Varallo, Italy: June 30- July 2, 2027: The Perinatal Autonomic Cascade

This workshop is by application. First step is filling out an Expression of interest hereThis is an advanced training. Previous autonomics experience is required.

Join Gabriel for a 3-day deep-dive into working with the perinatal autonomic cascade.

At the most fundamental level, birth is a transition from marine to terrestrial existence. The fetus lives in a neutrally buoyant, pressure-equalized environment, without gravitational gradients to manage cardiovascularly, without pulmonary gas exchange, without the requirement to source nutrition from outside the body. In the first moments and hours after birth, a precisely ordered series of neurological and neurochemical transformations must occur to prepare the physical body for this entirely novel reality. We call this the Perinatal Autonomic Cascade: a sequential initialization of autonomic systems — cardiovascular, respiratory, gravitational, visceral — each stage dependent on the successful completion of the one before it. The cascade is exquisitely sensitive to neurochemical context, particularly the presence of oxytocin. Disruption at any stage — through difficult delivery, separation, pharmacological interference, or insufficient oxytocin — results in incomplete initialization that may* be retained in the autonomic architecture throughout the lifespan, with measurable consequences for physiological regulation, somatic organization, and clinical presentation. This workshop presents the theoretical model, and explores facilitating the cascade itself through refined autonomic tracking and facilitatory work. This training is for advanced autonomics practitioners.

*this is some of our newest, and possibly most profound research, and the data set upon which it is built is both very convincing, and statistically small. While applying some of the general principles of autonomic physiology regarding retained allostatic loads seems defensible, we are still deeply involved with exploring this and are hesitant to make categorical assertions about what happens when elements of the cascade are incomplete. Our certainty about this is likely to have increased substantively by the time the workshop occurs.

This training is appropriate for advanced students of autonomics who have completed the yearlong autonomics practicum. In rare cases we will permit others to participate if they have sufficient autonomic physiology background and clinical experience.