How to Unhustle
What it really means to move through your day without overriding your body
I’m Nahid — somatic educator, author of Soothe, and the go-to for high-functioning popele who’ve mastered survival but forgotten softness. They call me the nervous system whisperer, but this isn’t about deep breaths. It’s about rewiring the part of you that still thinks tension is the price you have to pay.
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I’m finding life exhausting. Winter, grief, the state of the world - and not having the energy I once did means that I’m entering another cycle of unhustle.
The constant code-switching for social media, the relentless self-optimisation content, the daily exposure to leaders’ worst actions that never lead to meaningful change, my brain is fried.
All of it pulls me away from what I actually love: teaching and creating meaningful programmes and projects.
I just don’t want to hustle.
I need more space.
Not in my calendar but in my nervous system.
Because hustle is not just what your schedule looks like.
It’s what your system has learned to normalise.
Hypervigilance that looks like productivity.
Tight shoulders that masquerade as “drive.”
The constant scanning for what hasn’t been done yet, not because you want to, but because your body doesn’t know how to power down.
Unhustling isn’t about doing less.
It’s about moving with less tension.
And that’s a somatic shift, not a mindset one.
Why “Just Rest More” Doesn’t Work
If you’ve ever said, “I know I need to rest… but I can’t seem to let myself.”
That’s not resistance.
That’s your nervous system doing what it was trained to do: keep you safe by staying alert.
Most people weren’t taught to be with slowness.
They were taught to earn it.
To apologise for it.
To prove they still deserve a seat at the table even when they pause.
That’s why productivity hacks don’t help.
They speak to the calendar, not to the body that’s running the show behind it.
What Unhustling Actually Looks Like
You don’t need to overhaul your life to feel more peace.
But you do need to meet your system where it’s at, not where your highest-self wishes it already was.
Unhustling starts in the micro-moments:
Noticing when your breath gets shallower when answering emails and remembering to soften your jaw.
Washing the dishes slowly because it lets your body downshift.
Choosing to sit down with your tea without scrolling because your system deserves presence, not pacification.
These aren’t productivity tweaks.
They’re re-patternings.
Somatic Shifts That Stick (Without Overwhelm)
The reason most people stay in hustle, even when they know better, is this:
they try to exit it cognitively.
But the body doesn’t learn through concepts.
It learns through rhythm.
If you want to stop overriding, you don’t need to just understand your triggers better.
You need to show your system slowly and consistently, that stillness is safe now.
Here’s how that begins:
One sensory anchor per day (a hand on your chest to feel yourself breathing before your first meeting).
One moment of letting go after you finish something, so that your system doesn’t only link action with urgency.
One question when you notice a pattern: “Is this intentional”
These are the somatic breadcrumbs that lead you out of hustle.
Not in a dramatic detox.
But in a way that sticks.
The Quiet Rebuild
Unhustling your life doesn’t mean you stop being driven.
It means your drive becomes clean.
Unforced.
Rooted in choice, not survival.
And that changes everything.
Because when your body trusts your pace, you don’t just slow down.
You root.
I had a full day ahead, an early morning podcast recording and several meetings—so I’d organised the blow dry, rescheduled clients…made all the arrangements. Then one by one, everything got cancelled.
Usually, I’d cram the day with work.
But this time, I didn’t.
I kept the nice lunch with a friend.
Added a solo cinema trip.
I came home feeling nourished and spacious.
The deadlines never end.
I have to choose to make it stop.
This week, take one thing out of your diary.
And instead, go for a long meandering walk without your phone.
See art, watch a film, have a meal alone or read a book.
Go on. I dare you.
What’s Going On
Substack LIVE
Friday 21st November at 3 pm (UK time) with Kerrilyn Pamer
Thursday 27th November at 7pm (UK) with
- all subscribers can tune in live and paid members can enjoy the replay. You will need to download substack onto your phone.Join me for an in-person somatic Soothe masterclass on November 22nd at Danceworks in London 4 pm - 5.15 pm, book now. Note the new time.
Buy now: The Soothe Method: 30 Nervous System Tools for When Your Mind Won’t Stop £12
Soothe Anxiety: 30 Days Somatic Release £97 - This programme of audio lessons is to cultivate a consistent practice - it’s daily practice that will shift the baseline of your nervous system.
Note the change of date! - The Soothe Day Retreat in London 17th January 2025 - two workshops 5 (hours of teaching) with a delicious gourmet vegetarian lunch.
The Soothe Week in Lefkada, Greece, 27th June - 4th July 2026 - 3 rooms left! Sunshine, great food - and the time to gently let go. A few rooms left, this is my last Soothe retreat abroad for a while - click here for the details.
Thank you to all my lovely friends who have invited me round for dinner, taken me out to lunch, met me for a cheeky martini, popped in to say hello, organised a long Sunday train journey to come and see me. And to everyone who sent me voicemails, messages, emails over the last few weeks… I see you and appreciate you.
Stay human,
Nahid x
PS I have written 4 newsletters for
called Nervous System November, each one covering a different part of the day: morning, lunchtime, 3 pm slump and evening. Let me know if you integrate these practices into your life.
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