We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Sherwood a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

Many years ago, I noticed that my clients were having significant breakthroughs one after the other. It’s normal for my clients to get results, don’t get me wrong, but these were massive and occurring in a condensed amount of time. So, I decided to do a little experiment. I set the intention to just pay attention for a week and see what I noticed. What I discovered from this week-long experiment deeply impacted me as a practitioner.

I showed up for my clients like I always do and after a week of observing and noticing the process, my conclusion was this: My clients know and feel, in the deepest way possible, that I believe in them and their capacity to heal and grow. And, that’s because I do, wholeheartedly. This was profound because I thought that it might be a particular technique, or set of tools I was using, that was supporting these results. Instead, it was my genuine, heartfelt belief in them. Something you can’t learn at a training or through a certification program. This changed me as a Coach and gave me confidence to continue to lean into the less tangible aspects of the Coach-Client relationship because that is where the magic happens.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an Embodiment Coach, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner and Non-Linear Movement Method Facilitator. I specialize in working with how trauma and overwhelming stress cause uncomfortable feelings in our bodies and unhealthy patterns of behavior that hold us back from the fullness of life.

I help my clients resolve these reactions through regulating the nervous system. As a result, people who feel overwhelmed with the demands of life move through their current stress and past trauma to create new patterns that help them reclaim their lives with joy and passion.

My work is inspired by my own journey of overcoming. Struck with a debilitating, undiagnosed disease at the age of 20, my life was turned upside down and my bright future dimmed. Learning to embrace challenge as an opportunity, instead of becoming a victim of my circumstance, set me on a course to help others bounce back from difficult and stressful experiences to clarify, activate, pursue, and fulfill their purpose.

It’s important to know your trauma and stress don’t just live in your mind. They also occupy your body. Trapping you in survival mode. And the solutions you’ve been offered are only half-solutions. Band-Aids at best.

It’s not just about thinking more positively or willing yourself to work harder. It’s about uncovering your past trauma and unhealthy patterns and learning to support your nervous system to heal mind and body.

My online course, Embody Emotional Freedom, teaches you the tools and exercises to do just that. This program has everything you need to regulate your emotional reactions to everyday stressors without reverting to unhealthy behavior patterns that restrict your access to joy. Inside the program there are practical, grounded tools and exercises to regulate emotions, calm your nervous system when stressed, rewire your patterns that keep you stuck in unhelpful habits, and increase your capacity to feel good in your body.

Here’s what I really want the readers to know:

You’re not crazy. You’re not broken. You’re not beyond help or hope.

You need a better solution. One that doesn’t dismiss the systemic challenges you face or ask you to power through to burn yourself out.

You need a solution that addresses ALL of you — mind, body, and spirit.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I’ve been working for myself for 17+ years and in many ways it’s been smooth, but there have been struggles along the way. Believing in my vision when things were uncertain or during lean times of growing my business required a lot of inner strength and faith. And, since I am someone committed to personal growth, it’s been essential to realize that meant that my business focus, function and message would grow and change, as well. I’ve had to be willing to allow the next iteration of my work in the world to unfold, and be willing to make changes, as I was in my own process of growth. I think to succeed as an entrepreneur, you must be committed to your own growth journey or you will eventually get stuck.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One lesson I had to unlearn was that success primarily comes from pushing, striving, and forcing yourself to keep moving forward. Of course, willpower and discipline are virtuous and necessary. Sometimes we have to choose to align our will with what we want and take action, even when we don’t feel like it. But, the bridge between our clear goal and the ability to move toward it isn’t as simple as that makes it out to be.

When trying to create change in our lives, we get highjacked in the process of making choices by something much deeper than our willpower. The brain is designed to keep us in familiar patterns because it’s wired to keep us safe. Anything “new and different” is considered dangerous and unknown. Trying to override this wired in process only makes it push back with more force, leading us to feel pessimistic about the strength of our will.

When I learned how to work with my nervous system and not against it, I was able to accomplish so much more with ease and flow while also safeguarding against burnout.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sarah-sherwood.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_sherwood/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sarah.Sherwood.Somatic.Coaching/

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Brio Yiapan