In a world where louder is often treated as more important,
and where there is a collective mistrust of quiet and pause,
Stillness is medicine.

In our world’s dominant paradigm, you prove your value by what you produce.
‘Stilstand is achteruitgang’ a Dutch saying tells us – ‘standing still is moving backwards’.
We are expected to be equally productive across all areas of our lives in every waking hour.

Like me, you may not agree with that on the surface.
But it’s quite likely still deeply ingrained in your cultural body.

Stillness is met with suspicion.

Lazy, falling short, not taking responsibility.
Weak, lacking resolve or strength or determination.

So you see, that to choose stillness is an act of defiance.
It is saying that “No, I am so much more than a tool for productivity of value”.
(Besides the obvious truth that I am value.)
I am nature.
Nature is cyclical by default.
And there is a time for everything.
Including stillness.

This is true for our own personal cycles.

But it is also true for coaching.

A lot of coaches feel they have to DO something in their coaching sessions.
That the value of their work is determined by what they made happen, what they efforted for (Is that even a word? It is now).

Meet the medicine of Stillness in coaching..

Because what if a big part of your value comes from instilling stillness in your session?
Literally, by absolving yourself from the need to fill any gaps in airtime.
And figuratively, by welcoming silence as your friend.

It means learning to be present with yourself, and hold space for what is alive and moving, roaring or whispering within you. Allowing it to take its shapes, to move through you with all its inner intelligence and wisdom.

For me, it’s presence that is connected with Source.
You label it as you want.

With that presence comes a falling away of a need to do anything else.
And when you bring that level of presence to your coaching sessions….

Mmmmm……..

Stillness gets to have a whole new meaning.

It’s the stillness that opens doors that have been shut since forever.
The stillness that nudges and winks.
That reaffirms.
Embraces.

The stillness of recuperating.
Stillness at the very heart of joy.
Of deep tribute.

The stillness in the eye of the needle. Capturing the thread of Shakti intelligence, of your client’s creative life force energy. That can then start to weave itself forward into what your clients want to see happen in their lives.

It’s stillness that is devoid of expectation and the silence that is pregnant with all that will come in the same breath.

It’s the stillness that precedes the birthing of changes.
Yes, changes that often sprout in the same session.

And this is not just empty esoteric poetry.

It’s what the – very practical – Soul-based Coaching skills make possible:

Learning when to be still.
To choose your words with care so that they support your client’s own unfolding.
And how to direct their attention with exquisite precision so that your client’s magic can reveal itself.

Come and explore the Medicine of stillness in coaching in our next Soul-based Coaching Circle.