Centre for Integrative Medicine seminar

Restoring a Sense of Safety: Practical Applications of the Social Engagement System for Well-Being

presenter: 

Moira Theede, BSN, MSC
Building on her nursing background (1972), Master’s studies in Community Health & Wellness (1995), and certification in stress management for Holistic Nurses (2012), Moira credits three summers’ experiences of attending workshops with Dr. Porges on Polyvagal theory as creating the "cha-ching" moment when academic and personal life learning fused: "seeing with new eyes" as Proust would say. In 2018 Moira contributed a chapter to "Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory", edited by Stephen Porges and Deb Dana. Moira’s other interests include neuroplasticity, contemplative photography, environmental philosophy, social ecology, and biophilic design. She enjoys traditional spinning on spinning wheels, skiing in the winter, gardening in the spring, and especially looks forwards to hiking with her grandchildren and family in the mountains this summer.

Participants are invited to join in on a conversation about the social engagement system and the neuroception of safety, foundational elements of Dr. Stephen Porges’s Polyvagal Theory (1994). Together we will discuss and explore applications for self, for being with others, and for being in nature. Honouring our unique responses, we will learn how the functions of the autonomic nervous system facilitate connection and well-being; as Dr. Porges says "connection is a biological imperative".  In this session, we will engage with photographic images of nature and a contemplative kaleidoscope to enhance the metaphor and experience of neuroception. Moira believes that a sense of safety is linked with a personal and societal inclusion mindset and that this requires each of us (and all of us) to understand the ventral vagal state of the ANS.

Event Details

When:
Time:
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM CST
Location:
N/A