Maria Connolly, LPC
There’s a special kind of thrill that comes from watching someone realize just how capable they are. So when someone asks, “Does an experienced coach really need a life coaching mentor?” I respond, “Let me tell you about a recent experience and you decide.”
You’re capable of more than you realize, not just mentally or emotionally, but physically. The way you stand, breathe, and move is shaping your thoughts, actions, and confidence every day. This is the overlooked truth that somatic coaching reveals: your body holds the secret to your potential. Yes, this is the long-lost key! Somatic coaching unlocks your potential. As Moshe Feldenkrais said:
“When you know what you are doing, then you can do what you want.”
What a process change is! First comes transition, where you’re in the in-between, liminal stage, helping your body catch up with the vision you hold for your life. Then comes Integration, which leads to transformation. Know this: Integration is a practice, not a finish line. We tend to think transformation comes from and ends with decision-making. We view it as a breakthrough. A clear “before and after.” However, nothing could be further from the truth, as Ava’s experience illustrates…
Your nervous system is designed to keep you safe, not necessarily to ensure success. Understanding this has been eye-opening and transformational for many of my clients. I’ve heard them say so many times, “Why is change so hard?” And that thinking throws up roadblocks because it believes that discomfort, struggle, and frustration are signals to stop. But in truth, they may be signals of a very different sort, as we’ll see in a few moments.
Sometimes, trying to make progress feels like you’re pushing a boulder uphill. When that happens, what do you do… push harder, give up, or pause to see what your body is trying to tell you? For example,
Maya had made the decision. She was finally launching her new business after years of dreaming about it. She invested in a branding coach, mapped out her offer, and scheduled her first announcement email.
But as launch day approached, she felt herself slowing down in ways she couldn’t explain.
Her neck seized up. She couldn’t sleep. Tasks she normally breezed through now felt impossible. The email draft sat untouched. The excitement she once felt dulled under a fog of procrastination and tightness in her chest.
“What’s wrong with me?” she wondered. “Why am I resisting the very thing I said I wanted?”
The truth is — her body wasn’t sabotaging her. It was trying to tell her something.