Hello Dear Readers!
I am pondering teaching a webinar on Working with the Polyvagal System. This is a topic I have been studying and practicing since 2010, and I have assisted Janet Evergreen in her teaching of these classes multiple times. Below you will find a poll to see who, if anyone, might be interested in signing up for an on-line teaching!
- In this webinar, we will start to differentiate normal functions from stress responses (and why this is important).
- We will cover a bit about the Autonomic Nervous system (ANS) including discussing the newer Social branch of the ANS, its role and how it fits in with the older Para- and Sympathetic branches.
- We will cover the Functional Range and how to notice if clients are within it or if they are having stress responses and being activated or depressed.
- Then we will go into actually Working with the Polyvagal System: starting with the Skin, gradually moving deeper into the Fascia, touching into the Gut and all the Vagus nerve connections within it and finally wrapping up with working with the kidneys.
What is the Autonomic Nervous System? This is the branch of the nervous system (to keep it simple for now) which controls involuntary functions in the body – heart rate, breathing, peristalsis of the digestive tract to name a few of its functions.
What is the Polyvagal System? The Vagus Nerve (the 10th Cranial Nerve) innervates many organs and systems in the body – including respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive and more. Previously, the Vagus nerve was said to control the Parasympathetic branch of the ANS – the “rest and rebuild” side of the ANS. Newer research is showing that the Vagus nerve also plays a role in some aspects of the Sympathetic and Social branches of the ANS as well. In the workshop, we will touch on techniques to up-regulate (or down-regulate as the client requires) the Vagus nerve to keep the client within their healthy Functional Range.
What is the Functional Range? As simply as possible, the Functional Range is the amount of adaptability the nervous system has to stressors. If we are very resilient, we can be confronted with changes and surprises and still be in our body and deal with the new situations with a clear head. If we have a history of trauma or unmet developmental needs, then the Functional Range can be quite narrow and we might become activated or overwhelmed with just a couple of new stressors. The way we react to overwhelm is also important and we will cover this in the webinar.
Why would anyone work with the Polyvagal system? There are at least two significant benefits to working with the Polyvagal System: we become more embodied (one) and two, we become more resilient. We can begin to increase our Functional Range and eventually we can benefit our clients in working with staying in their healthy range.
This is the second time I would be teaching something like this on my own, so the cost would not be too high. I am thinking something in the range of $120-$150 for 15 hours of material. I would need to teach it again to start the certification process with NCBTMB – which would eventually allow me to give Continuing Education credits (not this time around however). I would be happy to send Certificates to participants who complete the Webinar.
Thank you for participating and have a great week!
~km
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