Seeds
Quilt
Haven
Here is something that does not get said enough in professional development for educators and early childhood professionals: the most powerful tool you have is not a strategy. It’s not a protocol. It isn’t even a relationship technique.
It is your state
Not your mood. Not your attitude. Your actual physiological state, the level of stress your nervous system is carrying when you walk through the door.
Self-Reg science is clear on this: when adults are regulated, children have a much easier time regulating too. When adults are depleted, fragmented, or running on fumes, that affects every interaction they have, often without anyone realizing it. It shows up in the tone of a voice, the pace of a transition, the way a moment of conflict gets handled.
Susan Hopkins will explore this in her July 7 opening session, “Why Our State Matters More Than Our Strategies,” and it is one of those sessions that tends to land differently for different people. Some people feel relieved when they hear it. Some feel a little confronted. And some feel both at once.
Because here is the thing. This is not about blaming educators for being human. It is about recognizing that supporting adult regulation is not a luxury or a wellness add-on. It is the foundation of everything.
Regulation, Restoration, and SRSS 2026
At the symposium, we are not just talking about this, we are living it. The way the event is designed, the pacing, the experiential sessions, the time built in for connection and restoration, all of it reflects what we know about Self-Reg. You cannot learn about regulation in a dysregulated environment.
We want you to leave not just knowing more, but feeling like you actually had four days to restore something. That matters too.
SRSS 2026 Sessions on Adult State, Stress, and Restoration
Sessions related to this post:
- July 7, 8:45 AM: Why Our State Matters More Than Our Strategies, Susan Hopkins
- July 7, 10:45 AM Block 2: Yoga and Breathwork: Shifting Our Own State, Susan Hopkins
- July 8, 4:00 PM Block 6: Collective Meditation: Come Try It, Susan Hopkins
Join us for the 12th annual Self-Reg Summer Symposium at Trent University – live in person for the full embodied experience, and online with key sessions live-streamed worldwide – to bust myths, practice five-domain Co-Reg in real cases, and leave re-skilled and re-energized for what kids need now.