Meet Danielle

Founder & Creator, Danielle Hayes

Meet Danielle Hayes, the Mastermind behind Firefly Somatics™ and the Creator of The Firefly Method®. Danielle is an experienced Secondary School Teacher and Special Education Teacher. A former athlete, she was crowned WDFPF World Powerlifting Champion in 2013 and European WDFPF Champion in 2014. She is also a qualified CMB Strength and Conditioning Coach, bringing over 21 years of experience in health and fitness. In addition, Danielle is a Somatic Therapist, trained in Traumatology and PTSD, Polyvagal Theory (PVT) and vagal toning, Neuroplasticity practices, as well as various energy healing modalities.

The Journey That Brought Me Here: Danielle’s Story

I am a trauma-informed and trauma-trained Somatic Specialist, with training in Traumatology and PTSD, Polyvagal Theory (PVT) and vagus nerve toning, neuroplasticity practices, and energy healing. I specialise in trauma healing, somatic releasing, nervous system regulation, vagus nerve healing, neuroplasticity, manual bodywork, neuromechanics, and energy realignment. Within my practice, I offer a wide range of services including neurobiological rewiring, psychosomatic healing, nervous system regulatory work, hormonal balancing, neuromechanical correction and re-training, nutrition and exercise coaching, bodywork, and energy recalibration. Neuroscience, Polyvagal Theory and Neuroplasticity form the foundation of my work, alongside the approaches I have developed and brought together within The Firefly Method®. At the same time, I am a deeply spiritual person, and you will feel this when working with me, as I weave together a blended science–spiritual approach.

How It All Began.….

So that you can feel my essence and understand how Firefly Somatics™ came to form, I would like to share a short overview of my own healing journey — from being chronically stuck in trauma and dysregulation, to embodied healing and expansive awareness.

I have been on an awakening and healing journey for 11 years. I began working with my first psychic-medium teacher at 27 years of age, when I first tried to wrap my head around the Universe and how energies work. I explored almost every portal to healing — from Reiki to psychotherapy, to spiritual counselling and angelic healing — but I could never find the right portal to move forward freely in my life. I stayed stuck in disempowerment, disease, discomfort, and dysregulation for many years, going around in circles. It felt like being on a constant rollercoaster — up and down, around and around — only to find myself back in the same experiences over and over again. Yet all of these doors ultimately led me to the path of Enlightenment, which inevitably guided me to create the foundations for Firefly Somatics™. There are no coincidences. Everything I experienced on my personal healing journey aligned me with the path to true, embodied consciousness — a place where I could finally pass on wisdom to others who dare to walk the path of healing.

I am deeply informed in how early trauma manifests and expresses itself physically in adulthood, as I have the lived experience of it. Unconsciously, I carried emotional wounding and imprints from childhood into my adult years, where I lived through dysfunctional subconscious beliefs and unconscious programming. I moved through life with a lens of trauma and fear — constantly in survival mode, yearning to feel safe. At the core, I simply longed to be chosen, to be loved, held, seen, valued, and heard.

The roots of this run deep, because…

I was raised with a father who was a chronic alcoholic — violent and abusive on every level. He was legally removed from our household when I was 10 years old, and I have had no contact with him or his side of the family since the age of 15. I am now 38. Although I have made peace with this and dedicated years to healing, the adverse trauma it caused me on a neurological, subconscious, and unconscious level was profoundly destructive, affecting every single area of my life.

A very small glimpse of my childhood…

The morning I was born, my father was absent, sitting in a public house. He was always absent, from what I can recall — although my brain has blocked out so much from my memory centre. Much of my childhood was spent in public houses, playing with beer mats and eating King crisps. I remember him often saying, “Don’t tell your mam.” I remember feeling invisible, small, and unworthy of attention, as if my very existence didn’t matter.

I can’t recall having any real playtime. In fact, I don’t remember many happy times at all — at least not with him in the picture. What I do remember is chaos: constant screaming, shouting, and extreme noise. I witnessed things no child should ever witness. He was physically, emotionally, and verbally abusive while he displayed highly narcissistic behavioural patterns — manipulative, controlling, emotionally absent.

