Welcome, and thank you for visiting!
August 6, 2026
Dear Empathy Practice Community,
The synthesis of vagal toning (an integrative somatic practice) as taught by Dr. Arielle Schwartz, PhD, and empathy circles in the tradition of The Empathy Center is a practice I have been developing over time through my education, professional background, lived experience, and extensive study and practice across multiple modalities, as well as through ongoing learning from participant experiences.
I invite you to view a short presentation I gave at a recent Empathy Summit introducing this synthesis, which includes a brief vagal toning practice.
My full bio is at the bottom of this page if you would like to learn more about the teachers, communities, and experiences that have influenced my work.
I claim no ownership over this, or over any other synthesis of somatic practices and empathy circles that someone with their own training and experience in both disciplines is called to offer in their community.
My practice spaces do not constitute training in vagal toning or any other somatic practice I may share.
I value acknowledging the relationships, teachers, communities, and experiences that shape our work. When someone is inspired by my work and develops a synthesis of their own, it is meaningful to me to have that influence acknowledged. For me, attribution is not about ownership or permission; it is about making our lineage visible and building trust and shared reality within community.
This particular synthesis grew from a deeply personal struggle to find social connection spaces that felt genuinely restorative, and has been shaped by years of learning, practice, relationship, and discernment. Acknowledging these influences honors the relationships through which our shared practices develop.
For me, there is a powerful synergy in using the polyvagal-informed practice of vagal toning to support presence and social engagement prior to entering the connecting practice of an empathy circle.
This combination can surround participants with multiple cues of safety, both in self-connection and in connection with others, and may foster a deep sense of renewal, connection, and hope.
At the same time, these practices may bring forward difficult emotions, bodily sensations, or tensions between one's inner experience and outward identity. Some of these experiences may benefit from forms of support that extend beyond the scope of what I offer in these practice spaces.
As I continue learning, I want to ensure that both the practices themselves and the way I invite people to experience them reflect the level of care, discernment, and responsibility that I believe they deserve.
After several years of offering a regular Wednesday morning live practice group, I have decided to place my offerings on hiatus.
I need a pause to integrate what I have learned from observing—and feeling—the impact of this work on myself and participants, and to discern how and when I want to continue offering this practice.
As I continue learning, I want to ensure that both the practices themselves and the way I invite people to experience them reflect the level of care, discernment, and responsibility that I believe they deserve.
If you would like to receive updates about my schedule and future offerings, please sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of this page.
I'll share announcements there as soon as I have more information.
Thank you for your understanding.
I look forward to practicing with you again in the future.
With care,
Teri
Canceled until future notice:
WEDNESDAY VAGAL TONING & EMPATHY CIRCLE
NERVOUS SYSTEM ATTUNEMENT & SOCIAL CONNECTION PRACTICE
What People Are Saying
"Just now I was hyper compulsive shopping. Started out legit- I have five young rose bushes being sent to me- I need a few pots and dirt. But - once I got online… a $25 order turned $140. Suddenly, I noticed my jaw was clenched and my tongue was crammed against my teeth. “What’s trying to get out?” I thought to myself. I then massaged the areas you showed us on Saturday. And then emptied my cart to what I need for right now: a $25 order. Thank you for the class. It helped me manage myself in a compulsive moment. "
-JuliAnne J
"Your voice was so relaxing and I really loved how much time you gave us between shifting into different positions. It made me realize I'm usually scrambling to quickly grab a block or blanket, but here you incorporated that time into the flow. I also loved that you explain so much as you go - I'm a questioner, and I really like to know things, so it helps me appreciate what we're doing as we go. Thanks so much for running this class with an accessible option :) "
-Natasha
"Teri's class has put me in touch with a deeper part of myself. I have anxiety and stress right now, and her Yoga class has really been helpful in decreasing physical and mental stress and anxiety. Her voice is so calm and clear, that it is very easy to feel safe and calm listening to her in her class. I highly recommend it! "
-CLASS PARTICIPANT
"I learned so much from your class. I've done my own stretches for years, but you really gave me a new perspective. Allowing the ground to support me, using all the blankets, pillows, etc. Connection to Parts, and so much more. Truly awesome educational experience which I will incorporate into my awareness and routine."
-Brian eM
"Some years ago, I learned that when a battery is only partially charged over and over, is loses its capacity to hold a full charge. Today, that connected with being a child wanting belonging and not getting that for herself as herself - so she draws in smaller and smaller to survive the pain, and loses that resource "I am okay and I belong". Seems that with the Work I have done, this is changing. And the vagal toning work + the empathy circle has heightened my awareness of the reality/physicality of the changes. Part of this is less sense of events being "personal' - that is, directed at me, this particular person. So relaxing to watch events go by without latching on and writing a long narrative. Easier to learn from them!"
-S. S.
