Leadership Capacity Starts in the Body

Today, we’re talking about the relationship between our body and our capacity as leaders.

To show up well for the demands on our plates, we need to understand our own threshold—what is ours to hold, what is ours to receive, and what is ours to let go.

When I first outlined the topics for this Capacity series, I didn’t realize how perfectly timed this particular note would be.

This Thursday, I’ll be on stage at the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit talking about this very subject.*

My friend and collaborator Beck Sydow and I will be exploring the role of the nervous system in the entrepreneurial journey—and how working with our bodies can help us grow our capacity.

Because what we choose to hold—and how we hold it—matters.

So, let’s dive in. 😊

*Read through to the end of this note for a fun surprise.

::Your 5 Minutes Starts Now::

Part 1: What Is Somatic Awareness?

Somatic comes from the Greek word soma, meaning “the body.”

Somatic awareness is the practice of noticing what’s happening inside your body—in real time.

Most of us were never taught how to do this.

Not in school. Not in leadership trainings.

But we’ve all heard of, considered, and at times ignored the concept of burnout.

We’re putting out internal and external fires daily.

And this adds up.

Peter Levine, founder of Somatic Experiencing, teaches us that trauma gets stuck in the body when we don’t have the capacity or support to process it.

“Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”

We carry unfinished stress responses.
Not just in our mind’s eye—but in our shoulders, jaws, guts, and breath.

And this affects our capacity as leaders.

Part 2: Understanding The Nervous System

So if somatic awareness is the ability to listen to the body—

The next question is: what exactly are we listening to?

At the core of somatic work is your nervous system.

This is the invisible infrastructure that determines:

How much you can hold,
How you respond under pressure,
And what you perceive as possible.

Your nervous system is like a finely tuned surveillance system.

It’s constantly scanning your environment, relationships, and internal signals—asking:

Am I safe or am I under threat?

Enter Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. He didn’t discover the vagus nerve itself, but he revolutionized our understanding of how it works.

Porges showed that the vagus nerve—the longest cranial nerve in your body—isn’t just involved in digestion and heart rate.

It’s the core regulator of your state: whether you’re in fight, flight, freeze, fawn—or in social connection, curiosity, creativity, and safety.

Think of it as your body’s internal toggle between survival and capacity.

When your nervous system senses safety, you can lead.
You can delegate. You can decide. You can receive.

When it doesn’t, you default to old patterns:

You overextend. You override. You over-hold.

Part 3: Why This Matters

If you haven’t heard of the 10% Happier podcast, I highly recommend it.

Dan Harris was a respected ABC news anchor—polished, composed, doing the job he’d trained for—when he had a full-blown panic attack on live television.

His body shut down in front of millions.

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t pretend.

That moment was a turning point. Dan went on to study mindfulness and somatic practices, writing the book 10% Happier.

His story speaks to the lie we tell ourselves as leaders that we can ‘hold it all.’

The truth is, we are human beings first.
With bodies. With nervous systems.
And the body always tells the truth.

This is why capacity isn’t just a mindset—it’s a state.
It’s your nervous system, not your Google Calendar, that sets the limit.

We talked about this in the first note of this series:

When you believe that your worth is tied to what you build, you’ll keep saying yes long past the point of depletion.

Somatic awareness interrupts that cycle.
It brings you back to your body.
Back to reality.
Back to choice.

Part 4: So, How Do I Decide What to Hold?

If we can’t hold it all—and we can’t—the better question is:

What do you need to hold?
And what do you want to hold?

This is where clarity begets capacity.

How do you decide what’s yours to carry… and what’s meant to be shared?

I thought it could be useful to create a quick reflection guide.

It’s not set in stone—it’s simply a tool to help you notice what you’re holding, what you may want to let go, and where you might benefit from receiving support:

Hold This (as a Founder/CEO):

Your Regulation & Presence – Your nervous system sets the tone.
Vision & Direction – Keep the big picture aligned.
Core Purpose & Values – Protect the “why” of the business.
Cultural Integrity – Embody the tone, correct when it drifts.
Narrative – Internally and externally, how you tell the story of your business.
Key Strategic Decisions – Especially long-term or irreversible ones.
Financial Awareness – Know how money moves, even if you don’t manage every line.

Part 5: A Simple Practice — Start With Safety

Once you’ve started to get clear on what you want to hold, it’s important to signal to your body that you’re ready for its support.

Here’s one of my favorite practices that I often suggest to leaders.

It’s a simple and quick way to signal safety to your body—

because if your nervous system is wired, even with clarity,

no amount of delegation or decision-making will feel truly safe.

Practice: Eye Tracking for Nervous System Regulation (2 minutes)

Sit or stand comfortably. Keep your head still.
Gently move your eyes to the left, as far as is comfortable.
Hold for 30 seconds, or until you feel a shift (yawn, sigh, swallow).
Return to center. Repeat on the right side.
End with a few slow breaths. Notice what’s different.

Somatic work is about noticing what you need—so you have space to say yes to more of what you want.

Let this week be an invitation to listen.
To slow down.
To ask your body—not your calendar—what’s next. 😉

Thanks as always for learning with me. More soon.

Q2 Topic Capacity Part 3: Somatic Awareness