It takes far more strength to be still than to perform.
In many modern yoga spaces, there is an unspoken pressure to do more: Deeper backbends.
Longer holds. More refined shapes. But the body is not a project. It is a presence.
True somatic strength is not built through pushing. It is revealed through pausing. Slowness invites us to feel — the subtle trembling within a shape, the breath that wants to soften, the quiet signals that are so often overlooked. And in that feeling, the body begins to find what it needs.
Speed can sometimes be a response to internal urgency. Slowness offers something different — a return to steadiness, and a sense of choice. This is why in somatic practice, we don’t stretch to conquer, instead we move to listen. We don’t demand flexibility. We cultivate trust.
It takes far more strength to be still than to perform.
And in that stillness, something begins to shift — not through effort, but through awareness.
By Lala Menen
About the Author
Lala Menen is a movement and somatic practitioner, a yoga teacher, researcher and author offering gentle, restorative practices that help the body release tension, calm the nervous system, and restore ease of movement.
Her work is an exploration of how the body holds, adapts, and eventually lets go.
Blending somatic practice with quiet contemplative awareness, she offers a gentle approach to restoring ease in the modern body—one that listens rather than forces and allows change to emerge naturally.
Author of The Soma Awakens Understanding SMA and how to undo tense holding patterns in the body to reduce common aches and pains.
Purchase The Soma Awakens: https://amzn.eu/d/00omSl03
Author of Release — A practical guide to easing tension and restoring ease in the modern body (Coming Soon)