In this course we are offering an intimate exploration of, and a wander through, the terrain of our autonomic nervous system. We guide you in this exploration by inviting contemplation of past and current behavior and awareness of present-moment embodied experiences as we introduce you to the complex neural network that is your nervous system and Vagus nerve. This is the very first step in identifying, understanding and then healing the mechanisms of trauma as they come to live and operate within our bodies and psyches. We bring awareness to and invite compassion for the behaviors that can seem like they happen for no reason and out of nowhere. We help you understand that there is always a reason, and that these behaviors come from specific places in our bodies designed to do specific things for us in our process of survival and thriving.

However, this course does not offer itself as a treatment for trauma. Nor do we teach about the processes by which we, as families, communities, and cultures become locked in trauma vortexes and their rigid pathways of perception and behavior as a result of generations of endemic violence and injustice. We do not discuss how certain bodies that have undergone specific kinds of othering and discrimination (based on sex, gender, cultural heritage, spiritual practices and so much more) have intimate experiences of the trauma body of the entire group. We do help you, as the student of your own unique nervous system, begin to notice the very specific ways your nervous system has been patterned to predetermine where your attention will go. And we offer guidance for how you can build the muscles of compassion and curiosity as you begin to put the puzzle pieces together.