Charlotte had dedicated almost twenty years to service at Kripalu Center and had offered adaptive yoga/body-based & mindfulness practices in senior living communities. She specializes in working with students who are dealing with issues around age, illness, grief, and death. She’s informed by three wisdom approaches: yoga therapy, resilience, and understanding our human nervous system through polyvagal theory.
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Part 1: Using Polyvagal Theory to Develop Healthy Relationships with Clients Who Experienced Trauma
In this series, Charlotte Nuessle, C- IAYT, will show us how she uses the Polyvagal theory in her yoga therapy work. She will demonstrate how important it is to listen to the signals from our student’s nervous system as it reacts to cues of danger and strives for regulation and safety. She will emphasize how essential it is to stay attuned to signals from our own nervous systems to develop healthy therapeutic relationships and be present with our students.
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Part 2: Embodying non-linear movements from nature to come out of protective stress response
In this video, Charlotte describes guiding a depleted student in simple non-linear movements and nature visualization to awaken the elements of the first and second chakra and build a strong foundation for student’s self-confidence. She also describes tracking her own nervous system response during the session. This video includes an example of non-linear movement and a nature meditation with focus on effortless ebb and flow.
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Part 3: Using caring touch to reconnect with the body and accept what is
In this video, Charlotte describes how even the simplest breath awareness turned out to be triggering for her student. Instead, simple self-touch helped her student become present in her body and come out of the experience of shame.
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Part 4: Choosing the right amount of effort when dealing with the shut down response
In this video, Charlotte explains the importance of choosing the right amount and type of effort when dealing with a shut down response. She demonstrates that simple movement and re-establishing the sense of connection to the earth can be more effective than more intense activities that require a lot of effort. This video includes an example of a guided visualization with a focus on three-point contact with the ground.
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Part 5: The importance of cultivating a regulating presence for our students
In this short video, Charlotte summarizes her observations about the importance of building trust and offering a regulating presence to our students. Paying attention to the state of our student’s nervous systems and our own helps to strengthen the therapeutic relationship and empower our students to face their challenges.
