Slow Change is Sustainable Change - Why Somatic Approaches Work Differently
Why The Fastest Way to Sustainable Transformation is Often To Go Slow
The world we live in is obsessed with quick fixes.
Productivity hacks and fast transformations are all the rage, and we are led to believe that real change happens in big moments: dramatic breakthroughs, radical shifts, quantum leaps.
But our body isn’t wired for these overnight changes.
Real, embodied transformation doesn’t happen in big bursts.
It happens in layers, over time, at a pace that our body and nervous system can hold.
This is why somatic approaches work differently. They are the antidote to our fast culture.
They show us that deep and sustainable change doesn’t mean pushing harder and faster, but moving at the pace of safety and integration, to allow the changes to gently ‘take root’ in our body.
The Myth of Fast Change
Have you ever tried to take a big leap, pushed yourself to make a significant change and got frozen, unable to take the actions you had set out to take? Perhaps you ended up feeling stuck - full of forward moving energy but unable to move - or overwhelmed and exhausted?
None of these are signs of failure, they are just reminders that our nervous system needs time to trust new ways of being. It is wired to protect us from what feels unsafe or unfamiliar and change that is too fast, too much, or too soon can feel like a threat.
When our nervous system gets overwhelmed, it wisely pulls us back to our safety zone (which is often right where we started). Think of it as a deeply caring but slightly overbearing parent constantly trying to protect their child by keeping them in a small but safe environment.
Our nervous system isn’t trying to resist change, it’s simply trying to protect us from what might happen if we ventured into unfamiliar territory.
This is what many approaches to transformation miss.
When we force sudden shifts, whether in our habits, emotions, or ways of thinking and being, we often bypass the body’s process of integration.
We might push for big breakthroughs, or quantum leaps, but end up stuck, overwhelmed and exhausted - because our system can only process what it feels safe enough to hold.
The work of Peter Levine, founder of Somatic Experiencing, shows us that the body reorganises itself through small, incremental adjustments, not forceful leaps.
It means that:
🔄 Change needs to be introduced in small doses (titrated) so that the nervous system can process and absorb it, rather than rejecting it as unfamiliar or unsafe.
🌀 Transformation happens in cycles: we expand into new possibilities, then contract back into comfort, and then expand again - each time with a little bit more capacity.
True growth happens when our nervous system can move fluidly between states of activation and relaxation, effort and rest - like expanding cycles.
Somatic Approaches : A Pathway To Sustainable Change
I believe that somatics is the antidote to fast-paced (and often short-lived) change that overrides the nervous system’s natural capacity and ability to reorganise.
In somatics, we embrace change slowly, at the speed of our nervous system and at the pace of our body.
Rather than pushing towards rapid transformation at all cost, we trust our own pace and move through change in layers.
We orient towards gentle, sustainable evolution rather than dramatic shifts.
Just like trees grow ring by ring - our nervous system integrates new experiences slowly, in tidal waves. It allows the body time and space to recalibrate, leaning into the felt sense of stability every step of the way.
Sustainable change means:
Learning to trust our body’s organic intelligence and the way in which it integrates new ways of being.
Embracing the right pace for our system.
Letting go of the expectation that transformation should be fast and furious - and recognising that there is so much value in gradual, embodied, and sustainable evolution.
We build capacity in stages: expanding into new possibilities, then contracting back into familiarity, before expanding again - each time with a little more resilience and a little more ease and stability.
Over time, these waves of integration help to create a deep, embodied sense of change, which goes beyond a temporary shift in thinking.
Why Slow Change is the Fastest Way to True Transformation
So, although it might sound counterintuitive, the fastest way to true transformation tends to be the slow way.
When we try to force big leaps, we often end up cycling through the same patterns, never truly integrating the change we are seeking.
When we move at the pace of safety, transformation becomes not just a shift in thinking, but something we embody.
Slow, sustainable change allows for:
🌱 Safety – The body learns that change isn’t something it needs to brace against, but something it can welcome.
🌱 Capacity – Instead of overwhelming ourselves with change that feels too big, we build our ability to hold new experiences gradually.
🌱 Trust – We begin to trust the way our body is naturally wired to shift and heal.
🌱 Integration – Sustainable change doesn’t just happen in our mind, it becomes part of who we are.
This is why somatic approaches don’t seek dramatic shifts, but gentle, sustainable, embodied evolutions.
If you have been wanting to create change in your life, to embrace a new role or expand your leadership but feel stuck between wanting to take this step forward and feeling frozen or overwhelmed, somatic coaching could offer a pathway towards the new, that brings your nervous system on board.
If you would like us to explore together how it might support you, simply schedule a discovery call in my diary here - we will discuss where you are, what you desire to create in your life and of course, I can answer any question you have.
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