Caring for your nervous system health has become more accessible with this online Somatic-Self Care class, running by donation every Friday morning at 9am (SYD). Cultivate holistic wellbeing and self-connection at home (or wherever you are) through somatic practices that increase mindfulness, soothe and stimulate the vagus nerve and use the principles of Mind-Body Connection to weave wellbeing through your physiology and your life.
What can I expect?
The online classes will blend seated practices with opportunities to get up and move or stretch out on the floor, with the aim to keep movement easily visible on screen, so that we feel clear and connected throughout. You are also welcome to join without video or follow along just with the audio, as all the practices are offered as guidelines and invitations. The emphasis of the practice is on your inner-experience of movement and sensing into your unique needs in that given moment.
You can expect a mix of breath and body awareness, self-directed touch, visualization cues and poetic prompts to inform movement as well as tried and tested techniques to soothe and stimulate the vagus nerve both manually and indirectly. Vocal exercises may be offered but are not compulsory if you are sharing a space and feel self-conscious to vocalize. Even hearing others vocalize and receiving that sound can be deeply nourishing and calming for the mind.
All sequences are tailored to be grounding, liberating and balancing, with the intention to nourish and support the nervous system at the beginning of the day and encouraging consistent practice for neuroplastic change over time. Your facilitator is deeply passionate and interested in all forms of somatics and mind-body connection approaches so she is always learning and trying out new techniques that she explores in her own learning and self-care. Each class gives you opportunities to deepen with familiar techniques as well as experience something new and offers a good balance of supportive structure and intuitive flow.
Why be guided?
The beauty of being guided through a sequence is that you can remain completely present with yourself and drop in to parts of you that are beyond the cognitive. Attune to yourself as you are, be guided to hold space for whatever is there and to work with what you find with love, curiosity and a gentle inner confidence that supports your resilience and self-trust over time.
Whether you're managing a period of anxiety, stress, recovery or are simply curious about the mind-body connection and self-regulation practices, you are welcome to this class, which will meet you where you're at.
Are these classes Trauma-Sensitive?
The simple answer is YES. Much of what you'll find in the classes are drawn from the field of self-regulation and always include grounding techniques at the beginning, the end and throughout. Language is invitational and non-hierarchical and your facilitator has many years of experience holding space with sensitivity and grace, informed by her studies in massage, yoga, polyvagal theory and counselling and psychology (including Trauma Informed units). She is currently completing a Trauma Informed Yoga Certificate to show her commitment to this work and the importance of trauma sensitive facilitation. That said, there is no intention to activate any triggering emotions during this class. The intention is to nourish and support the nervous system. However, as awareness lands and creates safety, energy can move and emotions may arise and wish to be released (Emotion is energy in motion). If at any time things feel too much, you are so welcome to ground in any way you need and to remain on the zoom at the end of class if you need any support. Part of the purpose of this class is to practice tools that help us hold space for ourselves and ride the waves of Life with greater flexibility and ability to return to balance. The journey that these classes take us on gift us with many inner resources that we can draw upon and come back to. As we learn to allow life to flow within us, letting love move across the rigid or edgy spaces we might encounter, we increase the safe spaces within, like water carving riverbeds into rock over time.
If you want to:
Cultivate a supportive Mind-Body Connection
Apply your capacity to self-regulate and heal
Release stress and learn to relate to it differently
Reset your energy before the day
Explore and expand your experience of self with the body as your doorway and guide
These classes could be of incredible value to you.
You are invited to come along and give it a go and enter into beautiful intimacy and depth with yourself and your Mind-Body experience. Below is a simple audio version of some vagus nerve practices for you to try out or you can learn more about somatics and the mind-body connection here.
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