On Slowing Down and Attuning to Your Body

I can still hear my somatic therapist’s voice in my brain every time I’m revving my nervous system’s engine and spinning my wheels, when I’m so far into fight or flight that I’m teetering on the edge of freeze or collapse.

First, she would curiously ask, “Is there a motion or movement your body wants to make right now?”

This often resulted in some sort of intuitive rocking or shaking motion involving my shoulders or hips, with the occasional toddler tantrum foot stomp.

She’d allow for freeform and natural movement for a time (which is super important to keep things flowing), and then with the gentlest of curiosity would inquire,

“What might happen if you slow that motion down just a bit?”

In the beginning, she was met with resistance and tension from my fierce inner teen, a sign to proceed with caution and not FORCE anything.

Once I soothed my inner teen, built more trust with my therapist, and allowed for the motion to slow, I often shifted into a parasympathetic (rest, relax, digest) response with ease.

Did it happen with absolute ease the first time?

As much as my Virgo rising part would have loved this “perfection”…

Nah. It was actually quite uncomfortable.

Like anything, slowing down, especially in many Western cultures, is oftentimes discouraged and even shamed, and is therefore something we need to practice and work up to little by little.

Maybe I’m windmilling my arms for 7 rotations, and on the 8th, I slow it down a bit, then windmill for 6, and on the 7th, slow down, and so on.

Maybe I downshift from rapidly flailing my arms to whimsically moving them through space, adjusting the speed just the tiniest bit.

Whatever it takes to ease into the slow flow, something that my sympathetic nervous system often craves.

A wise mind-body coach I worked with taught me about our evolutionary mismatch as humans - how we have “advanced” through technology and other means so that our bodies are being asked to constantly go at a pace that we were not evolutionarily meant to function at right now.

We are not meant to be “on” for as many hours a day as we are, or hold as much information as we take in daily.

Sometimes the simple act of slowing down is revolutionary, and more in tune with our natural evolution.

And also, it can be some tough stuff to do.

Both things are true.

This is why it’s so important to practice the slow when you are resourced enough to do so, when you are able to access curious wonder with someone(s) you can trust.

This slow opening and attuning to your own body’s needs, this building of trust, is just one of several practices I do with you in our 1:1 coaching container and on the Danceground.

I meet you where your body (brain, heart, guts, nervous system, energetic field & more) are at and we go at a pace that works for you, building trust and resourcing safety along the way.

An invitation for you:

I invite you to move freely about whatever space you are in for a moment, in whatever way your body wants to. You might choose to close your eyes or turn on music if it helps you to access intuitive movement. Let yourself be in this flow for a bit. When you’re ready, consider the same question my somatic therapist asked me time and time again,

What might happen if you slow that motion down just a bit?

When you’re ready to share your insights from this exercise, meet me HERE