I, like many people, took the long road to get connected with my body. I was the awkward kid in gym class, my non-competitive nature getting the best of me (and my confidence) in any team sport and in relationship to my own body. I was chronically shy and reactive under pressure because I hadn't cultivated an internal sense of stillness or ability to listen. I started doing yoga in my early 20's simply for the fitness benefits and loved how strong, committed, and calm I felt after class. But it took me several more years, an on-again-off-again practice, travel and upheaval, single-parenting, heartbreak and loss, before I realized joy and freedom were mine to strive for, that my own dignity is inherent. I had spent so much effort trying to be physically strong that I didn't know how to relax and be still; I had spent so much time just trying to be emotional strong that I didn't know how to be vulnerable.

Years later, a cascade of experiences and trainings accelerated by a global pandemic: a new job, a new-found commitment to my yoga practice that suddenly felt very necessary, and an early experience with my own coach––all this led me to deep-dive into a study of somatics, which then led me to choose a leadership coaching training with a strong somatic and mindfulness lens. You could say I was hooked.

Somatics is a body-based mindfulness practice that cultivates resilience and choice––it's a way to connect to our full humanity. "Somatics" is a pretty large umbrella and quite the buzzword––it can include exercises to move trauma, release stress, and regulate the nervous system; internal awareness practices and embodiment of values and certain qualities; and mindful movement (yes, like yoga––and, I would say, any movement that helps you deepen connection to your full self).

When I started teaching yoga, I gravitated toward a style that emphasizes the internal experience over external goals or the way a pose should look; when I started coaching, incorporating an embodiment lens also felt like a natural fit––working to recognize our impulses and habits from the inside out, and then to embody the qualities and characteristics that are more aligned with our values helps us show up authentically and consistently. The alternative––the logical or cognitive process––while necessary, often ultimately fails under pressure because our somatic responses have developed across our lifetimes; we have to work through the body, get congruent with our values, and practice how we want to show up to re-orient ourselves to the myriad of choices we have available to us.

Somatic Practice: Self-Observation

I invite you to pay attention as you move throughout you day––to patterns, habits, and impulses. You might notice something simple like which foot you step with or posture you take, if you walk the same path on your morning dog walk or the same direction through the grocery store. It might be something with more consequence: a habitual reaction to a certain person or in a familiar scenario; the way your body responds when you're uncomfortable or nervous.

These habits aren't bad or wrong––they're just what we've been conditioned to do and have spent a lifetime practicing! One of my teachers says, it takes 30 times to get used to it, 300 times to create a habit, and 3000 times to embody something (meaning we do it unconsciously or under pressure).

What habits and patterns are you noticing? What other options are available to you?