FREE RESOURCE: Co-Regulation Practices from the Field

The following resource is a compilation of strategies created by graduate students in Butler University’s Applied Educational Neuroscience Certification, cohort 7.

What do we mean by co-regulation?

Co-regulation is one of the four pillars of Applied Educational Neuroscience (AEN). In her new book, Intentional Neuroplasticity, Dr. Lori Desautels describes co-regulation as “our biological imperative to share our emotional availability in a safe, trusted, and nested space” (p. 110). Our presence with another can be used to share calm or dysregulation. We often send cues of safety or threat nonverbally (e.g., tone, prosody, body language) but with intentionality we can harness this power to share our calm through regulatory practices.

How can you use this resource?

Each page in the following resource features a strategy created by a cohort 7 graduate student. Use these strategies as launching points – meaning you can implement these ideas as is or make adjustments based on your context and needs. Each idea is accompanied by the original creator and includes materials (if needed) and directions. Additionally, each strategy may include notes on things to keep in mind and possible adaptations or accommodations. Hyperlinks included in the following pages will take you to additional resources and materials.

The following resource is organized by categories of regulation practices, though many may naturally fall into more than one. The categories in this resource include relational connection, breathwork, movement, sensations, and rhythm.

Happy Co-Regulating!

– Cohort 7, Dr. Lori Desautels, and Courtney Boyle

© 2023, AEN Cohort 7

Front cover background by Tirachard Kutanom/Pexels
Colorful monkeys image by Park Troopers/Unsplash