Meditation and the Polyvagal Theory

The Polyvagal Theory, developed by psychiatrist Stephen Porges, explains how our nervous system responds to stressful situations. It highlights three responses: fight-or-flight, immobilization, and calmness (our normal state).

Fight-or-flight

represents our sympathetic nervous system’s reaction to danger. In contrast, the relaxation response and immobilization response induce calmness through the parasympathetic nervous system, particularly the vagus nerve, consisting of dorsal and ventral parts. The dorsal component triggers shutdown during trauma (freeze response).

Porges suggests that training the body to activate the vagus nerve can turn on the parasympathetic nervous system, inducing relaxation. This highlights the importance of body-calming practices like meditation in calming the system. The Polyvagal Theory underscores the significance of meditation in healing the body and mind.

Relax Facial Muscles

Relaxing facial muscles can instantly induce a state of relaxation. The close connection between facial nerves and the vagus nerve can be leveraged by simply relaxing facial muscles.






Deep Breathing

Deep breathing exercises, known as breathwork, can effectively calm the system and activate deep relaxation states. The Polyvagal Theory supports the stress-reducing benefits of breathwork.


The Art of Breathing


course

Chanting Om or Humming

Chanting Om has been shown to activate the vagus nerve and induce deep relaxation. Group chanting can enhance the experience and deepen the connection to the practice.

Detach from Thoughts

Mindfulness meditation techniques can help detach from stressful thoughts, allowing the nervous system to reset to a state of ease. Practices like deep breathing and chanting can also aid in detaching from thoughts.

Written by Reese Jones