My mother, on the other hand, was very soft — a people-pleaser and rescuer who constantly self-abandoned. She believed she could ‘fix’ my father. She was extremely co-dependent on myself, my brother, and her parents to feel loved and supported. As a little girl, I would say I was ‘parentified’. Mam was also reactive and would sometimes explode like a bomb, with tension building up in the household until it burst. Through conscious awareness work, I now see that both of my parents were acting out of their own childhood trauma and generational trauma passed down from their parents and grandparents (and further back still). They were simply presenting and expressing themselves in the only way they knew how — survival.

I often felt torn between wanting to cling to Mam for safety and resenting her inability to protect me fully. There was a deep ache in my chest, a longing to be truly seen and held. As a child, these layers of fear, tension, and confusion became my constant companions. I internalised the chaos, believing it was somehow my responsibility to navigate it all.

There was complete enmeshment in the home, with regular legal intervention. I remember one occasion when my mother and I tried to find refuge in a local Women’s Aid Centre after my father had been physically and verbally abusive. On another occasion, we fled Ireland and sought refuge in London for several weeks. My father attempting to strangle my mother while she was pregnant with me, and my brother — only six at the time — had to pull him off her. I have countless memories of him punching her and hitting my brother.

I remember him shouting in my face when I couldn’t solve my maths equations, yelling, *“Are you *ucking stupid?” On other occasions, I recall seeing him blotto drunk, soiling the house, and leaving my mother short of money for essentials, which sometimes meant little food in the fridge (although we never went hungry, thanks to my mam). He would sometimes turn the electricity off at the mains, leaving us to go to bed cold. The family environment and dynamic were seriously and chronically traumatic for me as a child, even though I did not understand this at the time — it was all just “normal” every day. But I do remember is, my somatic knowing……

The air always felt heavy and tense in the home; I carried a constant knot in my stomach, fearful of what might erupt next. I learned early on to shrink, to make myself small, to try to disappear into the background, hoping to survive each day.

Prior to becoming conscious of how this trauma played out in my adulthood and beginning my own personal healing process, it affected and manifested in every single aspect of my life. From a very young age, I developed an eating disorder, battling obesity, followed by bulimia, binge eating, and yo-yo dieting. I struggled with chronic body image issues, probably up until the age of 30, placing my self-worth in my appearance and never feeling good enough.

How my Childhood Trauma manifested throughout my life

I was intensely bullied as a child and teenager by peers for being overweight and coming from a dysfunctional family. This added to my deep rejection wound. I remember being left out frequently — not invited to birthday parties or slumber parties. I was called “fatso” and a “pig”, and I can recall boys in my estate making “oink oink” noises when I walked past. I always felt isolated, unloved, unwanted, rejected, and alone — abandoned.

I suffered chronic gut issues throughout my adult life, including regular bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, food sensitivities, gut dysfunction, and metabolic and hormonal issues. I also regularly experienced mouth ulcers, which I now understand were linked to a lack of self-expression. All of this contributed to constant weight fluctuations and severe difficulties in maintaining balanced nutrition and a healthy weight. I didn’t begin menstruating until I was almost 15, due to the internal stress caused by household violence. My cycle remained irregular throughout adulthood, never predictable, often arriving suddenly, with a heavy flow and intense cramping.

Leaning Into Coping Mechanisms in my 20’s: Substance Use, Exercise & Education….

I then developed a binge-drinking pattern throughout my twenties, drinking heavily every weekend and occasionally using recreational drugs such as cocaine, MDMA, and ecstasy. I did this as a means of escapism, but also to fit in and feel a sense of belonging. It was also a way to cope with low self-esteem on nights out. I couldn’t go out without consuming a bottle of vodka, as I didn’t feel confident in myself — particularly due to chronic body dysmorphia. The substances numbed these feelings and offered temporary relief.

I always placed my self-worth in external achievements, as I did not know how to cultivate it internally. The truth is, I was never taught how to do so — neither by my caregivers nor through the education system. I threw myself into third-level education as a means of seeking validation and a sense of worthiness. I hold multiple qualifications, including a First Class BA in Geography and Archaeology, a First Class Master’s Degree in Geography, a PGDE, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Special and Inclusive Education. On paper, these achievements were impressive, and I took pride in them formally. Yet despite all of this, I never truly felt value within — the external accolades could not fill the emptiness that lived inside me.

