From Meditative Stillness to Effortless Movement (and everything in between)
By: Triansha Tandan
I stood frozen and silent in the middle of a room, stuck in a veritable maelstrom of thoughts and emotions with no idea of how to move forward…
“What are you rubbing in?” asked my coach.
(I noticed then that I had been unconsciously rubbing my left arm with the palm of my right hand)
“Acceptance” I answered almost instantly and automatically. I felt an immediate ease in the way I was breathing, and my body became less rigid, more relaxed.
“Acceptance of?” asked the coach. And we continued the work. After this somatic releasing, I was able to get ‘unstuck!’
As coaches, we know that the body is not separate from the brain. The body is in fact often a tapestry for the inner landscape of the intriguingly complex human thoughts and emotions. Embodiment theories have proven this to be true; in fact, it is believed that the reverse too is possible- that making changes to the ‘outer’ body can create internal shifts in emotions, thoughts and behavior patterns.
The science, art and philosophy of the mind-body-heart connect is widely researched and practiced. Embodiment theories, the polyvagal theory, somatic experiencing, other trauma healing modalities, and expressive arts therapies have all richly contributed to this field.
It perhaps behooves coach trainers to explore to include more ways in which mind-body-heart alignment can be integrated into coach training – whether that is through more spiritual and meditative practices, through dance movement therapy, through drama therapy and other expressive arts, trauma healing, or through somatic experiencing.
While growing up, I was taught to take up less space and be less noticeable especially in public forums. It has taken me some years of practice to ‘open up’ and connect with my body. While coaching clients, I have seen more and more openness to sensing and processing with the body as my own discomfort in connecting with my own body has slipped away. In a coaching session conducted over the phone, a client once embodied the desire to feel lighter, ‘like a bird’- strangely or perhaps not strangely, I felt a corresponding lightness in my body. Another client ‘gathered’ her worry and walked to her backyard to ‘bury’ it as I stayed on hold over a video call. In another instance, a client identified a cloak of humility sitting heavy on his shoulder- he then worked with me on releasing it before committing to further action.
Body awareness, movement and somatic practices in coach training can be richly rewarding. It can help coaches with:
- Grounding and centering to be fully present and becoming containers for what may emerge during the coaching sessions with clients.
- While coaching, noticing emotions and thoughts expressed through the body and facial expressions.
- Processing, balancing, healing, and transforming pain, trauma, overwhelm, discomfort and ‘stuck-ness’.
- Exploring and grounding action, movement, change and transformation.
It becomes easier for coaches to assist clients through this process when there has been training, and practice for this. Whether developing the practice of stillness, healing psychological pain or designing action, the body is an indicator and an abiding friend.
After all, as poet Christy Ducker exhorts:
Your body’s talk
is loose as lymph —
it’ll have you open out
as a tree,
or sneak up on pain
as assassin,
sidekick,
or wolf.
Encourage this
for healing won’t come at you
straight
- Extract From ‘A SCIENTIST’S ADVICE ON HEALING’ by Christy Ducker
Write to us and share:
- Is body awareness and somatic practices essential for coaches? How can coach trainers bring this into awareness for their trainees?
- What is the unconscious bias within coach training communities for or against somatic experiencing and work in coaching?
- How do you help those training with you overcome their resistance to integrating somatic awareness in their coaching practice? What are some cultural sensitivities that must be paid attention to?