time in Resolution (Fire/Driver) and Flexibility (Air/Visionary), rarely accessing Stability (Earth/Organizer) or Openness (Water/Collaborator) even when the moment required them.
What I love about this Newfield framework is how seamlessly it complements Elemental FEBI. The elements describe the quality of energy. FEBI describes the pattern of expression. And the body dispositions describe the orientation we bring to the moment. Together, they create a multidimensional map of how we show up and how we can shift.
This brings me to what feels like the heart of this work.
A Closing Reflection
As I continue to weave FEBI, the elements, and embody coaching into my work, I’m reminded again and again that leadership is not something we figure out in our heads. It is something we practice in our bodies. The elements give us a language that is ancient, intuitive, and immediately accessible. FEBI gives us a map that is precise and actionable. Embodiment Coaching gives us tools to shift state in real time. And Zen Leadership reminds us that all of this begins and ends in presence, in the simple act of returning to center.
When we learn to sense Fire, Earth, Water, and Air within ourselves, we gain more than insight. We gain choice. We gain range. We gain the ability to meet each moment with the energy it truly needs, rather than the pattern we habitually default to. This is where leadership becomes fluid, responsive, and deeply human.
So as you move through your day, notice the subtle cues your body offers. Notice the element that is alive in you, and the one that is quietly calling for attention. Let yourself shift. Let yourself experiment. Let yourself be moved.
Because when leadership is embodied, it stops being a performance and becomes a way of being, grounded, alive, and fully present to the world you are shaping.
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Editor’s Note: Learn about the go-to patterns of your personality, as well as the ease of making elemental shifts to use any energy as it works best in FEBI-4U happening on February 24 & March 10, 2026.
Lyna Phin is an ICF PCC, Newfield‑certified coach and somatic movement practitioner who guides leaders into deeper presence through the body.