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Yes. You can do this work while on medication. It’ll be important to consult your doctor and have a good medical team as you move through the program as it is not a replacement for therapy or medical care. It is educational in nature and offers practices that help you attune and reconnect with your body and nervous system.
The main thing is to go slow, pace yourself, be gentle on yourself, and take in the information with curiosity and ease. Go at your pace and stop when needed. And ask questions in the private program site, if you are a member, or in Irene’s private Facebook group, Healthy Nervous System Revolution.
It’ll also be important to be aware that part of healing trauma (stored up survival stress) is that when one starts to ‘thaw,’ uncomfortable sensations and activations are common and are part of the process, as we are allowing that which has been trapped for so long to come out, finally. The key is to err on the side of doing less, so the system grows capacity and foundations. This way, when those sensations and activations arise you can navigate them more easily.
The answer to this comes down to capacity. Trauma work can stir up a lot of emotions and old, stuck energy (as can pregnancy!), so the way in which the work affects you will largely be determined by your ability to process those emotions and energies. Overall, we see processing old trauma before having kids as a highly beneficial thing to do. That being said, as Irene and her team are not doctors, psychiatrists, or medical professionals, we can’t make any guarantees around specific health conditions improving, or how your pregnancy may be affected, or not, but we can say that many people have had success with her programs and have used them to heal numerous symptoms and issues that they were struggling with, and each person is unique with unique symptoms.
While we don’t often recommend children take our courses, as the verbiage will not be absorbed by them, the bare truth is –> if you (parent, caregiver etc…) do this important work for yourself, you will naturally begin to change and heal the relationship with your kids. You’ll view your role as a parent through a fresh lens and you’ll have more capacity to deal with any issues that arise. And you’ll naturally pass this knowledge and increased regulation down to your kids who can then bring this education on board and begin to understand their own nervous systems better. It’s super cool to see it happen. It’s like osmosis, they pick up the new behaviour and learned healing through you.
It is possible that a teenager can participate in Irene’s content but they would have to be excited about it on their own, so they would have to be that relatively rare teenager who is naturally interested in trauma, nervous system health, stress physiology, etc… It won’t work if they are only doing it because the parent wants them to, but if they ARE keen and genuinely interested in the work then yes, it’s something that could benefit them.
We don’t generally assess individual symptoms because of the complex nature of this work. Irene’s work helps most people heal at the nervous system level, which generally has a positive impact on the entire human system. But we can not say whether or not it will help heal a specific ailment as it would be unethical to do so. What we can say is that this work has impacted a lot of people positively who have suffered with a wide variety of syndromes, diseases, etc. We invite you to check out the student testimonials to see what they have to say.
We don’t generally assess individual symptoms because of the complex nature of this work. Irene’s work helps most people heal at the nervous system level, which generally has a positive impact on the entire human system. But, we can not say whether or not it will help heal a specific ailment as it would be unethical to do so. What we can say is that this work has impacted a lot of people positively who have suffered with a wide variety of syndromes, diseases, etc. We invite you to check out the student testimonials to see what they have to say.
You can also search on Irene’s YouTube channel by keywords such as ‘autism’, ‘ADD’, etc… to see what Irene has previously said on this specific subject. Additional resources include listening to Irene’s discussion with Penny Williams on the Beautifully Complex podcast – The Nervous System and Your Child’s Behavior, and her discussion with Gretchen Wegner on Anti Boring Approach – Is it Possible to Cure ADD & ADHD? With Irene Lyon.
Both the 21 Day Nervous System Tune-Up and SmartBody SmartMind™ (SBSM™) are designed to work with all types of trauma at the deep level of the nervous system to fundamentally change the way you are in relationship to yourself, others, and the environment around you. Many folks find this nervous system work, at its heart, is about becoming who YOU truly are and finally learning what it means to go from living in a state of survival, stress, and anxiety to a place of hope, possibility, and solid well-being, and this very often includes coming out of freeze. For more information on coming out of freeze, check out this article by Irene’s husband and colleague, Seth Lyon.
No. We do not offer CEUs for our trainings. All of our programs and courses are meant as educational tools, not certification courses.
That said, we have many practitioners who take both of our programs and incorporate things that they learn in their own practices. However, we do not give step-by-step methods on how to include them in practices with clients.
No. The 21 Day Nervous System Tune-Up course is not a prerequisite for SmartBody SmartMind™ (SBSM™). However, if you do have time to do it prior to registering for the SBSM™ program, it makes a great introduction to the work that is covered in SBSM™.
The 21 Day Nervous System Tune-Up is more of an intro to Irene’s work. Think of it as an appetizer before the main meal. This course is a self-study, so the amount of time spent is totally up to you. In total, there are 9 neurosensory exercises, 5 videos, and 3 bonuses – including the private Member’s area where Irene’s trained moderators are there to support your questions.
