Wednesday, September 20, 2023 Practical guide to understanding Polyvagal Theory
“To take ownership of TPV is to take control of the autonomic nervous system and let yourself be guided by it.”
Previously we saw what the Polyvagal Theory (PVT) brought into our relationships, both in terms of personnel that professionalIn this article, I will answer a question that often comes up: how can we take ownership of TPV to better understand it, better experience it and therefore better apply it?
Get informed and trained
First of all, to take ownership of the TPV it is essential to be informed: whether it isarticles, podcasts or videos on Youtube (like the one we made with Évelyne Josse or the little animated video Polyvagal Theory and Trauma), learning about Polyvagal Theory is the first step to take. There are many free resources available online, including our blog.
Let's not forget the programs and training on the subject. For example, at Quantum Way, we offer:
- A 2-hour training course, Polyvagal Theory, Introductory Module, given by Stephen Porges and Deb Dana. This training teaches us the basics of TPV and its neuroscientific foundations: What is the vagus nerve? What is happening in the body? How does this translate into therapeutic language?
- A 4-hour training course, Polyvagal Theory – Basic Module: Principles and Practice, in which Deb Dana discusses the organizing principles of Polyvagal Theory as well as practices for applying it in everyday life.
- Deb Dana's latest Masterclass, The 3 organizing principles of Polyvagal Theory in practice. In this Masterclass you will experience practical exercises to feel the hierarchy, neuroception and co-regulation in order to integrate TPV into your daily life or into your practice if you are a professional in support.
To finish on this point "inform yourself and train yourself", let's not forget the books on the subject. Deb Dana's latest book, Anchored is available from Quantum Way Editions. This book is intended for both therapists and the general public. For enthusiasts and professionals alike, this book is an excellent way to begin to take ownership of TPV, especially since it offers numerous explorations and practices to apply it in our daily lives.
>> Click here to download the 1st chapter of the book
Finally, as Deb Dana says so well, learning about and training in Polyvagal Theory is above all "befriending your nervous system", taming it, learning to know it and making it your ally for life.
Getting to know your nervous system
But to learn to know your nervous system, you must first learn to listen to it and understand its language, through the signals it sends. Because it is through the body's manifestations that we know when we are in a dorsal, sympathetic or ventral state. Or in other words, whether we are safe or in danger.
But how can we achieve this?
For this, I suggest an exercise. Try to think of an event that annoys you, even a little: a person, a specific situation, an argument… What do you feel? What are the bodily manifestations that appear in you? Maybe…
- Your heart is racing…
- Your cheeks are blushing…
- Your hands are shaking…
- Your neck is getting hot…
- Your throat tightens…
These signals are manifestations of your sympathetic nervous system. And to become friends with this nervous system, we must begin to listen to these signals within ourselves. Because the autonomic nervous system reacts well before the brain and therefore conscious thought.
So if we are much more attentive to the signals and understand the language of our autonomic nervous system that tells us, "I am not safe," we will be able to act more quickly and find our way back to ventral safety, before we completely dysregulate and find ourselves stuck in a state of sympathetic dysregulation or fall into a dorsal collapse, stuck at the bottom of the Deb Dana ladder.
(Re)Discovering your Ventral State
To appropriate the TPV, we must therefore start by listening to what our autonomic nervous system tells us through the manifestations of the body. We previously mentioned certain signals from the sympathetic, and it is the same for the ventral: how do you know if you are in a regulated state, in a ventral state? And how do you return to this state much more quickly?
Here again, nothing like a little exercise. To try to understand how the ventral manifests itself in us – each in our own way – you can try to think of an event that makes you feel good. Take a few moments and relive a pleasant moment in yourself.
To help you understand how to feel your belly, I will share my experience with you. For my part, what really recharges me is sailing: the blue of the sea, the wind in the sails, the sound of the waves on the hull, the sun on my skin, the taste of salt… It is something that gives me energy and does me a lot of good.
So, I think of the sea, I imagine myself on a boat and I observe what is happening inside me. I hear the sound of the water and the waves, I feel the wind, I see the blue of the sea and the puffins flying low on the water. And inside, I feel calm and peaceful. It is as if something were opening inside me, I feel my diaphragm widening. My arms relax, my hands open… This is how I experience my ventral state. Does this evoke anything for you? Do you recognize similar signals?
Knowing your ventral state means being able to say to yourself: "OK, I need my ventral, here, now. This is not the time to dysregulate myself, nor the time to get angry and I know how I am going to seek out this state and activate it." For example, this can happen to us when we are in front of a patient or with a friend (or a spouse, a loved one, etc.) who is not well.
In those moments, they need our belly. So how do I call it back to me, how do I activate it?
The first thing is to focus your attention on the parts of the body that we identified when we were in a ventral state, like the diaphragm and the hands in my case. The second thing is breathing: learning to slow down our breathing and slightly lengthen the exhalations…
Cardiac coherence had already confirmed it but Stephen Porges came to validate it: when we inhale, we activate the sympathetic nervous system and when we exhale, we activate the parasympathetic system and more specifically the ventral vagus nerve. When we exhale, we activate what Stephen Porges called the vagal brake, which is exerted by the ventral part of the vagus nerve. The vagal brake slows down the natural rhythm of the heart to bring it back to around 60-70 beats per minute. So we can work with our breathing to regain ventral energy.
This is how, in a progressive way, we can get to know our autonomic nervous system in order to tame it and make friends with it. In order to listen to it, understand it but also to honor it and thank it. Because if we are still alive, it is thanks to it…
Finally, appropriating the TPV means taking control of the autonomic nervous system and letting it guide you. Without forgetting, conversely, to take care of it by giving it what it needs so that we can find the path to regulation with it.
It doesn't work every time, but the more you practice, the more it works! Sometimes we can't stand our reactions anymore, especially when stress and anxiety are our daily lives... so we go back to our exercises (Deb Dana offers us many in Anchor), we try and we progress.
Think of the Little Prince: it took him a while to tame the fox… Every day, let’s get a little closer to our autonomic nervous system. To end up being able to say with Deb Dana “My nervous system and I have become best friends.”
In the next article, we will continue on how to appropriate TPV in the relationship with others.
Series of articles “Polyvagal Theory in everyday life” by Florence Bernard.
For further :
- The book Anchored by Deb Dana, published by Quantum Way.
- Many resources are available on our website and on our e-learning platform including 2 programs and 1 Masterclass with Deb Dana:
