The Sacred Nervous System: A Relational Pathway for Self and IFS

About this program: 

This program explores the nervous system as not only biological, but sacred and relational—the riverbed through which love, life, and spirit flow, shaping how we experience ourselves, our parts, others, and the divine. Drawing from IFS®, Somatic IFS, Relational Intelligence®, polyvagal theory, attachment theory, mysticism, and wisdom traditions, the course examines the nervous system and relational field through experiential practices that invite deeper presence and healing.

Rather than a didactic training, this program offers a lived, experiential approach. You’ll be invited to explore how relating to your own system—and your clients’ systems—as sacred and relational may open new possibilities for connection, healing, and wholeness.

This learning program was held live in Fall 2025.

Module 1: The Nervous System Is Sacred — The Sacred Is a Relational Field

This module explores the nervous system as not only biological, but sacred. You’ll examine how the sacred can be understood as a relational field—a living mystery felt through the body—and engage in guided reflection and experiential practices to sense how your nervous system can open into connection and sacred presence with life, love, and spirit. You’ll also consider how reclaiming this sacredness may open new possibilities for healing for you and your clients.

Module 2: The Nervous System Is Relational — The Heart Is Its Barometer

This module explores how the nervous system continually reads the relational field, asking: Am I safe enough to connect? Through guided reflection and experiential practices, you’ll notice the patterns your nervous system plays—mobilizing, withdrawing, or opening to connection—and consider how the heart functions as a barometer for safety and connection.

Module 3: Beyond Co-Regulation — When the Heart and Field Cohere, Love Reveals Itself

This module explores healing as a relational process shaped not only by co-regulation, but by co-revelation—a mutual field in which love can emerge and transform us. You’ll examine how nervous system states both shape and are shaped by the relational field, and consider how coherence between heart and field supports parts in being felt and Self in connecting more fully.

Module 4: Love as Gateway, Ground, and Sky — A Sacred Field Where Parts and Self Belong

This module returns to love—not as a concept, but as the living field that holds sacred relational truths and supports healing. You’ll explore how love moves through the nervous system as a relational pathway—serving as the gateway to safety, the ground of autonomy, and the sky of relational becoming—and engage in guided reflection and practice to sense how love supports parts and Self in belonging together in wholeness. You’ll also consider how this sacred field may deepen your presence in IFS work and in life.

What’s included:

This course includes approximately 4 hours of core teaching on the program’s main topic, along with around 5 hours of recorded live Q&A sessions facilitated by the instructor. 

You’ll also get approximately 4 hours of exclusive bonus content featuring Dr. Richard Schwartz, the founder of IFS. These recorded demonstrations and case consultations offer rare, behind-the-scenes access to see the model in action. While these sessions may not always align directly with the program’s primary theme, they’re designed to deepen your overall clinical understanding and help you see how IFS principles show up across different contexts. 

What are on-demand programs:

IFSI’s on-demand courses are recordings of some of our most loved advanced IFS programs led by IFS trainers and thought leaders who bring deep experience and insight. Learn anytime, at the pace your system needs. 

Who is it for: 

These offerings are ideal for those who are enrolled in or have completed IFS Level 1 Training, and those who have already participated in the IFS Online Circle. They’re designed to help you deepen specific skills, build confidence in niche areas, and feel more grounded in your work with clients. 

CE Credit & Certificate of Completion: 

Please note that these programs don’t offer professional CE, but each provides 14 IFS CE Credits to support your IFS certification or recertification path. An IFSI Certificate of Completion will also be available upon completion of this program.  

Note: Materials and methods included in this course may include interventions or practices that are beyond your scope of practice. As a professional in your given field, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined by applicable law as beyond the boundaries of your practice, and applying your learning in compliance with your professional standards.