NKB Holistic and NKB Sport Performance
About Nicola Barnes
From Service to Performance
My name is Nicola Barnes, founder of NKB Performance.
For over 30 years, I worked in high-pressure public service roles where performance mattered, resilience was essential, and the demands of the job often came before personal wellbeing.
I served in the British Army, including a six-month United Nations deployment to Bosnia, before leaving as a single parent and beginning a 25-year career with Lancashire Constabulary as a Police Officer and later a Detective Constable.
Throughout those years, I experienced first-hand the pressures that come with responsibility, uncertainty, trauma, and sustained stress. Following a significant health crisis and subsequent mental health challenges, I was medically retired from the police service.
That experience changed everything.
It forced me to reconsider what performance really means. Not pushing harder. Not doing more. But developing the ability to recover, adapt, regulate, and thrive under pressure.
The challenges I faced became the foundation of the work I do today.
The Performance-Wellbeing Connection
At NKB Performance, I help people improve how they think, move, breathe, and perform.
Whether you are an athlete striving for consistency, a business owner feeling overwhelmed, a professional navigating change, or someone wanting to feel more balanced and in control, my approach focuses on building sustainable performance from the inside out.
I believe that high performance and improved wellbeing are not separate goals.
When we learn to regulate our nervous system, improve self-awareness, develop psychological flexibility, and reconnect with our physical health, we create the conditions for lasting success.
My work combines evidence-based coaching, sport and performance psychology principles, breathwork, movement practices, and holistic wellbeing approaches to help people perform at their best without sacrificing their health in the process.
My Journey Into Movement and Mindset
I discovered yoga over 20 years ago after running-related injuries led me to search for a different way to move.
Initially, yoga improved my flexibility and reduced physical discomfort. Over time, I realised its greatest impact was on my mind.
The breathing techniques, mindfulness, and recovery practices helped me manage anxiety, improve focus, and perform more effectively during sporting events and everyday life.
As a keen cyclist, runner, and triathlete, I experienced the benefits personally and became passionate about helping others access the same tools.
In 2019, I completed my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training and have since undertaken extensive further training in Yoga for Athletes, Functional Anatomy, and Injury Management.
My training includes specialist education with Sarah Ramsden of Sports Yoga and The Body Athletic programme, focusing on supporting athletes and active individuals to move better, recover effectively, and perform consistently.
Coaching Human Performance
My curiosity about performance, behaviour change, and human potential led me to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice (Coaching and Mentoring) through Lancaster University.
Having left school many years earlier with only a handful of GCSEs, returning to higher education was both challenging and rewarding.
That experience reinforced a belief that growth is always possible, regardless of age, background, or previous circumstances.
To deepen my understanding of performance, I am currently studying for a BSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology.
This academic foundation allows me to integrate psychological theory, evidence-based practice, and practical coaching techniques into the work I deliver with individuals, teams, and organisations.
A Holistic Approach
Alongside coaching and movement-based practices, I remain passionate about the role holistic therapies can play in supporting wellbeing.
Reflexology continues to form an important part of my work, particularly in supporting women through fertility, perimenopause, and menopause transitions.
I have undertaken advanced training in Reproductive Reflexology, Pregnancy Reflexology, and Menopause Reflexology, and continue to support women navigating some of life’s most significant transitions.
However, these therapies are now part of a wider philosophy.
I believe people perform at their best when physical health, emotional wellbeing, mindset, recovery, and purpose are aligned.
How I Work
Everything I offer is built around three core pillars:
Mindset
Developing awareness, confidence, resilience, and psychological skills.
Breath
Improving nervous system regulation, focus, recovery, and stress management.
Movement
Creating strength, mobility, adaptability, and long-term wellbeing.
Whether through coaching, workshops, performance programmes, yoga, breathwork, or reflexology, my aim is always the same:
To help people build the capacity to perform well, recover effectively, and live with greater balance, clarity, and purpose.
My Mission
NKB Performance exists to help people navigate challenge, transition, and growth.
I work with athletes, professionals, business owners, and individuals who want to achieve more without losing themselves in the process.
Because true performance is not about constantly pushing harder.
It is about understanding yourself, managing your energy, developing resilience, and creating the conditions that allow you to thrive.
Pause. Breathe. Perform.
Get In Touch
