The Quiet Power of Being Witnessed in a Group

Some of the most meaningful shifts I’ve experienced in my own growth didn’t happen while I was the one being worked with — they happened while I was witnessing someone else.

During my training with coaches through The Life Coach School, much of the coaching happened in group settings. I was genuinely surprised by how much I gained just by watching someone else be coached.

Over time, I began to understand why.

When we’re not “on the spot,” our nervous systems often relax. There’s a little more distance, a little more safety. We’re still engaged — but we’re not bracing.

From that place, insight can land more gently.

I’m seeing this again now in my Felt Sense Polyvagal Training, where we work in groups using Focusing. When we allow ourselves to be present with someone else’s process — without fixing, without rushing — something powerful happens.

We co-regulate.
We recognize ourselves.
We learn without being overwhelmed.

This doesn’t replace the depth of 1:1 work — which I still deeply value. But it offers a different kind of medicine.

A sense of:

• I’m not alone in this

• I don’t have to explain everything

• I can take what resonates and leave the rest

Group spaces, when held with care, offer something rare: the ability to be with ourselves while being with others.

Not fixing.
Not performing.
Just being present.

And sometimes, that’s exactly what allows change to unfold.