SmartBody SmartMind™ (SBSM™) goes into much more detail and you can pause and take it at your own pace if you need to. With SBSM™, you get 34 lessons, practices, 5 biology of stress videos, live Q&A calls, live training calls, movement lessons, a supportive area to ask your questions, and lifetime access to all the material, plus access to the 21 Day course.
There is no “right” first place to start. You need to go with your gut sense or intuition as to which program is a good fit for you. Whichever you may choose, the education and practices from either program will start you on your nervous system healing journey.
You have lifetime and unlimited access to the online material for as long as these courses run.
No. We don’t offer a sliding scale on our products or scholarships. We do offer monthly payment plans to accommodate those who need to budget out the cost of the paid programs.
Otherwise, we do offer a wide range of free resources to folks that are looking to heal at the nervous system level but don’t have a large budget.
No. Irene doesn’t currently offer teacher training or know exactly when she will. However, she is currently in the process of developing such a training!! She also isn’t rushing the process and knows that timing (and alignment) are everything.
One thing to note: the work being done via SmartBody SmartMind™ (SBSM™), and most importantly, the mastery of it, will be a prerequisite to be accepted into this future professional training. So joining SBSM™, doing the work, and applying it to your current work/life reality, as much as possible, is an important step for when Irene’s professional training does launch.
If you are looking to find a practitioner for private sessions, Irene strongly suggests taking some time to watch a video she created detailing “How to find a good practitioner.”
We also recommend taking a look over the Team Lyon page as many have their own practices and accept clients. You can find their respective websites through an internet search.
Two directories that might be of help are:
Somatic Experiencing practitioners: https://directory.traumahealing.org/
Feldenkrais practitioners: https://feldenkrais.com/practitioner-search/
No. Irene is not taking private clients at this time. The best ways in which you can work with her are through her 21 Day Nervous System Tune-Up or SmartBody SmartMind™ (SBSM™) programs.
Irene Lyon MSC. has a Master’s Degree in Biomedical and Health Science from the University of Wollongong (New South Wales, Australia).
She is a SEP – Somatic Experiencing Practitioner – and was trained under former SE trainer Steven Hoskinson. Irene has assisted at Somatic Experiencing Trainings in Canada and Australia, and has also had the good fortune to assist at numerous Master Classes exclusively led by the founder of Somatic Experiencing, Peter Levine. Irene has also trained directly with Kathy Kain (founder of Somatic Practice) and Stephen Terrell, and has completed both the Touch Skills Training (TST) and Somatic Resilience and Regulation Training (SRR).
Irene is also a certified Feldenkrais ® Practitioner.
In addition to her Master’s Degree in Biomedical and Health Science, Irene has also earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise and Health Science from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, along with certificates in fitness and nutrition from Simon Fraser University.
We get A LOT of questions around how Irene’s work compares to other systems of healing that are out there, especially other online programs.
It’s important to understand that everyone is different and how a person responds to any mode of treatment or therapeutic protocol depends on factors like their trauma history, the work they’ve already done, and the level of support they have amongst other variables.
All that is to say that we can’t directly vouch for other programs, but we can vouch for the quality of Irene’s work and programs. Some of the things that set it apart from anything else we are aware of are:
- The depth of education offered on very complex topics like Polyvagal Theory and nervous system-based trauma healing. It is crucial to understand what is happening inside you and why, and Irene has a powerful ability to convey this intricate education in a way that is easy to understand.
- The focus is not on ‘fixing you’, or giving you ‘hacks’ that provide short-term relief, but rather on helping you learn how to understand and work with your own system such that you can become your own medicine for life. It’s a curriculum you can return to again and again, as you journey towards mastering your own system and forever changing the way you relate to yourself and your environment.
- The level of professional level support offered in Irene’s paid online programs is unmatched by anything else we know of. Irene’s team of nervous system and trauma healing experts are there to answer your questions and support you along your way.
If you are brand new to Irene’s work, a great place to start is by visiting the New Here page on this website.
Then, if you find this work resonates with you, the 21 Day Nervous System Tune-Up is a self-study online course that teaches you the basics of healing trauma and nervous system health. It’s the perfect blend of Polyvagal Theory and somatic neurosensory exercises to get you started on this journey.
If you want to dive deeper, you can check out the more in-depth SmartBody SmartMind™ (SBSM™) program. SBSM™ is an online group program that runs in 12-week ‘semesters’ once or twice a year, and teaches you how to become your own medicine. Its focus is to restore nervous system regulation through polyvagal-informed education, practical neurosensory exercises, and interactive support.
There are also these regular offerings from Irene:
Visit our programs to learn more on how we can help you
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