January arrives with a chorus of invitations to reset, resolve, improve, and become something new. We are encouraged to look ahead, to set goals, and to decide who we will be by the end of the year.
But many of us seem to forget that January is also the heart of winter, where the earth is quiet and the roots are drawing inward. During this time, nature is not rushing to produce. It is resting, conserving, and preparing.
Our bodies often mirror this rhythm, even when our minds resist it.
When Life Forces the Pause
This January 1st, I didn’t start the year with a list of resolutions. Instead, our family headed to Florida to be with my aging parents. Their struggles have reached a crisis point. My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over ten years ago, and my mother—the primary caregiver for him and my youngest sister, who has non-verbal Down syndrome—is now facing her own clear cognitive decline.
It feels as though it happened overnight. My mother, once an astute businesswoman, is now lost in a maze of predatory mail and scam emails. She is losing the financial stability she spent her life building, and as the oldest of four daughters, I find myself moving within a storm while searching for its center. We need to make changes, but my parents are resistant.
In the midst of our very busy life, I feel the urge to force change, to fix, to move faster. There is a familiar pressure to apply more effort, more direction, more control— But walking through my parents’ home, sharing stories of our lives together that neither of them remembers, I am reminded of a harder, deeper truth: I must listen to my body.
This way of listening is foundational to our work, and still, it does not come easily to me.
When Change Moves More Slowly Than We Expect
We tend to imagine transitions as moments—a decision, a date on the calendar, or a clean line between before and after. But lived experience tells a different story.
The most significant transitions—Birth, grief, healing, and the long goodbye of dementia—unfold over time. They move through the body before they ever make sense in words. They require pacing, responsiveness, and an attunement to what can be held in each moment.
There is always an in-between space: a place where the old has not fully released and the new has not yet taken shape.
Dementia can be “crazy-making”; it is confusing for everyone involved. This space can feel uncomfortable and unclear. It is tempting to rush through the grief or to push through the exhaustion.
But this is also the most fertile ground we have.
When I slow down enough to remain present in this difficult space, I begin to notice the subtle shifts. Breath changes. My body softens or tightens in response. I receive information before I have words for it. I realize that I can either push through with force, or I can allow myself to grieve and really pause on this ground.
Letting the Body Speak First
Before choosing a direction for the year ahead, it can be helpful to begin with a different set of questions.
What sensations are present in your body right now?
What do you notice when you pause amidst the “crisis”?
What experiences from last year are still echoing through you?
What kind of presence do you want to bring into the year?
Embodiment begins by asking these questions and answering them in full. It is a practice of listening before acting, of noticing readiness rather than demanding compliance.
This kind of listening creates space where we allow clarity to emerge naturally. When we begin with the body, the path forward becomes less about forcing change and more about responding to what is ready to unfold—even when what is unfolding is painful.
This Year, Let Connection Lead
Every interaction is shaped by the state you bring into it. Whether you are working with horses, navigating a difficult conversation with a parent, or moving through ordinary moments, your body, breath, and awareness quietly influence how connection unfolds. Others respond first to your nervous system long before they respond to your words.
When you tend to your own regulation, you create the conditions for relationships to deepen with greater ease.
Instead of striving to “do” more this year, you might begin by cultivating presence. By noticing timing, honoring resistance, and allowing trust to build at its own pace.
This approach invites a steadier awareness—a way of being that allows connection to grow without force and supports meaningful change as it emerges, rather than pushing it into being.
I am often reminded of this when I step into the pasture. If I approach the herd carrying urgency or distraction, they keep their distance. But when I soften my breath, slow my pace, and wait—watching and listening first—answers arise, closeness comes naturally. Nothing is forced. The connection happens when the body feels safe enough to say yes.
Ready to Explore Further?
These ideas are at the heart of a new experiential training we are offering this winter and spring. Know Yourself, Know Your Horse begins with embodied awareness and gently expands into relational work with horses, who offer immediate feedback about presence, pressure, and attunement, offering space to explore connection from the inside out.
There is no demand to arrive anywhere specific. The invitation is simply to begin with the body and allow the year ahead to unfold from a place of deeper presence.
Give a fish and hunger fades.
Teach the hands and lives are changed.
This holy season, we are called
To give in ways that lift us all—
A garden starts with just one seed,
A helping hand, a caring deed.
Not only for a single day,
But for the years that stretch away.
Through Gifts for Life, our giving grows:
In seeds and tools, in skills bestowed.
A bike to ride from home to home,
So helpers travel, not alone.
A goat, a cow, some chickens too,
Milk and eggs and futures new.
In fruit trees planted, strong and wise,
With mango, banana, and other surprise.
A hive that hums, sweet honey made,
A classroom bright where fear can fade.
In mothers cared for, babies fed,
In water clean, in hopes widespread.
In learning sparked, in labor shared,
In dignity restored through care.
