Fascia, Breath & the Nervous System with Kerri Zelman

Somatic (body-oriented) practices such as yoga and breathwork serve as incredible tools for supporting and restoring physical and mental health. However, they are not one-size-fits-all practices. In this workshop, you will gain insight into yourself and others as a nervous system, learning to identify and attune to your nervous system state. Additionally, you will develop a better understanding of how your nervous system state influences your perception and experience of daily life, including common struggles with anxiety, depression and chronic pain as well as relational dynamics between yourself and others. Together, we will explore and practice various somatic movement and breathing techniques to shift your state as needed, helping you discover the tools that work best for you. Furthermore, an overview of fundamental yoga philosophy principles will provide a context for the interconnectedness of the body, mind, and spirit in relation to the nervous system.

While our nervous system state fluctuates in the short term throughout the day, we also operate in a state that has developed over the long term based in the early developmental phases of life, as well as induced by traumatic events and/or complex trauma that we learned to normalize. On a primal level, our nervous system is always working to maintain our sense of safety. Over the course of our lifespan, we may be operating from old patterns of thought and behavior that once worked to keep us safe, and while no longer needed are still ingrained in our wiring. Sometimes having awareness of these patterns is the hardest part but with trust, time, patience and regular practice we can slowly and safely build awareness and create new patterns that serve us better. 

Beginning with a basic overview of nervous system anatomy and function, including an introduction to the role of the vagus nerve, we will explore the relationship between stress, inflammation, the nervous system, and fascia -- our bodywide network of connective tissue. You will gain a deeper understanding of how movement and breath patterns affect your nervous system and how your unique nervous system influences your movement and breath patterns. Additionally, we will examine how these patterns are interconnected with pain and how they impact our mental health.

This workshop is an introduction to a forthcoming series on trauma-informed yoga and somatic practices during which we will go deeper into anatomy and experiential practice. 

ABOUT THE PRESENTER - KERRI ZELMAN

Kerri is the owner and director of Boalsburg Yoga & Wellness. She has been studying and practicing yoga and somatic healing for over 15 years. She is a massage therapist with over 16 years of hands on experience and has been teaching yoga since 2011. In the past few years, Kerri has turned her focus toward the therapeutic applications of yoga and somatic practices for healing trauma, including in-depth studies of the nervous system and polyvagal theory. Most importantly Kerri has her own life experience of understanding how a long-term yoga practice has affected her life, and how learning about trauma informed care has influenced her understanding of the healing power of somatic practices. Kerri is a mother of two young adult daughters and is committed to understanding cultural and generational trauma in an effort to break generational cycles of addiction & abuse and help heal her own lineage.

Trainings & Certifications - there are many, these are the most relevant: 

- 2023/24 - Currently enrolled in Applied Polyvagal Theory in Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma Recovery, 30 hour training with Dr. Arielle Schwartz 

- 2023/34 - Currently enrolled in Trauma Informed Facilitator 8 hour training with Yoga Mandala Project

- 2023 - Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies, 12 hour training with Linda Thai

- 2023 - Completed 300 hour Myofascial Yoga Teacher Training with Christine Wushke, Myofascial Yoga Institute

- 2021 - Healing with Trauma Informed Yoga, 6 hour training with Arizona Trauma Institute

- 2020 - Certified Trauma Support Specialist, 12 hour training with Arizona Trauma Institute

- 2018 - Completed 20 hour Pelvic Floor Yoga Teacher Training with Leslie Howard

- 2011 - Completed 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training in the TriYoga method with Theresa Shay

- 2007 - Graduated from Mt. Nittany Institute of Natural Health Massage Therapy Program