The Paradox of Practising the Art of Being!

Jan Normanton • September 20, 2024

Do you schedule time to just BE?

Dont let self development become another hard task master - embodied therapies

I find if I don't add a practice of being to my To Do list, it doesnt 'get done'!


It takes time and commitment to be. To take time out from the never ending to do list of life. 


It can trigger a whole raft of challenging thoughts and beliefs, never mind the conundrum of 'if I take time out to do nothing, nothing gets done'. 


Guilt, fear, frustration might be the usual suspects. Beyond this, even confusion. If we are not used to doing nothing, how do we even drop into just being 'successfully', so - intentionally, free of self recrimination and self censorship. 


It takes practise! Can you challenge your beliefs and reframe your notion of being and allow yourself this ritual. Can you recognise it as a necessity rather than a luxury. A practice that will serve well on every level - mentally, emotionally, energetically. 


A practice that can in fact save us time if done well in the final analysis, well worth cultivating. One that can leave us feeling expansive, creative, refreshed, energised and able to manage our overscheduled lives with fresh eyes and better perspective. One that contributes to living a conscious life.


What It Means to Be an Embodied Therapist

By janetnormanton • January 15, 2026
Explore what it means to be an embodied therapist and why presence, not technique, is the key to truly transformative bodywork. Learn how The SOMA Massage Method™ helps therapists connect with themselves and their clients for deeper healing.
Emotional Healing Starts with Safety

Emotional Healing Starts with Safety

By janetnormanton • January 9, 2026
Discover why true emotional healing starts with feeling safe in your body. Learn how chronic stress affects your nervous system and how practices like Soma Massage can support deep, body-based healing and recovery.
The Massage That Moves More Than Muscles

The Massage That Moves More Than Muscles

By janetnormanton • December 31, 2025
Trauma and stress aren't matter in the muscles; it’s physiology imprinted in the nervous system.
Soma massage - a powerful antidote to the hurriedness of life.

What is SOMA Massage?

By Jan Normanton • December 10, 2025
SOMA Massage is a powerful antidote to the hurriedness of life. It offers a space where anxiety, stress, and overwhelm can dissolve, where you can simply be yourself, free from expectations
Understanding the Nervous System: Beyond Rest and Digest

Understanding the Nervous System: Beyond Rest and Digest

By Jan Normanton • October 26, 2025
A resilient, robust nervous system is key to healing and wellbeing, allowing you to manage life's challenges effectively while enjoying periods of deep relaxation.
Safety is the cornerstone of healing.

Safety is the Cornerstone of Healing

By Jan Normanton • September 14, 2025
Creating a safe environment is essential to reduce anxiety and stress, and encourage a sense of control and agency in clients
Does it feel like a hustle being on your healing journey?

Are you on the Hamsterwheel of Healing?

By Jan Normanton • September 11, 2025
May you remember when you’re on that hamsterwheel of healing, feeling it’s like a hustle to just slow down, breathe and drop into who you are and make peace with that and enjoy yourself!
Connection is key to a contented life

Connection is key to a contented life

By Jan Normanton • August 31, 2025
Connection to self, others, life itself offers safety and can provide the cornerstone of contentment and love. Whilst disconnection to self, others, life poses threat and so can cause the opposites – unhappiness and fear
Change can be challenging to a nervous system that seeks safety

If you find change challenging, you are not alone and there are valid reasons for this

By Jan Normanton • May 25, 2025
Leaning into a change process that feels safer, planned, paced, can offer a smoother journey into what we do want, whilst tempering and taming the fears, doubts and sense of regression that may present themselves along the way
Why consider a bottom up approach to healing rather than a top down one

Why consider a bottom up approach to healing rather than a top down approach

By Jan Normanton • May 7, 2025
Whilst talking therapies have a significant role in healing in their own right, we can end up inadvertently holding up our healing process by getting invested in talking ABOUT our issues rather than dealing directly WITH our issues via the body – the place of trauma
Show More