We give with joy, and in our view,
The children’s art shines bright and true.
Small hands creating, spirits brave,
A lasting gift of love we save.
May what we give continue on,
Long after Christmas lights are gone.
A lasting gift from open hearts—
This is where the harvest starts.
Give today, and help a family thrive far beyond the season.
Giving That Carries Forward
The children at Old Mill Creek Schoolhouse at NL Headquarters wanted their holiday generosity to live past Christmas morning, to meet real needs, and to support families in ways that last. Through a partnership with Episcopal Relief Fund’s Gifts for Life program and St. Cecilia’s Round Top, that hope has finally taken shape.
Through this outreach, donors can support families with life-giving resources like livestock or beehives that provide nourishment and income long after the holidays have passed. In return, donors receive a small keepsake featuring a child’s artwork from Old Mill Creek Schoolhouse. It is a simple token that holds two stories at once – a family supported with dignity, and a child who learned that generosity can create lasting change.
We give more during the holidays than at any other time of year. We donate. We shop. We look for ways to express care and gratitude through tangible gifts. The season opens our hearts, often in beautiful ways.
And yet, while generosity peaks during the holidays, the needs people face do not follow a seasonal calendar. Most families who are struggling were struggling long before December arrived.
As part of their learning, they spent time researching the ethics of holiday giving. They asked honest, thoughtful questions:
Why does giving increase so dramatically in December?
Why does the need remain steady throughout the year?
What makes a gift truly helpful, not just meaningful in the moment?
What they discovered shaped everything that followed.
Thinking Beyond the Moment
The children learned that while generosity increases during the holidays, hunger, poverty, and instability do not follow the same seasonal rhythm. That realization stayed with them.
They wanted to help, but did not want to give in a way that felt temporary or symbolic. They wanted to do something that would last – something that would support families long after Christmas morning.
In their words, they wanted a gift that keeps on giving – a lasting gift.
That search led them to Gifts for Life (by way of St. Cecilia’s Episcopal Church in Round Top, Texas), a program of Episcopal Relief Fund that focuses on sustainable, dignity-centered support for families. Instead of short-term aid, Gifts for Life offers tangible resources like livestock, beehives, and farming tools, along with training when needed, so families can build income, nourishment, and long-term stability.
For the children, the appeal was simple and practical. A goat could help a family earn income and meet daily needs. A cow could strengthen food security in a lasting way. A beehive could provide ongoing income through honey. Each gift carried the possibility of continuity rather than consumption.
Where Art Meets Impact
Once the children chose the gifts they wanted to support, they looked for a way to invite others into the project. They turned to art.
Each child created an original drawing inspired by a Gifts for Life offering, and those drawings were transformed into small magnets that include information about the gift. When someone supports a family through Gifts for Life, they receive one of these magnets as a simple reminder of the connection they helped create.
The response was immediate.
People were drawn to the chance to support families in a lasting way. Grandparents purchased gifts in honor of their grandchildren, and families used the magnets to spark conversations about generosity and responsibility.
Long after the holidays ended, the artwork remained visible, quietly telling the story of what had been made possible. By the end of the season, this small school community in partnership with St. Cecilia’s Round Top, had raised more than $7,000. Seeing that impact mattered for the children. Their ideas had traveled far beyond the classroom and that understanding stayed with them.
Growing the Vision This Year
This year, the project has grown alongside the children.
In addition to new artwork representing additional Gifts for Life options, the children have created full-size drawings that are now available as framed prints through a silent auction. All proceeds from the auction go directly toward funding Gifts for Life. If an auction raises more than the cost of a single gift, the additional funds simply purchase several gifts, supporting more families through the same life-giving program.
Most importantly, the children will be able to see the total raised. They will know what their work made possible. After all, children deserve to understand their impact. They deserve to see that their ideas, creativity, and care can move beyond intention and into real change.
Choose a Gift That Gives Life
This season, you are invited to take part in the work these children have been shaping with care and intention.
Each gift below supports a family through Episcopal Relief Fund’s Gifts for Life program, offering sustainable resources like livestock and beehives that help meet daily needs while building long-term stability. When you choose a gift, you will receive a piece of original artwork created by a child from Old Mill Creek Schoolhouse, a small but meaningful reminder of the connection you helped create.
You may also choose to participate in the silent auction for framed, full-size prints of the children’s artwork, with all proceeds supporting Gifts for Life and extending the impact even further.
If you feel drawn to this work, we welcome you to take part. Your choice helps families build stability and allows children to see the impact of what they have created.
Thank you for being part of this story, and may this season bring warmth, meaning, and care into your days.
TWO WAYS TO GIVE: This Holiday Give the Gift of Sustainability
Bid in our Silent Auction to own a framed print of the children’s artwork!
