Welcome Kick-off Call Session

The short working definition of nervous system dysregulation is that (often due to being subject to extended periods of stress) our nervous system (i.e. our thoughts, feelings, behaviours) will respond disproportionately to an external event or situation (either by under-reacting or over-reacting to something).

As we'll be diving into in much greater detail in week's 1+2 theory, our nervous system can become 'stuck' in a certain mode... which makes it hard for us to show up and respond appropriately to life.

In week 1 we will be focusing on internal self-awareness and cultivating interoception—which in essence is our capacity to be consciously aware of our inner landscape in each moment.

From there we'll be covering conscious self-regulation protocols—what do I mean by this? Well we all have self-regulation protocols but many of them are habitual and unconscious, it might be drinking a glass of wine in the evening or scrolling through social media for dopamine hits. The goal here is to feel empowered to change your state and 'self-regulate' in any moment using just your breath.

In week 2 we'll be covering protocols for down-regulating (or calming) and then in week 3 we'll be running through protocols for up-regulating or being more alert.

In week 4, we'll be looking at protocols for increasing your capacity + resilience. These protocols which we'll cover in week 4 will increase our 'window of tolerance' and allow us to re-pattern our three diaphragms of breath such that we can show up more dynamically in life.

Finally in week 5, we'll be pulling it all together into your personal Nervous System OS that you will follow for the following 8 weeks.

The first exercise I want to guide you through is what I call the Heaven and Hell exercise. The purpose of this is to help you clarify both your intention and desire to really give yourself to this training. So I'd like you to all find a pen and paper, or open up a clean text document if you prefer to type.

For the next 5 minutes I'd like you to imagine yourself in 18 months from today but in this version of the future you didn't pay any attention to regulating your nervous system. You didn't complete this course and your nervous system became increasingly disregulated. Write about how you're feeling, what were some of the down-stream consequences to your work, to your relationships, to your hopes and dreams for the future? What does a day in your life look like? Write what comes up for the next 5 minutes

Now please open up a fresh document or page in your journal. And now we're going to imagine that same day 18 months from now, but this time you really prioritised the practices and protocols to cultivate a greater sense of regulation in your nervous system. What were the effects of this on the quality and output of your work and creativity? How did your relationships change? What transformation did you observe over this period where you fully committed to these practices, gained greater awareness of your body and made giant strides towards a place of regulation? Write what comes up for 5 minutes.

Okay pens down—I'm going to assign you to breakout rooms to each share what you've written. You'll have 3 minutes per person to share (10 mins total)

One exercise I'd like to explore together is a 'course pre-mortem'. As you look ahead to the next 5 weeks, can you think of any reasons why you might not be able to fully commit to a daily breathing practice for the next 5 weeks? Feel free to raise your hand or unmute yourself to share.