COURSE CURRICULUM
THE EDUCATIONAL CONTENT
My signature 5-part biology of stress video training series
When you get to know your own biology—from the inside out—something powerful can happen. Understanding what’s happening in your body (and why) means you can start to fear it less and trust it more, even in the tough moments of pain, anxiety, or stress.
Because, truth be told: “It’s not the stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” – Hans Selye
Video 1 |
Autonomic Nervous System 101: Learn the need-to-know basics* of the sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems and why they must work together for optimum health. *Note: for practitioners, this ‘introductory’ video is a solid reference point & refresher. |
Video 2 |
African Safari Time: Discover what animals in the wild do (that we don’t) to naturally release survival stress so that it doesn’t stay stuck in their system and make them sick. |
Video 3 |
Vagus Nerve 101: Understand what the gut-brain connection really means and why you CAN blame your “parents” for all your shortcomings (just don’t get stuck there!) |
Video 4 |
How Toxic & Accumulated Stress Show Up in the Body: Go one level deeper to discover how our early nervous system wiring is either formed with solidity and resilience, or not. |
Video 5 |
Healing Our Human Predicament: Learn how we can restore capacity, safety, and come out of survival mode—including an “emergency first aid” procedure that you can start to implement right away to lessen the likelihood of future stressors from “sticking” to you. |
THE PRACTICAL EXERCISES
My 9 most foundational (& often most potent) neurosensory exercises
Nine practical audio lessons that are unique to my way of working with the nervous system and informed by my training & experience in the work of Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing), Moshé Feldenkrais (The Feldenkrais Method), as well as Kathy Kain & Stephen Terrell (Somatic Resilience & Regulation).
1. The Power of Orienting |
Cultivate your self-awareness (what’s going on inside) alongside your awareness (what’s going on outside) with this set of two exercises. |
2. Following Your Impulse |
If you find it hard to trust your intuition and lead with your gut, then this simple practice may just knock your socks off! It’s time to get back to basics. |
3. Finding Your Potent Posture |
This handy little exercise can give you a whole new way of improving your posture that’s functional, dynamic, and dare I say, a little unusual. Plus, you’ll discover what babies can teach you and why their learning process is so smart. |
4. ‘Multi-Tasking’ Awareness |
Here, you get to explore and expand on the concepts of self-awareness & awareness from in Exercise 1 to grow your nervous system capacity. |
5. Balancing Your Back |
This gentle Feldenkraisian lesson is like a movement-based meditation for your entire spine, helping to iron out the kinks and melt away tensions. |
6. Tense & Relax |
Tension in life is inevitable. The key is not keeping it when it is no longer needed. With some clever guidance, this exercise can teach you how to feel the tension as a way to release it. The surprising result when you learn to do this? More relaxation! |
7. Containment and The Self-Hold |
You might be surprised to find out that you do more self-soothing than you realize! Often, having greater body awareness and attention to self can enlighten you to what your system is already good at and doing spontaneously. |
8. Finding the Painful and the Pleasant |
Imagine using the pain you feel as the catalyst for opening up more space in your body and mind. This lesson introduces you to a rather different, yet effective concept for making some big shifts in how you relate to pain. |
9. Global and Local Healing |
Your body is made up of cells, tissues, fluids, and organs, plus a complex array of processes that connect it all together. You are also connected to the environment and those around you. This final exercise brings these precious dots of interconnectedness together in a way that blends both “local” and “global” awareness. |
These 14 “doses” of educational content & practical exercises are intentionally sequenced to help you “titrate” the learning & optimize neuroplastic healing.
And because it’s important to go slow & allow for integration of this work, they are also interspersed with…
7 INTEGRATION LESSONS
1. Practice Body Scanning & Orienting |
Use the guided orienting lessons (remember there are two to choose from) or give it a try on your own, with music or without. Inside or out. |
2. Intro to Neuroplasticity & Feldenkraisian Learning |
Discover why improving the quality and awareness of your movement can also improve how you approach life’s challenges. |
3. Build Capacity & De-Stress Daily |
Learn the lifelong skill of building capacity (while also releasing stress). Because our capacity is infinite, building it takes practice and time. |
4. Sleepiness, Rest & Neuroplasticity |
When we dive into this deep nervous system layer it can, and often does, bring up and out all sorts of stuff. This lesson is designed to help you identify and find ways to navigate old gremlins & coping mechanisms that can arise. |
5. “Choose Your Own Adventure” |
A reminder & an opportunity to explore what your system needs and add in more challenging ‘neurostimulation‘ to your personal practice. |
6. Sounds, Sighs & Silliness |
Listening to your biological impulses is important. Equally important is finding ways to express and play with your impulses towards creativity, silliness, and emotional expression. |
7. Befriending Your Pain |
The key to working with pain intelligently is to understand that it is there for a very good reason and it is also often a signal that something is not okay. |
BONUS BENEFITS
Ongoing Professional Support
Share your biggest takeaways or challenges from each video, exercise, or lesson and get your questions answered by my team of trained & experienced practitioners, who’re active on a weekly basis within the program platform.
Post-Course Practice tips
After the 21 days are over, you will not be left in the lurch. We will give you practical tips that can help you put all of this learning into practice and play in your everyday life.
Soothing Music
As luck would have it, my husband and colleague, Seth Lyon, just happens to be a composer and he has created a beautiful piece of music that’s specifically geared towards soothing an activated nervous system. My gift to you!