Polyvagal Theory: Putting You Back in the Driver's Seat

The polyvagal theory may have a complex name, but it's a very relatable concept: the science of feeling safe enough to fall in love with life and take the risks of living.

How many people do you know who live in a suspended state of “what if?” Perhaps you are one of those people.

Life can feel so overwhelming that you start to give up on the possibility of a brighter future.

The polyvagal theory explains why. It connects emotion to bodily sensation. It helps to understand why some interactions feel warm and welcoming, while others feel cold and stand-offish.

The polyvagal theory is the guide to our work at AWEEducation, as it provides our practitioners and clients with a common language to describe our experiences. It puts each individual in the driver's seat – enabling you to understand and communicate what’s happening in your body.

Once you understand your physical responses as they connect to your emotions, you can reshape your experience. Eventually you’ll start to build a new story.

What’s the Polyvagal Theory About?

The Polyvagal Theory is named for the Vagus Nerve, a key component of the human feedback system. It stimulates physical state, mood, and behavioural response.

The Vagus nerve ensures that you respond quickly to physical threats (like a burnt hand) and a little more slowly to emotional threats (like a colleague who perpetually runs late). It wanders through the body, from the tip of the head to the root of the tailbone. It touches practically every major organ in the body.

This prioritization of threats is based on the development of the nervous system. Millions of years ago, the nervous system developed from bottom to top - starting at the base of the spine and growing up to the skull.

That means the oldest part of the nervous system (around your belly) is most related to physical threat, while the newer parts (around your head) are more related to emotional threats related to interpersonal connection.

All Human Share the Same Nervous System Makeup

All human nervous systems function in the same way. We even share this with mammals.

Let’s Get Physical: Introducing the Autonomic Hierarchy

The parts of the nervous system (parasympathetic and sympathetic) are connected by the Vagus nerve. Over the course of roughly 500million years, the nervous system developed distinct connections and functions.

• 1st: The dorsal branch of the parasympathetic nervous system appeared in single cell organisms.
• 2^nd: The sympathetic branch of the nervous system appeared as organisms developed respiratory and circulatory systems.
• 3^rd: The ventral branch of the parasympathetic nervous system appeared as organisms developed social connection and complex thought.

These three distinct regions of the nervous system developed in service of survival.

PredictablePathways of Response

The nervous system is continuously evaluating risk, making judgments, and setting up priorities for survival. It always honours the following autonomic hierarchy of response:

• Dorsal: The system responsible for survival, protection and conservation of resources. This is the part of the nervous system responsible for the ‘freeze’ reaction experienced when someone is in shock.
• Sympathetic: The system responsible for mobilization and adaptive protection through action. This is the part of the nervous system responsible for the ‘fight or flight’ reaction experienced when someone is confronted with cues of danger.
• Ventral: The system responsible for health, growth and restoration. This is the part of the nervous system responsible for regulation and human connection when someone feels safe.

Unconscious Strategies for Survival

We move through this nervous system hierarchy based on response to our surroundings and to experience. All the sensations and messages are provided by the Vagus nerve.

None of these survival strategies depend on conscious decisions. In fact, our bodies are so wise that they listen to the Vagus nerve to determine if fight/flight is necessary, or if immobilization or collapse would better serve our ongoing quest for survival.

Your conscious mind might not agree. In fact, many of our clients state that they’re being “overly sensitive” or “too analytical’. In the language of the nervous system, none of this insight matters. The body is recognizing something that feels unsafe and is responding appropriately.

The VagusNerve: A Welcomed Wanderer

The Vagus Nerve is responsible for the cues of danger and safety that shape human existence. It unconsciously keeps us alive, allows us to communicate, and enables us to experience emotion.

Understanding Cues and Context

All humans share the same nervous system hierarchy and connection to the Vagus nerve.

What differs is how we interpret that experience. And that can vary a lot.

The physical cues coming directly from the nervous system provide really clear cues: take action and stay safe! Avoid danger!

It’s the context that these physical cues appear in that determines our emotions and behaviors. The physical cues, when acknowledged, become our key to connecting to the world.

Developing a Shared Language

When we can rely on physical cues to understand what’s happening in our experience, we can clearly communicate what we need.

In some cases, communication may not be a priority.

As a biological principle, we are at our most vulnerable when we experience freeze (dorsal collapse). We can not connect with other people, we can not think clear thoughts or make wise decisions. Our only option is to reset the nervous system. This is achieved through rest and restoration.

When we are in fight/flight (sympathetic mobilization),we are flooded by the determination to move from a threatening situation. The ability to think clearly and make decisions is (again) compromised by the biological imperative to survive. We can make decisions, but they are largely dominated by the drive to survive.  The event may not seem threatening to the average observer, but the nervous system knows otherwise.

It is when we are regulated (ventral vagal) that we can dream, speak about our goals, achieve productivity and growth.

When we can identify where we are in the hierarchy, respect these cues, and communicate our status that we can transform the way we connect to ourselves and the way we connect to the world.

Building Clear Connections

Understanding these conditions and vulnerabilities allows us to express our needs clearly, build strong relationships and really connect to ourselves.

When we can understand that emotions come out of a drive for survival, our approach to communication shifts.

As we move through the hierarchy as part of our normal daily existence, we can begin to understand our shifts with certain people, in certain environments, and at certain times of day. When we respect this knowledge, our worldview begins to shift. We take the driver’s seat to our emotions, rather than letting our emotions drive our interactions.

The Polyvagal Theory: A Story of Connection

Understanding the polyvagal theory is step toward understanding the biological cues that tell us so much about our unique personal needs.

Travelling through each of the states of the hierarchy is a part of a normal day. When we acknowledge that we will continually travel up and down the hierarchy, we permit ourselves to have a range of physical and emotional experiences. Think back to the driving analogy: you turn your vehicle in response to the contours of a road rather than driving in a straight line.

When we develop an understanding our own unique hierarchy, we prepare ourselves to respond to shifts throughout the day. We each take charge of our own regulation.

Once an understanding of the hierarchy is embodied, we can connect to others in new ways.  We’ll understand that they too are travelling up and down their nervous systems.

Knowing about the polyvagal theory is a beautiful way to build new relationships, with ourselves and with others. At AWE Education, we believe that an embodied understanding of the polyvagal theory can transform your personal worldview and the way we operate in the world. To learn more, get in touch!

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