This over-achieving behavioural pattern also extended into the world of health and fitness. I began exercising from the age of 18, around the time I developed bulimia, using it both as a way to deflect from my inner pain and, unconsciously, to self-regulate the turmoil within me. Fitness became both a coping mechanism and a way to exert control over my body when so much felt uncontrollable internally. I trained as a Strength and Conditioning Coach with The CMB Gym and began coaching clients, a practice I continued for five years, from 2013 to late 2017. While I took pride in helping others achieve their goals, I was simultaneously trying to achieve a sense of worth and stability for myself, externally masking the inner struggles that remained unresolved.

During this time, I also launched my own personal coaching portal, Coach D-Bomb, guiding clients online across the globe, including in Canada and Australia. I continued training clients part-time throughout 2021 and 2022 while laying the foundations for Firefly Somatics™. Below, you will see some of the transformations from my clients. It’s important to note that while these images show physical changes, the coaching encompassed the whole spectrum — including nutritional guidance and emotional healing. I have always been a lightworker, operating in various capacities and from multiple angles throughout my adult life.

Taking Exercise To A Whole New Level: Becoming a World Champion Athlete….

In 2013, I was invited to join the Irish Drug-Free National Powerlifting Team, through which I competed internationally from 2013 to 2016. I went on to win multiple National and European titles, as well as a World title with the WDFPF , breaking numerous National records — some I had set myself and later surpassed.

  • On The Platform
  • Trophies, Medals & Certificates

And Then I Made It Into Irish Media….

In early 2014, I was invited onto Late Late Show to share my athletic story. I also appeared in many national news forums, including a two-part article in the Irish Independent, as well as features in various Irish magazines such as Her.ie, the Irish Examiner, and Life & Fitness Magazine. I was interviewed live on 98FM and invited onto The Claire Byrne Show in 2016.

You can find links to these publications and broadcasts here:

All of this recognition helped me feel validated, loved, seen, and heard — yet it never filled the deeper void within me. I continued to feel unworthy, disconnected, and endlessly searching for more, always wanting to be bigger and better. This dysfunctional behavioural pattern led me to step into the world of bodybuilding and competitive CrossFit as well. This too reflected a recurring pattern in my life: jumping from one pursuit to another, never fully committing, or moving on as soon as I felt I had achieved enough, always chasing the next “fix” or source of stimulation.

Realising That My Adverse Childhood Trauma Informed My Career Path….

Through my healing, I also came to realise that my choice of career had been strongly informed by my early childhood wounds. From the age of 15, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and I set out to achieve this — anything I focused on, I accomplished. Yet, this drive was entangled with my low self-worth and need for external validation.

Unconsciously, I wanted to save children, to rescue them, hold them, and love them, as a way of filling my own internal voids. By rescuing them, I could subconsciously rescue my inner child. It is perhaps unsurprising that I consistently found myself teaching in “disadvantaged” schools — environments that mirrored my own upbringing, including single-parent families, histories of substance abuse, and lower socio-economic areas. My inner child and nervous system felt familiar and safe in these spaces.

My wounding then led me into the area of Special Education, where students were fully dependent on me, smothering me with love, kindness, gifts, and affirmation. In this role, I felt fully loved, valued, accepted, and wanted. Teaching also offered stability, safety, and security — including a reliable income and the possibility of attaining a mortgage — all influenced by the unsafety I had experienced in my early home life.

When my father was removed from the family home, we nearly lost our home as my mother struggled to meet mortgage payments. My father had effectively drunk away the mortgage, leaving us in financial difficulty. My grandparents had to step in to rescue us, supporting my mother and helping raise us.

Romantic Love & Fears of Intimacy and Vulnerability…..

Throughout my twenties, I avoided romantic relationships, carrying deep-rooted fears around vulnerability, trust, intimacy, and physical touch. When I did manifest potential romantic interests, they were always emotionally unavailable, displaying avoidant patterns.

