How Often Should I Schedule Somatic Coaching?

One of the most frequent questions I am asked by new clients is how often I recommend they schedule sessions.

My belief is that in the beginning it will always be best to book once a week. This is because the work we are doing and practices you will be doing are new, and so by definition you will need support with them. It’s no different than if I were a tennis coach, in which case you would expect that it’s necessary to practice at least once a week until you get down the fundamentals. From there, it makes sense to space out the session based on your needs, budget, and how quickly you want to develop. The tennis analogy is actually very fitting because just like with tennis, with somatic practices you are learning to become more aware of how you move your body and how you can relax and contract your muscles in ways that support your goals. Whether those goals are refining your backhand or learning to keep your breath relaxed during disagreements with your colleague, it simply takes practice. Remember that this is not a quick fix; it takes time to strengthen new neural pathways.

Financial concerns

I offer a sliding scale to support clients who are financially unable to schedule frequently while also paying in full. Many of my clients avail themselves of this offering. In addition, if weekly scheduling is simply not practical for you (either because of budget restrictions or scheduling conflicts), I am very willing to work with clients every other week. If you’re coming consistently at least twice a month and also doing your practices on your own between sessions, this can absolutely be an appropriate and effective schedule.

Scaling back after 6 sessions

It can be useful to commit to a series of initial sessions to begin to see and experience the full benefits of somatic coaching and bodywork. As a rule of thumb, after your first six session you should have a good understanding of what the work has to offer you and, from there, we can talk about what frequency of scheduling makes sense for you. In many cases, continuing to schedule weekly is going to give you the best level of support, but that may not be true for everyone. Some of my long-term clients who have been with me for many months (or even years) will schedule on an as-need basis, in which case our sessions act more like “tune-ups”.

Why does it take so long?

There is research indicating that it takes something akin to 3,000 repetitions to embody a new skill. Again, if we view this through the lens of neural reprogramming it simply makes sense. Repetition and practice - not insight - create behavioral change. You can’t learn how to play a competitive game of tennis after just a few weeks of practice. Nor can you master your backhand after having a breakthrough moment in which you realize how you need to change your grip. It’s often helpful and important to have those moments of insight and awakening, but they alone do not suffice. You still need to practice after you’ve realized the correction you need to make with your grip on the racket. The same holds for somatics: you still need to practice living in your body after you realize that you tighten your diaphragm and forget to breathe during those heated conversations at work.

Our old conditioning thinks it’s doing what’s best for us

It’s valuable to remember that the conditioned, automatic responses in our nervous system are serving a purpose. Often a very important purpose. As discussed in previous blogs, the ways that we contract in our bodies when under pressure are learned and usually hard earned. For instance, let’s imagine you grew up in a household where expressing anger was not safe, and doing so meant you would risk your emotional or physical safety. If, like many of my clients, you learned to numb yourself to feeling anger, there will always be a part of you that thinks you are safer by numbing your feelings. Reacquainting yourself with the sensations of anger may not be easy and may take a long time because it means learning ways to allow those sensations to exist despite the part of you that wants very badly to shut them down.  

If you are interested in discussing a frequency of scheduling somatic coaching that works best for you, schedule a phone, zoom, or in person session today.