Our embodied presence and the climate crisis

We are nature. How we take care of our bodies, our nervous systems, each other and the natural world is intertwined and in constant resonance. The devastating impacts of climate change cannot be addressed by technology or policy alone. They demand a broader cultural shift—one rooted in the understanding that our capacity to respond to the climate crisis is intimately connected to the state of our own nervous systems, particularly the vagus nerve. There is an increase of attention towards our very own bodies and emerging research highlights how the functioning of the vagus nerve, along with practices like mindfulness, awe, and gratitude can create inner transformation that increases our ability to engage with the climate crisis in meaningful ways (Wamsler, 2018). For, when we are transformed, we transform the world. This experiential workshop will explore the profound connections between our bodies, emotions, and the natural world. We’ll examine how trauma impacts the nervous system and how creative practices—rooted in mindfulness, awe, and gratitude—can foster healing, resilience, both individually and collectively. Special attention will be given to the role of the vagus nerve in regulating stress responses and cultivating well-being. Through creative arts therapies methods, participants will engage in embodied exercises and reflective practices designed to support both inner and outer sustainability. Participants will leave with simple, tools to harness the regenerative forces of awe and gratitude—tools that not only support the nervous system but also mobilize us toward collective action and ecological care.

About the workshop facilitator:

Bonnie Harnden joined Concordia University as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2007 after working 12 years at theMontreal Children's Hospital Department of psychiatry.  At the Children's, her clinical and research work was focused on healing psychopathology in children and high risk youth through building resiliency, and working with parents to build and strengthen attachment patterns and family communication.  Bonnie is currently involved withresearch at the Montreal Children's hospital involving adolescents diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and is alsoinvestigating the use of play therapy and its effectiveness inalleviating the symptoms of depression in children. Bonnie is also working on an arts-based research project which is an auto-ethnographyperformance piece. This piece explores the mother-daughter relationshipand the development of sexuality in women and how trauma mediates this relationship and the  development of sexuality.  Thisresearch/performance piece will be presented this fall in New York atthe drama therapy conference.  In addition, Bonnie is also a psychoanalytic candidate and in private practice with individuals,couples, and families.