Orienting to a new space - student edition

The attendees of the October cohort are beginning to gear up towards the start of their training which is just three weeks away! Before we pop up on each other's screens on the first day of the course, I always send out a shared document and invite the students to introduce themselves and post a photo of themselves. This 'soft' introduction acts as an exercise in orienting; a simple, and powerful biological tool used intentionally in somatic work to help to build a sense of safety and presence in the nervous system. In the case of these introductions, it helps to stand threat detection systems down by alleviating, in part, the fear of the unknown. Questions like: "Who is on the course with me? What is their background? Do I have anything in common with them? Will I be able to relate to them? Will I find them calming, or intimidating? These are questions we all naturally ask when faced with a spending time with a group of strangers. By adding a photo to these introductions, we also give the nervous system a chance to assess facial features. Who looks kind and approachable? Who looks a little scary? It's not an exercise in judgement because a photo does not tell us the whole story, but rather an opportunity to get curious about how your nervous system responds to different people. On the first week of the course I will always check in with the group and ask: "How was it to see everyone before you 'met' them and 'notice now, what it's like to see them 'in person.' The Level 5 Certificate in working somatically with trauma is not just about theory and skills, it's about having a lived experience of your nervous system as it moves through different environments. I'm so looking forward to meeting this next group in October. If you are interested in learning through the Centre for Somatic Resilience Training then you can register your interest for the next available cohort in September/October 2026. Click on the link on this page.