I fell in love at 32 for the first time. For the first time in my life, I allowed my walls to fully come down and became emotionally ‘naked’. Unsurprisingly, I manifested the archetype of my father: a functioning alcoholic, narcissistic, manipulative, verbally abusive, passive-aggressive, and emotionally dysregulated partner. He had been raised in a single-parent household and had experienced very similar traumatic ACEs to mine.

I developed a seriously anxious attachment with him, needing constant reassurance to feel safe. Deep down, I was terrified of being abandoned, so I clung on, even knowing he was not good for me. He could never help me feel safe, as he was unable to communicate his emotions while needing to be in control. From a conscious perspective, I now see that his ACEs caused him to dissociate and develop avoidant behavioural patterns, with control serving as his way to feel safe.

The relationship was chaotic, with cycles of highs and lows, push-pull dynamics, and hot-and-cold patterns. It was a severe trauma bond — a re-enactment of my childhood trauma and the relationship dynamics between my parents. I became my mother in the dynamic, self-abandoning and attempting to ‘fix’ him.

My worst fear then manifested: he abandoned me suddenly, with no explanation, and began dating another woman just three weeks after our split — echoing my father’s behaviour when he and my mother separated. My whole world collapsed. I found myself in an extremely dark place, experiencing regular suicidal thoughts. My nervous system was in overdrive, and I was unable to process or regulate my emotions and bodily responses.

I lost my appetite, shook constantly, experienced out-of-body sensations, and suffered a complete emotional breakdown. On one occasion, I crashed my car on the M50, sustaining mild whiplash — completely dissociated and not fully present in my body. I returned to taking antidepressants, Xanax, and sleeping tablets, which numbed the pain somewhat. I also saw a psychotherapist weekly for a year.

A year later, I found myself in the exact same place: struggling with constant anxiety that led to chronic depression, extreme weight loss, and intrusive thoughts. I felt trapped, going in circles, unable to move forward, and severely disconnected from life, from my body, and from my soul.

I Hit Rock Bottom….

In December 2020 I hit rock bottom and begged divine source to guide me out of the darkness. Like magic, I was led to four key people. I transitioned swiftly off antidepressants and beta blockers (self-managed, after my GP had prescribed them without proper assessment or addressing the root cause of my pain). I came off the medications quickly so I could feel my emotions, nurture myself, and learn the tools of self-regulation. I decided: no more numbing out. I began working with a spiritual mentor who guided me through schematherapy, a spiritual psychologist, a metaphysician who helped me understand geopathy and energy systems, and a psychiatrist trained in energy healing. I started deeply healing on all levels of my psyche, resetting and rewiring my internal system, healing my nervous system, and releasing trauma from my body. Gradually and consistently, I peeled away the layers I had repressed for so long. I chose to self-inquire and vowed not to self-abandon anymore.

Within ten months, I felt like I was meeting myself for the first time – a sense of lightness I hadn’t known since childhood lifted me. I began to feel and see with remarkable clarity. I felt internally different — calm, coherent, and experiencing a peace I had never known before in my life. As my internal world shifted, my external reality began to vibrationally align, and the old patterns started to crumble and fall away.

Making Necessary Changes To My Outer World…

I walked away from a teaching career in June 2021 — a career that had provided safety and stability for almost 15 years. I left with nothing but a vision of what I wanted to create and share with the world. In July 2021, I flew to Tanzania to volunteer with the Christian Mission Project Collective Calling, supporting a rescue centre for street children in Kasulu. This region of Western Tanzania is profoundly poor and disadvantaged. The people have almost nothing; poverty and famine are rampant, sexual abuse is prevalent (especially among children), and chronic ill-health, including AIDS, is widespread. The experience was profoundly transformative and evoked a deep sense of conscious action, which stayed with me when I returned to Ireland six weeks later.

Knowledge Is Power….

In 2021, throughout my shadow dissolution process, I enrolled in a Professional Diploma in Traumatology and PTSD, where I encountered the fields of Neuroscience, Polyvagal Theory, and the work of Dr Stephen Porges, Dr Bessel van der Kolk, Dr Peter Levine, and Dr Gabor Maté. A lightbulb went on! This scientific knowledge enabled me to dive deeper into self-healing and reverse-engineer my internal neurobiological system. Alongside my Diploma, I studied Vagal Nerve Healing with a Canadian institute specialising in vagal healing training. I also completed numerous training and attunement courses in Energy Healing and began my training in Shamanic Healing, working closely with an experienced Shaman.