All proceeds go to Gifts for Life via St. Cecilia’s, so the kids can see the difference they’re making. Click here to bid!
Give online and receive a magnet featuring the children’s artwork
Donate online via St. Cecilia’s (choose “Gifts for Life” at the very bottom of the drop down menu) or give cash/check at St. Cecilia’s in Round Top, Texas.
After you have donated, fill out this form telling us how much you donated and which gift you want to buy so we can send you a magnet featuring the children’s artwork and make sure your money goes to the correct gift.
Double your impact! Gifts for Life is matching donations up to $1 million this holiday season!
Check out the available gifts below!
Provide Care for Moms and Newborns
$35 for one Mother and Child
Purchase this gift to connect expectant mothers with local health care providers and critical education programming about food and nutrition to keep both mother and baby healthy.
Artwork by Mabel Jobe ~ 7 years old (2025)
Give Fruit Trees
$35 for a share
Purchase this gift to provide fruit trees such as passion fruit, mango, avocado, and banana, which provide long-term sustainable sources of nutrition and income – and can be planted on hillsides for erosion control.
Artwork by Cooper Jobe ~ 11 years old (2025)
Give a Bicycle
$95 for one bike
Purchase this gift to help community volunteers in rural areas cover greater distances, reach more homes, and spend more time with their families.
Artwork by Adeline Forman ~ 8 years old (2025)
Give a Family Garden
$175 for one Family Garden
Purchase this gift to provide seeds, training, and education for families to created low-cost, low-effort kitchen gardens that produce fresh fruits and vegetables they can use to diversify the nutritional value of meals and generate income by selling surpluses.
Artwork by Hudson Forman ~ 11 years old (2025)
Provide Education for Children Affected by AIDS
$80 for one Child
Purchase this gift to bring trained volunteer teachers, school supplies, curriculum, and learning materials to pre-school children whose lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Artwork by Rocco Kenisell ~ 9 years old (2025)
Give Seeds, Tools, and Training
$45 for a share
Purchase this gift to help communities thrive with seeds, climate-smart agricultural training, and quality farm tools to cultivate a sustainable food supply.
Artwork by Silas Brewster ~ 6 years old (2025)
Give a Beehive
$35 for One Hive
Purchase this gift which leads to increased food security and helps provide their keepers with a reliable source of income.
Artwork by Cooper Jobe ~ 10 years old (2024)
Give a Cow
$65 for a Share
or
$630 for One Cow
With a milk-producing cow, a family has a steady supply of nourishment and can sell surplus milk to better provide for themselves.
Artwork by Mabel Jobe ~ 6 years old (2024)
Give a Flock of Chickens
$25 for One Share
or
$135 for One Flock
Purchase this gift as animals are often at the center of investment and income generation. Empower families to make their own financial choices with a flock of chickens to raise additional poultry and sell surplus stock and eggs in the marketplace.
Artwork by Cooper Jobe ~ 10 years old (2024)
Give a Pig
$20 for One Share
or
$100 for One Pig
Offer families financial security and access to food by training them to raise and sell pigs, which reproduce quickly and are ready for market in just six months.
Artwork by Hudson Forman ~ 10 years old
Give a Goat
$80 for One Goat
Purchase this gift so a family may have a stable source of milk, cheese and manure for farming.
Artwork by Hudson Forman, 10 years old (2024)
Give a Gift of Clean Water
$35 for One Person
or
$215 for One Family
Purchase this gift to ensure access to the most crucial element of health and resilience – clean water – which prevents the spread of illness and deadly disease.
Artwork by Mabel Jobe ~ 6 years old (2024)
Give Today
Remember, there are two ways to give:
Bid in our Silent Auction to own a framed print of the children’s artwork!
All proceeds go to Gifts for Life via St. Cecilia’s, so the kids can see the difference they’re making. Click here to bid!
Give online and receive a magnet featuring the children’s artwork
Donate online via St. Cecilia’s (choose “Gifts for Life” at the very bottom of the drop down menu) or give cash/check at St. Cecilia’s in Round Top, Texas.
After you have donated, fill out this form telling us how much you donated and which gift you want to buy so we can send you a magnet featuring the children’s artwork and make sure your money goes to the correct gift.
Double your impact! Gifts for Life is matching donations up to $1 million this holiday season!
I remember exactly where I was when the world shut down in 2020.
I was in the middle of leading one of my favorite trainings: our Personal Immersion. We had just begun diving into attachment history and attachment wounding. It was deep, sacred work.
I stepped inside to grab water and tissues for someone, and the woman hosting us looked at me wide-eyed. She had just come from the store, and the shelves were empty. She showed me a picture. Just the day before, everything had looked normal. That day, it looked like mayhem.
By the time I got home, I walked into the living room and there was an announcement on the TV about the lockdown. That moment, much like 9/11, etched itself into my memory. I’ll never forget it.
