Heal Your Nervous System: The Neuroscience of Therapeutic Touch

Heal Your Nervous System: The Neuroscience of Therapeutic Touch is a weekend healing retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, led by Hilary Russo. It is a trauma-informed program for people navigating secondary traumatic stress, whether that comes from professional caregiving or from life at home. The work draws on neuroscience, compassion and somatic practice, and introduces Havening Techniques®, an approach that uses gentle touch and positive thought.

The program asks how stress, empathy and exposure to other people's pain affect the brain and nervous system. It also asks how to restore safety, agency and resilience without trying to "fix" yourself.

What to Expect

The weekend balances teaching with embodiment. Sessions combine education, guided Havening experiences, reflective exercises and the HUG It Out® Method. Together they invite you to reconnect with what the program calls the Pioneer Practitioner®, the inner guide that can meet stress with curiosity, regulation and self-trust. Each day includes group regulation experiences and community-building practices, and the closing sessions focus on integration so the work can continue after you go home.

Topics include:

- Neuroscience-based approaches to navigating secondary traumatic stress
- Somatic practices to support healing
- The impact of stress on the brain and nervous system
- The role of self-trust and self-compassion

The rhythm is steady. The opening day begins with check-in from 2:00 pm, a Kripalu Yoga class from 4:45 to 6:00, dinner, and a first program session from 7:30 to 9:00 in the evening. Full days begin with Kripalu Yoga from 6:30 to 7:45 am, followed by a silent breakfast. Program sessions run from 9:00 to 11:30 am and again from 1:30 to 4:00 pm, with lunch between them. Another yoga class at 4:45 and dinner close the day. On the final morning there is yoga, silent breakfast and a program session from 9:00 to 11:00, then lunch and departure. Times may shift, and the schedule given at check-in has the final details and room locations.

About Hilary Russo

Hilary Russo leads this program, teaching the neuroscience-based Havening Techniques® and the HUG It Out® Method alongside somatic practice for people affected by secondary traumatic stress.

The Setting

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health sits in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Accommodations are intentionally simple, meant to help you unplug and feel grounded. You can choose a private room for solitude and privacy, or a shared dormitory-style room if you want connection with other guests. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and a luggage room is available if you arrive earlier. Check-out on the last day is 10:00 am, though you may stay on campus and take part in workshops until 2:00 pm.

Meals are three a day, and breakfast is taken in silence. Your stay includes access to the Kripalu grounds and other amenities.

Before You Go

No prior experience with yoga, somatic practice or trauma work is needed. The program welcomes newcomers as well as people with experience, and it is taught in English.

Your registration includes more than ten yoga classes over the stay, three nutritious meals a day, program sessions, guided Havening experiences, reflective exercises, and community and group regulation practices. Healing Arts sessions and items from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe are available for purchase separately.