The SOAR Self-Care Battery™ 

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Facilitator:

Dr Robyn Charlton — Psychiatrist, Trauma-Informed Educator and Leadership Wellbeing Specialist.

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Duration:

 

Customisable — from a one-hour keynote to a full-day immersive workshop.
Optional follow-up: individual or group coaching via an online SOAR beyond Burnout integration program.

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Overview

 

High-pressure professions — including healthcare, law, education, leadership, and emergency services — require sustained focus, empathy, and composure. Yet these same strengths can quietly drain our inner battery, leading to exhaustion and disconnection.

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The SOAR Self-Care Battery™ offers a practical, trauma-informed framework that helps professionals understand, manage, and recharge their energy through science-based self-care and connection.

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Grounded in polyvagal theory, mindfulness, positive neuroplasticity, lifestyle medicine and the Māori health model Te Whare Tapa Whā, this experiential program translates wellbeing science into simple, actionable tools.

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Workshops can be tailored for your organisation — from an energising one-hour session to a full-day, deep-dive experience.

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The SOAR Self-Care Battery™ Framework.

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SOAR guides participants through four phases of awareness and renewal.

 

S — Stop and Come to Your Senses

 

Pause and ground in the present moment.
Through sensory awareness, participants learn to recognise the body’s stress signals and return to a state of regulation before depletion occurs.

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O — Observe Your Self-Care Battery Levels

 

Assess your current energy state (self-care battery level) using a simple traffic-light system informed by the polyvagal ladder.:

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• Green: Grounded, calm, connected.

• Amber: Strained or fatigued.

• Red: Depleted or detached.

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Learn to identify three core types of energy drains that contribute to stress and burnout:

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• In-Between Drains like vicarious traumatisation and empathetic distress — the emotional residue of co-regulation and holding space for others.

• Internal Drains, such as the relentless inner critic, perfectionism, or shame-driven motivation.

• External Drains from systemic stressors — including workload and moral injury within healthcare and caregiving systems.

 

 A polyvagal-informed lens on nervous system dysregulation.

Understand how stress shows up in the body as sympathetic overdrive or dorsal shutdown — and how to begin shifting into states of safety, connection, and calm.

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​A — Allow What’s There

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Rather than pushing through, participants learn to acknowledge and accept their current energy state (self-care battery level) with curiosity and self-compassion — the foundation of emotional regulation.

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R — Recharge

 

Recharge by aligning your wellbeing practices with Te Whare Tapa Whā, a holistic model of health that balances:

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• Physical wellbeing (Taha Tinana)

• Mental and emotional health (Taha Hinengaro)

• Connection and belonging (Taha Whānau)

• Spiritual or values-based alignment (Taha Wairua)

 

In this phase, participants experience the SAVOUR Framework — a set of science-backed practices grounded in positive neuroplasticity and lifestyle medicine that bring these holistic principles to life.

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The SAVOUR Framework: Recharge in Action

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The SAVOUR Framework transforms the theory of self-care into embodied, practical renewal. Each element activates the brain’s natural capacity to rewire for calm, connection, and vitality.

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SAVOUR Toolkit

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• S: Self-Compassion — replacing criticism with kindness.

• A: Awe & Gratitude — cultivating positive emotion and perspective.

• V: Vagal Tone — engaging the nervous system for balance and wellbeing.

• O: Our Values — aligning energy with what matters most.

• U: United with Others — strengthening connection and belonging.

• R: Rest, Rhythms & Nourishment — replenishing physical and emotional reserves.

 

Participants conclude by designing a Personal Recharge Plan, utilising micro-practices and habit-stacking to embed small, lasting shifts into their daily lives.

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Digital Toolkit Provided

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• The free SOAR beyond Stress online course, which reinforces concepts taught in the workshop and includes guided meditations to deepen the learning from the workshop,

• 20% discount on the Soar Beyond Burnout online course.

 

Who This Workshop Is For

 

This program is ideal for professionals and teams working in high-stress, high-responsibility environments, including:

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🏥 Health professionals, therapists, lawyers, educators, and corporate leaders operating in demanding and low-recovery settings.  

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🧠 Neurodivergent professionals who experience overstimulation, emotional overwhelm, or sensory fatigue.  

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💼 Leaders and team members in organisations are influenced by a culture of stress, urgency, and relentless expectations.  

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💛 Caregivers, healers, and individuals who are tired of constantly holding everything together and are ready to start anew.  

 

​​If you find yourself always caring for others, this is your invitation to step into your caregiving circle and gently nurture the parts of yourself that are exhausted, overlooked, or in need of a break.

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Learning Outcomes

 

Participants will:

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• Understand the neurobiology of stress, burnout, and recovery.

• Identify personal energy drains and patterns of stress and burnout.

• Build emotional regulation through the SOAR framework.

• Apply the SAVOUR toolkit to restore balance and connection.

• Develop a personalised plan for sustainable wellbeing.​

 

CPD & Logistics

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• Audience: Professionals in high-stress environments. A brochure can be sent to your organisation for more information.

• CPD/PD Hours: 1 – 6 hours (customisable). A certificate of attendance will be provided.

• Delivery: In-person or online.

• Format Options: Keynote, half-day, or full-day experiential workshop.

• Optional Add-Ons: Coaching, team debriefs, or online integration pathway.

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