The next morning, our entire staff gathered on a call. At the time, our livelihood came from hosting 67 in-person trainings every year. In one day, all of it evaporated. We wouldn’t be able to make payroll in three weeks if we didn’t do something.
So we did something big.
The Pivot That Changed Everything
We dropped everything else and worked like I’ve never seen us work before. Day and night, texting at 1:00 a.m., everyone contributing to one singular task: create an online version of the Fundamentals of NL.
In just three weeks, we launched the first fully virtual Fundamentals.
And you know what? It worked.
Not only did it keep our community connected and learning in a time of deep isolation, but it kept our business afloat and expanded our reach in ways we hadn’t imagined. People could learn at their own pace. They could pause, breathe, reflect—something especially important when studying trauma. They could rewatch videos of horse interactions and see subtle moments they might have missed in person.
For many, it was life-changing.
But Five Years Later…
Something has shifted again.
In 2020, online learning was a lifeline. It gave us connection when the world forced us into isolation. But five years later, so many of us are exhausted from endless video learning.
I’ve said it myself more times than I can count: I am tired of watching videos online all by myself.
The truth is, pre-recorded content can only go so far. Teaching is about attunement, about watching how a lesson lands, listening for questions, and adjusting in real time. That’s what I miss the most.
When we taught in person, the content was always evolving. We adjusted constantly based on student feedback, new research, and what we were learning in the moment.
But with pre-recorded videos, the content stayed largely the same. For five years, while research advanced and our own organizational learning deepened, the Fundamentals curriculum stayed mostly the same.
But that’s about to change.
Why We’re Introducing Fundamentals LIVE
This fall marks the biggest shift to Fundamentals since 2020.
For the first time, you can join us for LIVE Fundamentals: eight weeks of real-time learning with me, Tim, Kate, and Tanner. Instead of static videos, you’ll step into dynamic, relational teaching that responds to your needs and the rest of the group’s––in the moment.
LIVE Fundamentals also gives us the chance to finally integrate what we’ve been wanting to bring forward: updated research, new practices, and more effective ways of teaching.
Teaching live allows me and the rest of our team to attune to the group and to notice what’s resonating, respond to questions as they surface, and adjust in real time. That shared rhythm is what makes live learning so powerful, and it’s something pre-recorded content simply can’t replicate.
The Commitment of Live Learning
Live learning comes with commitment, from you and from us.
For you, it means setting aside time twice a week at 3:00 to 5:00 pm, four hours of synchronous learning. It is less flexible than asynchronous videos, but far more rewarding. Synchronous means rhythmic. It means we come together, find a rhythm as a group, and move through this learning in step with one another.
For us, it means showing up fully prepared, to not only teach what we know, but to build on it based on where the group is going. It means customizing the training, not just repeating a script. It’s a bigger investment for all of us, and a bigger return.
Many of our trainers themselves have taken Fundamentals more than once because each time you revisit it, you embody it more deeply.
So if you’ve felt like you missed something the first time, this is your chance. You don’t have to travel or spend money for lodging —just real-time, relational learning, right where you are.
From Crisis to Choice
In 2020, we pivoted out of necessity.
In 2025, we’re pivoting out of vision.
We don’t have to accept the current state of disconnection as the new normal. We can take what worked from 2020, leave what no longer serves, and create the future of learning together.
That’s what this shift is about.
Your Invitation
So I’ll leave you with this: What did 2020 change for you? And what kind of learning do you long for now?
If you’re ready for connection;
If you want to experience this work in real time;
If you’re ready to revisit Fundamentals, or step into it for the very first time, I invite you to join us.
Fundamentals of Natural Lifemanship: LIVE Cohort
September 8 – December 3, 2025
Online, with weekly live sessions
Register for Fundamentals LIVE >>
And if you’ve already taken the Fundamentals and want to just take the LIVE learning component, please email Clair@naturallifemanship.com for a discount code.
I hope you’ll join us in this new chapter of learning.
In my twenties I went on a silent retreat at a convent that my spiritual director recommended. This was the very beginning of a contemplative journey that I am so glad to have begun.
During this time, I was at a crossroads and I needed this chance to step away and go inward, a skill at which I was certainly not practiced. I met with a priest whom I had never met before. I was among people I did not know. Truly, it was a rich experience that I will never forget. I was, indeed, able to make a very difficult decision about my life during those days.
However, after this retreat, I recall calling every single family member and friend who would answer their phone and talking on the telephone for HOURS. I don’t think I even talked about my experience at the retreat – actually, I have no idea what I talked about. I know now that I was frenetically trying to reconnect to others and to my world.
I was also left feeling that this is what retreats and personal growth are like – lonely and disconnected. At the time, I conflated the experience of being physically alone with the feeling of loneliness and the pain of disconnection from others.
