Martin

Solihull, United Kingdom

rubina

Lancaster, United Kingdom

Margriet

Groningen,The Netherlands

Trish M-L

Allentown, NJ, USA

Joyce Rollins

New Mexico, United States

Sara

Doro

Explore your polyvagal states and learn to shift from protective responses to calm, creative connection.

Secular

Health & Happiness

Grounded

Secular Mindfulness

English

All of our three neural states (ventral, sympathetic, dorsal) are designed to move in and out of action depending on our needs for protection and connection.  This flow can be interrupted by chronic stress and trauma.  In this practice,  I guide you in exploration of your current neural state and offer tools to track sensations and shift from protection to connection. Use this practice to help your nervous system become more fluid and flexible.

Explore Your Neural Architecture - Integration Practice

 Explore your neural architecture. Integration practice. Thanks for joining me in practice today. Our integrative meditation is built on knowledge gained in my previously recorded meditations on each aspect of the polyvagal system. If you have not yet listened to those on Insight Timer, please do. In summary, we explored our ventral vagal system, the state of being calm and connected, social and present. We explored our sympathetic nervous system needed for fight and flight when under stress or threat. And our dorsal vagal system, our freeze-collapse state, when other options for protection are not available. We also explored the expressions of these neural components when we are feeling safe enough. The ongoing role of our nervous system is to keep us alive. And we move through our polyvagal states for protection if a threat is present. If we experience safety, we also move through our polyvagal states for connection, creativity and rest. Protect or connect. Protect or connect. A healthy nervous system is one that is fluid and flexible, able to shift from ventral vagal to sympathetic to dorsal and back to ventral as needed for our protection and connection. Challenges emerge when we get stuck in one part of our system due to chronic stress or trauma. Since protection overrides connection in our nervous system, we can remain stuck in protective states for a very long time. The intention of this meditation is to bring awareness and flow to these different states and hopefully nudge our system back into more integration. You can do this practice sitting or lying down with eyes open or closed in an environment where you feel safe enough. Take a few moments to settle your body, noticing the support beneath you or the surroundings you are in. If paying attention to your breath works for you, take a few longer, deep breaths. What polyvagal state are you in right now at the start of this practice? Are you in a protective sympathetic nervous system state of going too fast or too intensely with some anxiety, anger or agitation? Or are you in a connecting sympathetic nervous system state of feeling excited, enthusiastic or creative? Notice what your body's sensations are telling you about your internal state. What areas of your body hold the most sensation right now? How would you describe these sensations to yourself? Perhaps you find yourself right now in a protective dorsal vagal state, feeling isolated, collapsed, tired or depressed. Or maybe you're in a connecting restful dorsal vagal state, feeling slow, relaxed and safe. Where do you notice any of these sensations in your body? Or you may discern that you are in your ventral vagal state, alert, aware, curious and willing to connect with your internal and external worlds. What sensations might you be feeling if you are in this ventral vagal state? Whatever state you are currently in, notice the specific sensations and follow them, track them with curiosity for a few moments. Do the sensations stay the same or do they change or shift location? See if you can stay with the sensations to your tolerance level. If you shift your awareness out of your body, that's perfectly fine to bring your attention back to your room or environment for a few moments. If possible, see if you can drop the storyline of events that may have contributed to the state of your nervous system today. See if you can let any judgmental thoughts or storyline drift away or go to the background. All of our polyvagal states are very important and need to be available when we need them for protection or connection. Invite some kindness right now to your body and emotions and remember that our thoughts, emotions and polyvagal states will shift and change over time. If you are in your dorsal vagal state, see if you can sense the stillness of the state. If you feel stuck in the protective freeze response of the dorsal, invite your nervous system to shift by noticing if you are safe enough in this present moment. You can try orienting to your environment, noticing objects, sounds, touch or other sensations. When you feel safe enough, invite your nervous system to shift into your restful, relaxed dorsal vagal state. Notice any change in your muscles or breath as you invite this shift from the dorsal protective state to the safer connective dorsal state. If you feel stuck in your sympathetic nervous system protective state, be curious about the incredible power of this energy. It is present and available to help you fight or flee. In this moment, however, do you need to fight or flee? Or is your body responding to a thought or storyline? If you are safe enough, invite your system to shift into the playful, creative and energetic safe sympathetic aspects. Does it feel different in your body when you make this shift from a protective to connective state in your sympathetic system? What specifically are you noticing in your breath, your muscles or your posture? Lastly, we're going to invite our ventral vagal state to come on board. Take a moment to imagine a person, animal or place that you really love. Imagine being with them or being in that environment. Strengthening this memory with remembered sensations. Notice what begins to happen in your body as you recreate these memories. You may experience a warmth or expansion in your chest, a shift in your breath or change in your muscles. Perhaps gravity can settle you more deeply in your posture and the types of thoughts that are being generated may change. Remember that acknowledging the nervous system state you are in can bring in kindness and awareness to your experience and open a door for you to assess your current safety and invite a shift in your states to one that feels more appropriate. The more you practice this, the more fluid your nervous system will become and the less stuck you will feel. In this practice, I've encouraged you to try different things depending on the state you are in, to notice if you're safe and to shift from a protective to a connective state in each of your systems. I've encouraged you to create a list of resources, activities and people that help bring you back to your ventral vagal system. This is an important tool in befriending your nervous system. The idea is down helps you remember them in times when you may not have access to the executive part of your brain due to being in a protective survival state. Also remember to invite moments of goodness and safety into your awareness. This will help your nervous system become more flexible over time. Thank you for your willingness to explore your inner neural architecture. And thanks for practicing with me today. I wish you well.