And Then The Idea For Firefly Somatics™ Dropped….

From here, I founded the concept of Firefly Somatics™ and, over time, created and developed The Firefly Method®. Since then, I have guided many souls across the globe on their personal journeys. I am a guiding torch of light, and this is my mission and conviction: to be consciously connected to all that is, so that I move forward in life free from the imprint of trauma.

Every day, I open my eyes and choose Love over Fear, living rather than merely surviving, forgiveness over resentment, presence over disembodiment. I listen to my gut rather than my head, strive to live as authentically as I can, and speak my truth, no matter what. My purpose here is to be a Creator and to be of service to the Universe.

My intention and core values in my work are carried out with the highest level of integrity, aiming to heal this planet and raise the collective consciousness. I want others to feel as abundant as I do, because this is accessible to us all. No one is separate, for we are all from one source.

My mission is to guide those who are seeking truth — to help them heal from trauma, regulate and activate their nervous systems, grow into conscious awareness, and become internally free of pain. I support them in becoming fully embodied beings, expanding into their creative potential, living in a feeling space, and navigating life through intuition and deep connection.

Over the past few years, Firefly Somatics™ has grown into a global practice. I have spent two years in Vancouver, Canada, working with clients for five months at a time, alongside one-on-one work in California and Texas. I have run workshops both in Vancouver and in Dublin, Ireland, building a vibrant, supportive community. My clients now span the globe — from Mexico, Canada, the United States, and Australia, to Europe, China, and beyond. Firefly continues to evolve, expanding in scope and impact every day.

I have also trained two clients who have become Firefly Somatics™ Coaches, further expanding the practice and its reach. This desire to grow is fuelled by my passion for this work and my commitment to awakening human consciousness. I have completed various CPD courses, including Trauma Healing with Finally Detached and a Diploma in Neuroplasticity, continuing to deepen my knowledge and practice.

I am excited to see where Firefly Somatics™ will expand in the coming years and into the future. I have many big ideas I am eager to share with the world and watch come into fruition in divine timing.

I am the Firefly — not just shining my light, but igniting the light in others, so that together we remember what it is to feel fully alive!