"Teri's methodology is scientifically sound for regulating the vagus and balancing the immune system. Her offerings are grounded in research and best practice. The structure and the pace of her courses feel like a gentle invitation to my nervous system to engage with choice. The tone of her speech and style of delivery are warm and compassionate. Her classes are accessible to all body types and abilities. I can't recommend her courses enough to folx living with trauma or chronic medical conditions-- both of which are related to a dysregulated vagal system. "
-Tessa Wren Greene
"Just now I was hyper compulsive shopping. Started out legit- I have five young rose bushes being sent to me- I need a few pots and dirt. But - once I got online… a $25 order turned $140. Suddenly, I noticed my jaw was clenched and my tongue was crammed against my teeth. “What’s trying to get out?” I thought to myself. I then massaged the areas you showed us on Saturday. And then emptied my cart to what I need for right now: a $25 order. Thank you for the class. It helped me manage myself in a compulsive moment. "
-JuliAnne J
"Your voice was so relaxing and I really loved how much time you gave us between shifting into different positions. It made me realize I'm usually scrambling to quickly grab a block or blanket, but here you incorporated that time into the flow. I also loved that you explain so much as you go - I'm a questioner, and I really like to know things, so it helps me appreciate what we're doing as we go. Thanks so much for running this class with an accessible option :) "
-Natasha
"Teri's class has put me in touch with a deeper part of myself. I have anxiety and stress right now, and her Yoga class has really been helpful in decreasing physical and mental stress and anxiety. Her voice is so calm and clear, that it is very easy to feel safe and calm listening to her in her class. I highly recommend it! "
-CLASS PARTICIPANT
"I learned so much from your class. I've done my own stretches for years, but you really gave me a new perspective. Allowing the ground to support me, using all the blankets, pillows, etc. Connection to Parts, and so much more. Truly awesome educational experience which I will incorporate into my awareness and routine."
-Brian eM
"Some years ago, I learned that when a battery is only partially charged over and over, is loses its capacity to hold a full charge. Today, that connected with being a child wanting belonging and not getting that for herself as herself - so she draws in smaller and smaller to survive the pain, and loses that resource "I am okay and I belong". Seems that with the Work I have done, this is changing. And the vagal toning work + the empathy circle has heightened my awareness of the reality/physicality of the changes. Part of this is less sense of events being "personal' - that is, directed at me, this particular person. So relaxing to watch events go by without latching on and writing a long narrative. Easier to learn from them!"
-S. S.
"Teri's methodology is scientifically sound for regulating the vagus and balancing the immune system. Her offerings are grounded in research and best practice. The structure and the pace of her courses feel like a gentle invitation to my nervous system to engage with choice. The tone of her speech and style of delivery are warm and compassionate. Her classes are accessible to all body types and abilities. I can't recommend her courses enough to folx living with trauma or chronic medical conditions-- both of which are related to a dysregulated vagal system. "
-Tessa Wren Greene
"Just now I was hyper compulsive shopping. Started out legit- I have five young rose bushes being sent to me- I need a few pots and dirt. But - once I got online… a $25 order turned $140. Suddenly, I noticed my jaw was clenched and my tongue was crammed against my teeth. “What’s trying to get out?” I thought to myself. I then massaged the areas you showed us on Saturday. And then emptied my cart to what I need for right now: a $25 order. Thank you for the class. It helped me manage myself in a compulsive moment. "
-JuliAnne J
"Your voice was so relaxing and I really loved how much time you gave us between shifting into different positions. It made me realize I'm usually scrambling to quickly grab a block or blanket, but here you incorporated that time into the flow. I also loved that you explain so much as you go - I'm a questioner, and I really like to know things, so it helps me appreciate what we're doing as we go. Thanks so much for running this class with an accessible option :) "
-Natasha
"Teri's class has put me in touch with a deeper part of myself. I have anxiety and stress right now, and her Yoga class has really been helpful in decreasing physical and mental stress and anxiety. Her voice is so calm and clear, that it is very easy to feel safe and calm listening to her in her class. I highly recommend it! "
-CLASS PARTICIPANT
"I learned so much from your class. I've done my own stretches for years, but you really gave me a new perspective. Allowing the ground to support me, using all the blankets, pillows, etc. Connection to Parts, and so much more. Truly awesome educational experience which I will incorporate into my awareness and routine."
-Brian eM
A GLIMPSE OF MY HEART ✨ 💜 🌱
Hello, and Welcome!
I’m Teri McGovern‑Nintzel, BA, RYT-500, PTA, PYT-c—vagal toning and empathy circle facilitator, writer, poet, and intuitive composer. I’m passionate about co‑creating humanizing spaces where we connect to our big safe self together, nurturing the emergence of our vital, resonant response to a world that is both deeply fraught with existential cues of threat, and alive with brilliantly luminous co‑creative possibilities.
My journey through the landscape of post‑traumatic growth has led me to study vagal toning, compassionate communication, medical therapeutic yoga, and Mindfulness‑Based Stress Reduction. I’ve completed trainings in vagal toning with Dr. Arielle Schwartz, Nonviolent Communication, and I am an active Trainer in Empathy Circle Facilitation at The Empathy Center, as well as active in my local AZ NVC practice community. I’m currently advancing my studies in somatic collective trauma healing at The Embody Lab while I complete a 200-Hour Training in Nada and Mantra Yoga at The Heart of Sound with Anandra George.
My heart anchors my purple pearl spirit, cradling the soul‑centering force of a cyclone’s eye—shimmering with edge‑of‑change clarity. I am guided to where I can look deeply and be met in truth, as I embrace life’s unfolding invitation to embody grace.
I live in Chandler, Arizona, with my son, life partner, and Ella the Cuddle Cavapoo. I honor and give thanks to the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh peoples on whose ancestral lands I live.
I love nature, singing, reading, movement, writing music collaboratively, and following the heart of the Earth as my muse.
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