Learn how to manage the stress in your life so you can do the work you love in a way that is balanced and sustainable.
What We Do
3 Essential Connections, or 3EC, is a training that addresses common challenges that arise within the workplace, home, and other areas of life where we feel stretched beyond our capacity. 3EC is a program provided by Toivo. 
3 Essential Connections or 3EC is a comprehensive stress mitigation and professional development training appropriate for individuals who are looking to improve their quality of life while maintaining personal agency. This educational and experiential program was designed to support you in creating a stress-resilient lifestyle by reconnecting with yourself, others and nature. Participants will take a deep dive into each connection to better understand why disconnection occurs in the first place and to learn a variety of self-care techniques that can be used to relieve stress and resolve separation, both at work and at home.
3EC is more than just a training, it’s a declaration and a commitment to a new way of being. By embarking on this journey, you are renouncing the message woven into our societal fabric that says stress, burnout and endless doing are not only a natural part of everyday life, but also badges of honor we must don in the pursuit of success. In choosing this training, you are challenging the belief that self-care is selfish and acknowledging that a solid and healthy connection with yourself is the foundation for everything else that you do.
About the Training
In the United States, 75-90% of doctors’ visits are directly related to stress.
About the Connections
The First Connection: Self
Taking time to go within, learning to be comfortable with yourself and witnessing the fluctuations of your internal experience without judging or reacting can drastically improve the quality of your life, yet so many people spend their days avoiding these acts. Unfortunately, the more disconnected you are from yourself, the more disconnected you become from everything else. Without the foundation of self-awareness, it’s hard to maintain healthy relationships with others and it’s hard to feel connected to nature or something greater than yourself. In this connection, you will learn about some of the most common reasons that people become disconnected from themselves. You will also be introduced to a variety of techniques that can be used to re-establish your internal connection and you will be encouraged to identify the tools that resonate most with you and the ways that these tools can be integrated into your life.
The Second Connection: Others
Human beings yearn to feel connected to one another. Although many people would prefer to believe that they can go it alone, isolation and separation can be detrimental to our health and well-being. Sometimes, even when we do our best to connect, we still fall short. Interpersonal relationships aren’t always easy and factors like stress and trauma only serve to widen the gap between us. In this connection, you will learn skills that can help you navigate relationship dynamics, improve communication, resolve conflict and hold space for someone in need. There will be opportunities to practice what you learn and to form connections with other participants.
The Third Connection: Nature
Over the course of the last decade society has shifted away from their innate interconnectedness with the natural world. Although our ancestors were accustomed to living in rhythm with nature for their survival, many people today can spend long stretches of time without interacting with the natural environment. As a result of this shift, respect for the Earth has dwindled, leaving the environment in a precarious position, and people’s health, happiness and creativity have suffered. In this three-day training you will learn about the benefits of spending time in nature, how to bring presence and intention into your relationship with the environment, ways to integrate nature into your daily life and how connecting to the natural world can mean connecting to something greater than yourself.