Danielle’s Background Experience, Mentorships, Trainings and Studies

  • H1.1 BA Hons – Level 8 – UCD – 2004 to 2007
  • H1.1 MA Hons – Level 9 – UCD – 2007 to 2008
  • Tutor to 1st Year Undergraduate Students – UCD School of Geography – 2007 to 2008
  • H2.1 PGDE – UCD – 2009 to 2010
  • International Baccalaureate (IB) Psychology Diploma Programme Training – Modules included Biological, Cultural, and Socio-cultural approaches to understanding behaviour, Approaches to researching behaviour, as well as, Abnormal psychology, Developmental psychology, Health psychology, the psychology of human relationships – Completed at Queen Mary University of London – 2010
  • International Baccalaureate (IB) Teacher of Psychology – 11th, 12th Grade & Pre-University Level Psychology – Abu Dhabi Private International School (AIS) – 2010 to 2012
  • Teaching Council Registration – 2011 to Presently Still Registered #170101
  • Secondary School Teacher – DES – 2009 to 2021
  • Relationship and Sexual Health Training – PDST – 2018 to 2019
  • Social, Personal and Health Education Training – PDST – 2018 to 2019
  • H2.1 PGD in Special & Inclusive Education – DCU – 2019 to 2021
  • Special Education Class Teacher – CRC – Scoil Mochua – 2019 to 2021
  • Special Education Class Teacher – St Paul’s Special School for children with ASD -2021
  • Social, Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties Training – DCU – 2020
  • Professional Ethical Therapeutic Management of Aggression Training (PETMA) – National Institute of Intellectual Disability Studies – 2020
  • Strength and Conditioning Coach – The CMB Gym – Specialising in Strength and Conditioning, Body Composition Transformation, Neuromechanics and Biomechanics, Injuries and Rehabilitation. Nutrition and Supplement Coaching – 2014 to Present
  • My wisdom of the body goes well beyond textbook teachings, having learned through unlimited experiences over the past 20 years. I have worked under the mentorship and guidance of many Top Coach’s and Specialists, adding to my skillset and body awareness knowledge. These include mentorship with Darragh Hayes, owner of top elite gym in Dublin City, The CMB Gym. Darragh is an Ex Professional Footballer (played for the Metro Stars in NYC), Face of L-Men 2011, Mr. Ireland 2010 and Mr. Universe Model 2011. I have been under Darraghs mentorship for 20 years, from the age of 17. He coached me into becoming a World Champion Powerlifter.
  • Sports Massage Techniques including Neuromuscular – Mentor Stefano Manassero – Psychical Therapist to High Performance Athletes, Competitive Bodybuilders and Ex-Rehab Therapist for Bohemian’s Football Team Dublin – Sports Massage Dublin – 2014 to 2017
  • Whole Spectrum Coach – 12 months under the mentorship of Spiritual Psychologist Catherine Campbell and Metaphysic Philip Sutcliffe – curriculum encompassed Spiritual Psychology, Chakra Balancing, Metaphysical Anatomy, Healing through Meridian Lines, EFT, Meditation Practice, Craniosacral Techniques – Whole Spectrum Healing and Spiritual Centre – December 2020 to December 2021
  • Collective Calling Representative and Volunteer – I spent 5 weeks in Tanzania, volunteering at the Centre of Hope in Kasulu, a rescue centre for street children – I ran a nationwide fundraiser and raised €2500 for the centre before my departure – 2021
  • Professional Diploma in Traumatology & PTSD – CCD – 2021 to 2022
  • Polyvagal Theory & Vagal Toning Training – RTT – 2021
  • Angelic Healing Training – Angelic Connections – 2021
  • Reiki Energy Healing – Woolf Coaching Academy – 2021
  • Shamanic Healing Training – conducted by my mentor Shaman Tommy O’Sullivan –Shamanism Ireland – October 2021 to Present
  • 369 Conscious Creator Journey – 9 month training course – curriculum involved Schema Work, Inner Child Healing, Developing Somatic Awareness, Decoding Core and Limiting Beliefs, Balancing the Inner Feminine and Masculine, to name a few – YOYOOM – January to October 2021
  • Human Garage – ongoing workshops on fascial maneuver and manipulation – 2022 to Present – most recent in person workshop attended in Vancouver August 2023 with Garry and Jason
  • The Body-Trauma Transformation Series – Nervous System School with Jess Maguire – Series of online trainings – 2022 to Present
  • Diploma in Indian Head Massage – Dr Karen E Wells – 2022
  • Neuromuscular techniques, manual body workings, trigger point release and neuromodulation – Mentor Jason Kehoe – JK Neuromuscular Physical Therapy and Sports Injury – 2023 to Present
  • Diploma in Neuroplasticity – The Complimentary Medical Association (CMA) – 2023
  • Accredited Trauma Healing Practitioner Training – Finally Detached – 2023
  • Danielle’s Academica Qualifications were assessed and passed by WES – Ref #6242858

Danielle’s Athletic Achievements

  • IIDFPA Athlete, on the Irish Team, for 4 years – 2013 to 2016
  • DFPA National Powerlifting Champion sub -80kg category, 2013
  • WDFPF World Powerlifting Champion sub -80kg category, 2013
  • IDFPA National Single Lift Record Holder for Deadlift and Bench Press sub -80kg, 2013
  • IDFPA National Powerlifting Champion sub -80kg category, 2014
  • IDFPA Irish National Record for Full Power Unequipped sub -80kg category, 2014
  • IDFPA Irish National Squat Record sub -80kg category, 2014
  • WDFPF European Champion sub -80kg category, 2014
  • IDFPA National Champion sub -80kg category, 2015
  • IDFPA National Best Lifter sub -80kg category, 2015
  • IDFPA National Squat Record Holder sub -80kg category, 2015
  • WDFPF National Referee for Ireland, 2014
  • Olympic Weightlifting Training Workshop with Olympian Norik Vardanian, 2014
  • FILTHY 150, Open CrossFit Competitive Athlete – Team placed top 10 – 2017 Open
  • FILTHY 150 Referee – 2017 Open

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