I’ve been asked now by a number of people if we could create a sort of skills workbook on autonomic fluency, that a therapist could hand to a client who has no technical background or particular interest in the neurobiology of connection to teach them in plain language about their Autonomic Nervous System. Or that a lay person with no background in the ANS could read to help them understand the role of the ANS and how to have more agency in working with it.
I’m wondering how many of you would be interested in such a resource?
Is it something that you would find relevant for yourself? Is it something you could imagine giving to your patients or clients if you are a wellness professional or a coach? Do you even like workbooks, do you find them useful? I’d be grateful for feedback about this from anyone reading this post, comments are unlocked for everyone.
I’m thinking about something like this:
The workbook would be 8.5 x 11 inch format, with wide margins for notes, plenty of places for reflections to be written in the book, with lots of practices. I’m envisioning it in color, with a price tag around 29 USD.
I would try to provide a simple plain language introduction to the foundation principles of the model, as well as practices for working with challenging autonomic states and enhancing health-creating states. The voice would be casual and approachable.
The book’s focus would be deeply practical. How do you get your hands directly on the master controls that shape the deepest layers of how you feel?
If you feel inspired, let me know what you think about this. As this is percolating, we are open to any design feedback, or ideas you have about what makes such a workbook effective in your experience. How would you like this to look and feel? What would you find useful for us to address? Anything we should not do?
We’d like to leverage the collective intelligence of this community to create something y’all would find really useful. Again, comments are open to anyone reading this. You don’t even have to be a subscriber.
I got sort of a cool note from Substack to let us know that we have crossed the 100 paid subscriber mark. I’m highly incentivized to get the word out about this work to as many people as possible right now. I have my first podcasts later this week doing publicity for the The Neurobiology of Connection, and given the incoming US administration and the polycrisis of modernity, I’m all about helping people learn how to activate the root drivers of health creation, given that threat indexes are going to escalate for a lot of us in the years ahead. Learning how to work pro-actively with the ANS is directly related to your resilience and general wellbeing.
We have a number of incentives for people helping spread the word about this Substack, including free subscriptions– so if you are finding this content useful please take a moment to share it with your friends. There is a direct relationship between my ability to put time into this Substack and its reach. Your assistance in growing our audience means a great deal to me, and to the future of our work at Hearth Science.
I’m also teaching a live Autonomics Bootcamp later this month, January 20, 21, 22, 27, and 28 from 7 to 9 am PST (-8 hours GMT) and there are few spaces remaining. It’s a 10-hour live deep-dive into the model. It should be a lot of fun, and immediately practically useful in your life and in the support of those you serve (if that’s something you do professionally).
Ciao Gabriel, I hope you've had a restful, joyful and invigorating holiday season, and now rejuvenated for the continuing journey.
I am writing to express my strong support for the idea of a skills workbook on autonomic fluency. My view is such a workbook would in a short time become an invaluable resource, used and shared by clients and professionals alike. I totally agree and feel the proposed parameters you suggest are essential: simple, plain language; casual and approachable; and practical, with lots of practices. The proposed space for margin notes for me conjures up an image of a slightly battered workbook (in a good way from individuals carrying it around on a daily basis and actually USING IT), referring back to their 'go to' highlighted sections, and scribbles throughout.
Congrats on the paid subscriber milestone and much continued overall success.