About a year later I went on another retreat at a place where the hosts knew me, loved me, understood my intentions, and silently held space for my experience. This retreat was still silent, it was still self-guided, and I was still physically alone most of the time.
But I was not lonely and I felt a deep sense of connection to those hosting me. I felt held and seen and understood. I recently re-read some of the journal entries I made at those two retreats. The second retreat brought so much more peace and joy and hope – of course! I was regulated and connected with those who were holding me in their hearts while I grappled, grieved, and sought solace, guidance, and rest. I left feeling a deep connection to myself, others, and the world around me.
Two Kinds of Retreats
There are a couple of different definitions of the word “retreat.” The first is to fall back or withdraw. This is what happened when I went to that first retreat. I felt isolated, lonely and disconnected.
But the definition I like is a period of time set aside for rest, meditation, or study – away from the usual daily distractions – where you can regulate your nervous system and reconnect with self. This is how my second retreat felt. It was a purposeful getaway aimed at self reflection, healing, and personal growth.
Most importantly, I was still attuned to the people and the setting I was in, while making space to work on my mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. Likewise, my hosts were attuned to me.
This is the kind of retreat we’ve created at Natural Lifemanship Headquarters.
Nourished: NL Self Care Retreats
Stress, burnout, and disconnection from our inner selves is all too common — especially among helping professionals who already carry so much.
Since the very beginning, we’ve always felt that NL’s headquarters in Brenham, Texas, is more than just a place to train. It’s your place to unplug and unwind while we hold space for you. And unlike the first retreat I went on, our Nourished Self-Care Retreats are not about withdrawal or disconnection. It’s exactly the opposite, actually.
We start by welcoming you and giving you a tour of the property so you know how you can use the space. Then you’ll have an opportunity to set intentions for your stay with us – to be seen, felt, and heard. After that, you will guide your own schedule and experience, but we will hold space for you and give you time away from other demands to care for and invest in yourself in a very purposeful way. At the end of your time with us, you’ll meet with one of our team members again to reflect on the experience and decide what to carry with you as you travel home.
You belong here, with us
I love this quote from Wendell Berry:
“A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define and limit the possibilities of each other’s lives. It is the knowledge that people have of each other, their concern for each other, their trust in each other, the freedom with which they come and go among themselves.”
~ Wendell Berry, A Long-Legged House
Being a member of a community, like Natural Lifemanship, is not just about belonging to a group or a people. It’s also about belonging to a place.
When you’re going through a process of personal transformation and renewal, there are parts of that journey you need to take on your own. But you do not have to withdraw or disconnect to be on your own. When you are on a solitary leg of your journey, it is of utmost importance that you still have a compassionate witness to your experience.
As a part of Natural Lifemanship’s beloved community, you have a home here at NL Headquarters always. It’s a home for training and learning and connecting. But it’s also your home for healing and rebuilding and rising from the ashes.
When it’s time for you to retreat, we want to invite you home, to your place. You will be surrounded by a community that loves you while having the space – and place – for growth.
Constellations are landmarks. They are a guide and a navigational tool. But they are not formed by going from Point A to Point B.
You need at least three stars to form a constellation.
The same is true for your learning journey with Natural Lifemanship.
We often think of a learning journey as one with mileposts that we use to figure out how far along we are relative to “the end” or finish line.
At Natural Lifemanship, we invite you to think about your learning journey as one made up of constellations, not mileposts. It’s not about going from start to finish, but about uncovering clusters of meaning along the way.
Those clusters are made up of opportunities to learn, to practice, and to grow in community. This is exactly why we created the Natural Lifemanship Membership many years ago.
Build your constellation with NL Membership
Here are some ways we create constellations within NL Membership to move you toward your goals:
Learning
Membership includes over 100 hours of videos and compilations, more than 45 CE credits currently available, and videos and courses being added regularly. Take a look at the content lineup below to see exactly what you’ll have access to as an NL Member!
Practicing
Free events for Members, plus discounts on select events to practice what you’re learning. This includes:
Connect with your peers and build a community of supportive colleagues through:
Our online community for members through Circle
Community Connection Circles
Coffee & Horses virtual meetups
Networking opportunities
This is just the beginning of what you get with NL Membership. We will be announcing new opportunities to connect and learn in person this year, too!
Membership Content by Category
Here’s a look at Membership content by category, along with descriptions and CEs, where available.
NL BASICS
>13 hours of video; 9 CE credits available
Animal Welfare Issues are also Clinical Issues
Tim Jobe and Bettina Shultz-Jobe discuss how to recognize animal welfare issues, including those that lead to behavior issues and burnout. They share how a lack of awareness in this area can impact our clients.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Distance Doesn’t Have to Mean Disconnection
Learn about the foundational role that detachment (physical distance) plays in forming a secure attachment. Learn how we can help ourselves and others get the relational experiences we didn’t get during development.
