We are a personal growth organization dedicated to helping people develop a lifelong practice of emotional fitness. Through our comprehensive training program, we help individuals build the habits and skills needed to consistently confront reality with positivity, untrigger themselves from past trauma, and cultivate self-actualization.
To live the best life possible is to be emotionally fit.
Our Foundational Perspective
At Vivir, our approach is informed by three universal truths:
We all experience emotional distress of some kind in our lives.
For some, emotional distress has devastating consequences: serious psychological or even medical challenges that deeply impact daily life. For others, the effects are more subtle: self-doubt, anxiety, or stress that intrude here and there. Regardless, this distress is an inevitable and challenging facet of the human experience.
Our emotional distress holds us back from reaching our full potential.
Whether its impact is intense, occasional, or somewhere in between, the reality is the same: emotional distress keeps us stuck in limiting patterns that compromise our ability to think clearly, act effectively, and engage fully in our lives. It cuts us off from the peace, clarity, and agency we need to make full use of our time, our relationships, and our potential.
Our emotional states are not fixed traits that we must endure forever.
Many believe their emotional challenges are just part of who they are, and something they must live with the best they can. In reality, our feelings and behaviors are driven by learned responses, often shaped by past trauma, that get triggered again and again. Thankfully, these patterns can be changed and the distress that so many of us have carried can, in fact, be lifted.
The Emotional Fitness Imperative
Knowing these key truths, the mandate is clear:
Unless and until we begin to work on our emotional well-being, we stay stuck in limiting patterns that undermine our quality of life and prevent us from becoming who we’re capable of being.
Because all of us have the capacity to become grounded, confident, and fulfilled individuals. Instead of masking distress, the goal should be to resolve it at the root so that we can reach our full potential. And the only way to realize your full potential is to feel truly whole within yourselves. This is the work of emotional fitness.
At Vivir, our approach is built on a comprehensive framework for developing a lifelong emotional fitness practice that is centered on consistently confronting reality and responding to it positively.
THE VIVIR WAY
At the core of our methodology is our proprietary mental technique, Emotional Updating, developed by our founder, Dr. Peter Hercules, M.D., to change triggered post-traumatic emotional responses.
OUR METHODOLOGY
Our Emotional Fitness Membership Program teaches individuals to untrigger themselves from emotional distress, develop a daily practice of emotional fitness, and cultivate self-empowerment.
OUR PROGRAM
Our comprehensive content collection features in-depth analyses on key emotional fitness topics such as self-worth, trauma, nurturing, relationships, and self-actualization.
KNOWLEDGE BASE
MEET OUR FOUNDER
Dr. Peter Hercules, M.D.
Dr. Hercules is a medical doctor Board-certified in Family Medicine in the USA and Canada who has worked extensively in behavioral health, family medicine, and emergency room medicine throughout both countries.
Early on in his career, Dr. Hercules recognized that emotional distress due to trauma plays a central role in the vast majority of medical conditions - both psychological and physical. To help his clients become healthy, Dr. Hercules realized that having effective means to address trauma-related disorders was essential.
Since 1987, he has spent tens of thousands of hours developing Emotional Updating, his own non-pharmacological therapeutic method to enable his medical clients to free themselves from their post-traumatic emotional distress.
Because everyone has experienced emotional trauma, Dr. Hercules is committed to making it as widely accessible as possible. To this end, he founded the Vivir Emotional Fitness Institute to train individuals in emotional fitness practices rooted in the Emotional Updating technique, offering it as a daily practice outside the framework of traditional medicine.
Learn from Dr. Hercules on the Untrigger Yourself Podcast
Join Dr. Peter Hercules as he shares his insights and expertise on the complexities of human emotions and personal growth. Through deep discussions and thoughtful analysis, this biweekly podcast explores the topic of emotional fitness from many different angles.
Co-hosted by his daughter and Vivir co-founder, Katrina Hercules, this podcast offers an informed perspective on cultivating emotional strength and navigating life’s journey with clarity and purpose.
The Vivir Emotional Fitness Membership Program
Developed by Vivir founder, Dr. Peter Hercules, M.D., our Emotional Fitness Membership Program draws upon decades of experience helping people overcome their emotional distress with an understanding that a sustainable emotional fitness practice requires three key pillars to be successful:
Core skills that empower you with ability to independently address emotional challenges at their root
Daily practice to consistently commit to an emotional fitness routine
Self-empowerment through better understanding your emotional landscape and practical application of emotional fitness
Vivir’s 3-Pillar Path To Emotional Fitness
While emotional fitness is valuable for everyone, Dr. Hercules’s extensive experience in behavioral health has shown that the techniques and tools in our program are particularly effective for individuals living with the following challenges:
Who Can Benefit Most
Anxiety/Panic Disorders
Addictions
Depression
Fears & Phobias
Codependency
Abuse Related Disorders
Relationship Disorders
Eating Disorders
OCD
Performance Disorders
Habits & Coping Mechanisms
PTSD
Stress Disorders
Low Self-Worth
Body Image Disorders
Psychosomatic Disorders
Our Results
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"I have tried many other methods of treatment for improvement of mental health symptoms however, Emotional Updating has been the only method that has shown me results where I no longer deal with things such as anxiety, which I’ve been trying to work through for years."
S, age 26
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"I feel after only three months of treatment, I have achieved more than the several years of therapy and rehab I have endured! I feel generally happy, like I have never felt before. Like a huge weight has been lifted!"
L, age 48
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"I feel stronger, more confident and more comfortable in my own skin than I ever remember feeling. My life is still stressful but I am handling that stress much differently now. Emotional Updating is an incredibly powerful technique and I would recommend it to anyone."
J, age 43
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"I've become a much stronger person in that I believe/trust in myself more and I'm accepting that I am worthy. I'm also discovering who I am, who I want/could be and that yesterday is gone and that life's choices today are mine to make."
S, age 58
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"Emotional Updating has allowed me to get better, to develop techniques for improving on my own, and to overcome the disabling psychological responses that had consumed my personal and work life daily."
E, age 39
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"The results over this past year have been phenomenal. The issues that once plagued me and were easily triggered by outside influences have simply dissolved! They no longer hold the same intensity of emotion and reaction they once did!"
B, age 48
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