Cultivating Resilience: Practices to Reduce Stress and Release Trauma

This self-paced micro-credential course offers a practical and experiential journey into building resilience and vitality through evidence-based tools and contemplative practices. Designed for those navigating chronic stress, trauma, or simply seeking greater balance, the course combines short science-informed lectures, guided somatic and mindfulness-based practices, creative expression, nature-based reflection, and journaling to support nervous system regulation and whole-person well-being.

Across eight modules, students will explore how stress and trauma impact the body and mind—and discover a diverse toolkit of accessible, trauma-informed strategies including breathwork, gentle and energizing movement, music and art, mindfulness, gratitude, rest, and connection with nature. Students will reflect on personal stress patterns and co-create a personalized “Resilience Go-Bag” to sustain their practice beyond the course.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Describe how chronic stress and trauma impact the nervous system, emotional regulation, and overall well-being.

2. Apply a range of somatic, breath-based, creative, nature-based, and mindfulness practices to support self-regulation and build resilience.

3. Reflect on personal stress responses and co-create a personalized “Resilience Go-Bag” for ongoing support and vitality.

4. Demonstrate practical tools for soothing, energizing, and restoring balance through breath, movement, rest, gratitude, and creative expression.

5. Evaluate how embodied resilience practices can be integrated into everyday personal life and professional settings to foster sustainable well-being.

About the instructor:

Nichol Chase is an educator, program leader, and multi-lineage contemplative teacher specializing in resilience science, trauma-informed care, and embodied wisdom practices. She has long-standing, wide-ranging experience designing and facilitating research-backed trainings that integrate mindfulness, movement, and music—equipping individuals and communities with tools to navigate stress, heal from trauma, and thrive in times of change.

Her work is informed by a rich artistic background as a classically trained ballerina and opera singer, bringing depth, creativity, and a unique aesthetic sensibility to her teaching. Nichol’s training spans multiple traditions, including Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara yoga, Tibetan Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, and iRest Yoga Nidra, as well as study with Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Richard Miller, David Treleaven, Noah Mazé, Douglas Brooks, Annie Carpenter, and Richard Rosen. She is the founder of the Wisdom Building Method School and creator of a 300-hour advanced trauma-informed yoga teacher training. Her expertise bridges science and contemplative wisdom, with a focus on the autonomic nervous system, stress physiology, and the mind-body connection.

A sought-after presenter, Nichol has taught and facilitated programs for institutions such as UCSF, Spirit Rock, Kripalu, Esalen, and the Garrison Institute, where she also serves as a Fellow and CBR Faculty member. As a musician, writer, and facilitator, she brings warmth, precision, and a trauma-informed approach to every teaching space—whether leading retreats, developing curricula, or coaching individuals toward inner transformation.