1 Hour/1 CE
Doing Attachment-Based Work
Gain a concrete understanding of attachment-based work, why it is important, and why understanding attachment-based work is critical when doing telehealth or transitioning between in-person and telehealth sessions.
1 Hour/1 CE
Introduction to NL
Learn the history and big ideas of Natural Lifemanship, how Natural Lifemanship principles are applied in relationships with horses, and how the NL principles facilitate connection and healing.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Introduction to NL and Trauma Informed Care for Service Organizations
This course lays a foundation for shifting organizational culture to become more trauma informed. Learn trauma-informed principles for building connected relationships that help to heal and reorganize the brain.
4.5 Hours/4.5 CEs
Natural Lifemanship Trauma Informed Care for Parents and Caregivers
NL co-founders, Tim and Bettina Jobe, teach parents relationship principles that help children learn to self-regulate and build healthy relationships, and why these are important especially when parenting children who have experienced trauma.
2.25 Hours/0 CEs
Support or Rescue
Bettina Shultz-Jobe discusses the difference between offering support and rescuing in the context of the therapeutic relationship. She discusses why this matters from a neurobiological and attachment perspective.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Trauma Informed and Developmentally Sensitive Schools
Learn science-based principles for creating trauma-informed and developmentally sensitive classrooms and schools. NL relationship principles provide a framework for translating principles into effective practices.
2.25 Hours/2.25 CEs
Trauma Informed Care and Trauma Informed Relationships are for Everyone
The truth is that most of us have experienced some level of trauma. Trauma informed care (TIC) is about becoming empowered to organize or reorganize the brain by understanding how the brain and body develop.
1 Hours/0 CEs
When Two Cultures Collide
Tim and Bettina discuss belief systems and principles that have historically prevailed in the horse world creating cultures that may collide or that may coalesce to bring about health and healing for horse and human, alike.
1 Hours/0 CEs
CONNECTED HORSEMANSHIP
>25 hours of video
Catching Your Horse with Connection
Watch as Natural Lifemanship trainer, Tanner Jobe, demonstrates and explains how to catch and halter a horse with connection.
.25 Hours/0 CEs
Centering
Learn a process for becoming more present to yourself and others. Shannon Knapp demonstrates a process of centering as a way to get in touch with yourself prior to engaging with a horse.
.25 Hours/0 CEs
Connected Horsemanship Deep Dive Workshop
Learn how the process of building a connected relationship in Natural Lifemanship is guided by principles and by a particular responsiveness to THIS relationship, rather than by techniques uniformly applied to all relationships.
3 Hours/0 CEs
Determining if the Relationship is Ready for Riding
As the relationship between a client and horse progresses, the therapy team and the client may decide it’s the right time to explore connection while mounted; however, how do they know if the client’s horse is ready for this next stage of intimacy?
.25 Hours/0 CEs
Developing Felt Safety with Attachment and Detachment
In this video, Tanner works with a new horse named Lizzie and demonstrates how to ask for connection through attachment and detachment. The goal is for Lizzie to stay connected, even in more stressful or unfamiliar spaces.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Equine Essentials: Body Language, Posture, Expressions, and Movement
There are a lot of opinions in the field about what various horse behaviors and physical cues mean; but in any relationship, and especially those with our equine companions, understanding body language and behavior is actually very nuanced. With this course, you will gain skill and confidence in your interactions with horses. Learn the essentials to better understand, care for, and connect with horses. This series is ideal for all equine-assisted/facilitated practitioners and especially those who apply the Natural Lifemanship process. To offer this series, we partnered with horse trainer and riding instructor, Callie King.
1.5 Hours/0 CEs
Facebook Live Collection – Connected Horsemanship
Each video in this collection was originally shot and shared via Facebook Live. Observe the many nuances of building connection in each encounter between a particular human and a particular horse at a particular moment in time.
6 Hours/0 CEs
Haltering with Connection
How might we approach a routine task such as haltering as an opportunity to build connection in our relationship with our horse? Tanner demonstrates how he asks Oreo to be connected and to say “yes” to being haltered.
.5 Hours/0 CEs
Integrating Equine Bodywork in TF-EAP
Learn to apply NL principles while connecting with your horse through equine bodywork. Learn a simple technique to help your horse release tension and learn how the technique may be incorporated into work with clients using the NL process.
2 Hours/0 CEs
Learning about Connection with a Wild Horse
NL co-founder, Tim Jobe, demonstrates how he begins to work with a wild horse in ways that build connection. He discusses how he applies the NL principles throughout the process.
.5 Hours/0 CEs
Relationship Basics with Frieda
In this series of 19 videos, Tim and Bettina build a connected and cooperative partnership with their rescue horse, Frieda. Learn the nuances of the NL process through this series of demonstrations.
