Dr. Vanessa Harding

Mental and Physical Performance Coach

Dr. Vanessa Harding is a neuroscience-based performance coach who helps leaders and high performers regulate stress, strengthen resilience, and operate at peak cognitive performance and maintain health long term. She holds a PhD in Materials Science and brings over 20 years of corporate leadership experience across the UK and Denmark, blending scientific depth with practical insight to elevate human performance.

During her corporate career, Vanessa saw firsthand how subtle anxiety, chronic overactivation, and constant pressure erode wellbeing, emotional regulation, and decision-making. Her sister’s severe mental health crisis deepened her commitment to understanding stress, resilience, and the body-brain connection, not just academically, but at a deeply human level.

Her transformation began in Denmark, where she trained as a yoga teacher specialising in yin and trauma-informed practices. This period marked a deep exploration of her own mind, nervous system, and behavioural patterns, a turning point that sparked her fascination with human resilience and performance. What began as a personal journey evolved into advancing study in the neuroscience of the autonomic nervous system and brain, neuroplasticity and Polyvagal-informed approaches. Vanessa went on to earn certifications in neurophysiological performance coaching, the Play Zone, Polyvagal-Informed Practice, Brain Coaching, and as an Oxygen Advantage® Advanced Breathing Instructor.

Today, Vanessa integrates these disciplines through her signature AYLA approach – Body first, Brain follows, Performance rises. She trains business leaders, executives, and sports professionals to rewire old thought emotional behavioural patterns to regulate stress, strengthen resilience, and access higher-order thinking that balances logic, clarity, creativity, and intuition. Her work helps clients rewire limiting patterns, build emotional intelligence, and perform at their best without pushing harder or burning out.

Known for her ambition, energy, and deeply grounded approach, Vanessa empowers clients to operate as creators of their external experience and masters of their internal world. Her mission is simple: to help people succeed not by forcing more effort, but by empowering their biology to support exceptional performance and authentic leadership.