4 Hours/0 CEs
Tanner & Nina: Preparing for Mounting
Tanner builds his relationship with Nina starting with asking her to attach in the pasture to follow him into the covered arena. Once in the arena, they work on refining their attachment and detachment and positioning around the mounting block.
1.5 Hours/0 CEs
The Complexity of Touch
NL is a practice of restoring and repairing connection in our relationships whenever and however it is lost. Trust and intimacy are built through thousands of micro-repairs. Bettina and Tanner work on restoring connection around touch with Apollo.
3 Hours/0 CEs
The Process of Mounting at Liberty
Tanner works with Lady to help her become comfortable positioning her body around the mounting block. Through working on connection they build the trust and communication needed for mounting.
1.5 Hours/0 CEs
SPECIFIC POPULATIONS
>12.5 hours of video; 12.5 CE Credits available
NL for Groups
NL Trainers, Sara Sherman of Discovery Horse and Reccia Jobe of Pecan Creek Ranch, teach and model just how easy and effective it can be to incorporate NL principles into a variety of group settings.
3.25 Hours/3 CEs
NL for Veterans and First Responders
This course includes content on how to apply NL principles to working with veterans and first responders. The presentations cover important skills for working with each population.
5.5 Hours/5.5 CEs
Telehealth with Children and Families when they have been doing EAP
How does one move an equine-assisted practice indoors, or even virtual via telehealth? Learn some helpful ways to transition to telehealth with clients who are accustomed to working outside with you and with horses.
1 Hour/1 CE
The Disease of Disconnection: Applying Natural Lifemanship Principles to the Treatment of Substance-Use Disorders
Addiction is a disease of Disconnection. Its symptoms: Isolation, Fear and Loneliness. This workshop introduces you to a trauma-informed understanding of addiction to reveal the underlying factors that create and perpetuate the addiction cycle.
3 Hours/3 CEs
THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES AND THEORETICAL ORIENTATION
>21.5 hours of video; 12 CE Credits available
Breathing Practices for Nervous System Awareness and Regulation
This practical and engaging two-part workshop explores how bringing awareness to our breath can help us better understand ourselves, and how we can use breath deliberately to support our wellbeing and navigate challenges.
2.5 Hours/2.5 CEs
Conversation with Bonnie Badenoch, Author of The Heart of Trauma
Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, LMFT is the best selling author of The Heart of Trauma. This rich conversation ventures deeply into the science of what it means to be a healing presence for others.
2 Hours/2 CEs
Finding Your Rhythm: Therapeutic Drumming
Enhance connection through rhythm while enriching therapeutic work with people and horses. Learn a specific healing protocol including exercises for wellness, connecting to the rhythm of the group, expressing feelings, and guided imagery.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Healing Attachment Wounds through Movement
Our attachment style and way of relating in the world is developed preverbally. As such, attachment wounding must be addressed somatically. Learn how connecting to the way an embryo moves and develops can help us sense into our bodies powerfully.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Introduction to Equine Connected EMDR (EC-EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an effective, extensively researched method for helping people recover from trauma. Learn how Trauma-Focused EAP supports and enhances EMDR in Equine-Connected EMDR (EC-EMDR).
3 Hours/3 CEs
Mindfulness Practices to Build Connection
NL Trainer, Shannon Knapp, presents on Mindfulness Practices to Build Connection. Following the presentation, a small group gathers at an experiential workshop to learn and experience how these practices may look in session with a horse.
2 Hours/0 CEs
Preparing the Horse and Client for (Mounted) Trauma Processing
Rhythmic Riding is utilized to build an internal sense of connection and a level of integration in the brain prior to processing traumatic events. Learn to prepare horse and client for this powerful work.
4 Hours/4 CEs
Processing Trauma with the Help of Horses
How do we process trauma in a connected way with a client who is deeply dysregulated, doesn’t desire or feel connection, isn’t ready to make requests for relationship, has deep attachment wounding, and who has experienced severe trauma?
2 Hours/0 CEs
Rainy Day Activities
Have you ever wondered what to do in your sessions on a rainy day or during the long winter months? Learn how one can still do Natural Lifemanship when circumstances prevent partnering with horses.
4 Hours/4 CEs
Rhythmic Riding Demonstration
This video demonstrates how mounted work may facilitate regulation of the brain, integration, and modulation of the stress response. Completion of the Fundamentals of NL training is recommended prior to watching.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) is a trauma and attachment therapy model that focuses on the body to connect with and process traumatic material. Learn foundational tenets of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, founded by Pat Ogden.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Somatic Experiencing, Attachment and Touch
Learn how Somatic Experiencing®, Attachment and Touch interweave in trauma treatment involving humans and equines. Includes presentation and experiential workshop.
2.25 Hours/0 CEs
Tapping into Peace: Percussive Tapping Techniques for Self-Regulation and Soothing
Learn the origins of EFT and the ways it can be effective in helping our bodies regulate around physical and emotional stress. The presenters show the tapping points involved in the technique and lead the audience through EFT.
1.5 Hours/0 CEs
The Journey into Self-Leadership: Integrating the Internal Family Systems Model with EAS
This presentation by Jenn Pagone, LCPC provides a fundamental understanding of the IFS model and how it may be effectively integrated with an equine-assisted practice informed by Natural Lifemanship.
4.5 Hours/4.5 CEs
BUSINESS, ETHICS, AND THE FIELD AT LARGE/WEBINARS
>17 hours of video; 4 CE Credits available
Animal Welfare Issues are also Clinical Issues
Tim Jobe and Bettina Shultz-Jobe discuss how to recognize animal welfare issues, including those that lead to behavior issues and burnout. They share how a lack of awareness in this area can impact our clients.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Business Building 101
Building a business in equine-assisted services can be daunting. Let industry experts, Shannon Knapp and Bettina Shultz-Jobe be your guides! Learn about the multiple considerations that can make or break an EAS business.
3 Hours/3 CEs
Ethical Dilemmas Specific to the Field of Equine Assisted Practice and Psychotherapy
This webinar discusses the many ethical dilemmas specific to Equine Assisted Services. It is critical for practitioners to embrace strong ethical values and guidelines as they navigate the inevitable complications that arise.
1 Hour/1 CEs
Research, Program Evaluation & Documentation: A Collection of Resources
This compilation provides information and resources related to research, program evaluation, and documentation in equine-assisted services, particularly services informed by the Natural Lifemanship.
7 Hours/0 CEs
Support or Rescue
Bettina Shultz-Jobe discusses the difference between offering support and rescuing in the context of the therapeutic relationship. She discusses why this matters from a neurobiological and attachment perspective.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Take Your EA Practice to the Next Level with PonyTracker
Learn about PonyTracker: a web-based tool to help business owners of equine-assisted services stay organized with barn management, therapeutic client management, rider/student tracking, and scheduling.
1 Hour/0 CEs
The Top 5 Things Every Equine Assisted Practice Needs to Know for Business Success
Shannon Knapp and Bettina Shultz-Jobe are passionate about helping equine-assisted practitioners build businesses across the country and throughout the world. They discuss the top 5 things you need to know to be successful in this field.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Transforming Trauma: Resiliency and Healing through our Connections with Animals
Philip Tedeschi reviews some of the important ways that animals are being incorporated into clinical responses to trauma highlighting findings discussed in his book, including the neurobiological mechanisms of change in AAI.
1.5 Hours/0 CEs
Trauma Informed Care and Trauma Informed Relationships are for Everyone
The truth is that most of us have experienced some level of trauma. Trauma informed care (TIC) is about becoming empowered to organize or reorganize the brain by understanding how the brain and body develop.
1 Hour/0 CEs
DAILY HEALING PRACTICES, PERSONAL GROWTH, AND OTHER
>13 hours of video; 8 CE Credits available
A Journey from Parts to Self
This guided meditation led by Jenn Pagone is aimed to assist you in identifying any activated parts that are calling for your attention, and to help you attune to your body to build resiliency and increase resources.
.5 Hours/0 CEs
Breathing Practices for Nervous System Awareness and Regulation
This practical and engaging two-part workshop explores how bringing awareness to our breath can help us better understand ourselves, and how we can use breath deliberately to support our wellbeing and navigate challenges.
2.5 Hours/2.5 CEs
Building an Internal Safe Place
Learn a practice to support you in moments of acute stress and routinely throughout the day. Using psychodrama, Kate Naylor guides us as we explore and draw upon our own internal resources for strength, soothing, and support.
.5 Hours/0 CEs
Chakra Balancing
Chakra balancing is based on the ancient Indian belief in a series of seven chakras, or energy centers. Chakra balancing is believed to promote health and resilience by maximizing the flow of energy in the body. Led by Michelle Holling-Brooks.
.5 Hours/0 CEs
Connecting to Nature through Music
Experience bottom-up regulation as we connect to the elements of air, earth, water, and fire through music. Led by Mary Oliver.
.5 Hours/0 CEs
Orientation: Moving into Presence
Meeting with novelty or threats in the environment, our bodies normally react with a stress response, preventing us from being fully present. Orienting and re-orienting through our senses increases the comfort we experience in our bodies and spaces.
.5 Hours/0 CEs
Spiritual Memoir: Where a Life Meets Mystery
Memoir becomes spiritual with intention. Writing spiritual memoir, we look for holiness within the details of our personal stories, opening ourselves to transformation in the process. Presented by Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew.
1 Hour/0 CEs
Become a Natural Lifemanship Member Today!
Do you want access to all of this amazing content, opportunities to practice and a welcoming community of fellow practitioners and healers? Become an NL Member today. We are waiting for you!
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