Polyvagal Theory from a Somatic NVC Perspective – by Rik Midgley

Polyvagal theory offers a biological explanation for how our thinking can drop into different characteristic modes during stressful or challenging episodes. Within these modes our capacity to think and to perceive may become restricted to pre-learned habitual reactions. Perhaps there have been times during stressful communications when you have experienced feeling ‘stuck’ in the belief of the wrongness of the other and have found no capacity other than to speak terms of their blame? Or perhaps in some difficult situation you have experienced a deflated loss of energy, a heaviness, a sense of overwhelm and abandonment that could coincide with thinking that goes like I am not enough… or I will never be able to… I personally found huge relief in the understanding that there was a biological root for my apparent incapacity, which once understood, could support me to reconnect and find ways of responding that were more effective.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is part of the nervous system responsible for control of the bodily functions which are not consciously directed, and include breathing, heartbeat, digestion and much of our thinking. It has evolved over millennia to regulate to regulate the efficient and effective use of energy in the body, which is the fuel we have to keep us alive. It has some plasticity in that it is shaped by early experience and is reshaped with ongoing experience. Adverse childhood experiences for example can result in adaptive responses in the ANS. As evidenced by our own current presence, these were once successful survival strategies, but with the growth and wisdom of life these learnt responses may no longer be life serving. Our capacity to refine our depository of learnt responses exists through our ability to bring awareness to these otherwise unconscious processes, and to do so with an open-hearted acceptance. The healing is in the feeling. While the breath and our thoughts are starting points to attract our attention, it is the nature of their underlying energy which is significant. It is the ‘how’ of our breathing and thinking, the bodily tensions and sensations that flow along side these processes that record the impressions of our accommodations and pain. These subtle expressions of life carry our life history of nurtured reactivity. They are our personality, our scars of separation. This is the doorway into our hearts, the compassionate awareness where we can choose the quality of our being.

Polyvagal theory recognises that the ANS has evolved in 3 distinct stages, each of which is built upon what was already functioning, and contributed additional capacities of regulation. In normal functioning all 3 parts are active, each regulating its own aspect of bodily function so that we may healthily live, interact with the world, and with each other.

The dorsal vagal nerve system is the earliest part of the ANS which evolved in early multicellular life in the Precambrian more than 500 million years ago. Today it serves to regulate organs below the diaphragm, including digestion, much of which are generally beyond our conscious perception (the term neuroception is used to describe how the ANS detects and responds to our body signals without our awareness). Dorsal is our foundational mode of being, one of raw consciousness, and of primeval connection to life. When it is engaged through relaxed connection, gratitude or meditative processes, it may sing with a resonance of awe, peace and oneness with life. In its protective mode, it has various degrees of shutting down which are characterised by numbing, dissociation, distraction and denial, and in extreme cases, immobilisation and loss of consciousness.

The sympathetic vagal nerve system was next to evolve around 400 million years ago, and regulates heart rhythm, blood circulation, body temperature and our energy level, activating and mobilising in preparation for response. Being located in the brain stem, off-line to the slower cortical structures that evolved later, it has a capacity to react in hundredths of a second. Awareness of this rapid response may only arise in hindsight, at least a half second later, as and when consciousness returns to the higher levels of the mind. In contrast, its deactivation (via the parasympathetic nerve) tends to be more gradual. This is why a state of alertness or anxiousness may prevail after the stimulus has passed. I have heard analogies of the activation being like a car accelerator while the deactivation is like hitting the brake while the foot is still on the accelerator.

The sympathetic system seeks safety, and acts automatically and impulsively with learned habitual behaviour. It does not react directly to the external world, but rather to body memory of internal experience which result from historical feelings and thoughts. I am neither present or in aware choice. Its reaction is characterised by feelings of constrictive tension and energetic activation. In its survival protective mode the two possible responses are to either protect with aggression or withdraw in defence; fight or flight.

The ventral vagal nerve system evolving some 200 million years ago is the most recent branch of our ANS. It affects body functioning above the diaphragm, and brings the ability for connection and social engagement while overseeing the entire ANS and guiding it towards healthy homeostasis. While sympathetic allows only an either or choice, ventral offers the capacity to have a more nuanced and meaningful connection with others through the capacity for mutual empathic sensing and understanding. With this enhanced perspective, a decision, belief or understanding can have the quality of good enough for now. Although costly in terms of mental energy use, and slow with the cyclic flow of the neural circuits, with the inter-dependent nature of humans, the energetic benefits of social connection can significantly outweigh those resulting from the reactivity of the sympathetic. The ventral vagal nerve connects the third of our neurons which are located around our heart with our face and hands. Awareness of sensations in the hands and face allows insight into what is energetically alive, while they are portrayed to others as emotional expression.

Even in ventral, again for the efficient use of energy, much behaviour is habitual and beyond awareness. Thoughts and speech are constructed from a series preconceived concepts and ideas, which are recognised as words and phrases. Each of these snippets shadows physical sensations in the body, creating an emotional felt sense of meaning. Much of this is subliminal, with the stream of words being caught in the flow of the mind. There are only moments when either the train of thought is interrupted, or the sensations are of such a nature or intensity that presence to them may be awakened. Only then is awareness suffice to permit real choice, breaking the habitual chain of determinism. The deliberate focus upon the tangible experience or felt sense acts to nurture this capacity to enhance presence and choice. Areas of the brain involved in aspects of emotional experiencing are activated (the subcortical limbic system and regions in the right cortical hemisphere), which awakens what I believe to be our natural way of being before several thousands of years of domination culture. This is a skill which can be learned though practise.

An example of this is the nurturing of NVC consciousness. This necessarily begins with a break in the habitual flow of the mind, a moment of awareness and presence, and a pause to allow connection to the internal world. Critically, this involves the impartial observation of tangible sensations to connect with the underlying energy of what is presently alive. Only when this energetic expression is held in awareness and recognition, can a feeling be sensed and named. This cognitive process cognitively takes a full half second. Without it, a so called ‘feeling’ is just a thought; a memory of a feeling or an imagination of what a feeling should be and the language used risks being manipulative and dominating. This pause is at the heart of NVC consciousness!

The autonomic hierarchy. All 3 branches of the vagal nerve run concurrently keeping our mind, heart and guts ticking. The degree of dominance of each branch fluctuates with the daily rhythm, events and interactions, in our body’s attempt to efficiently manage our energy budget. The autonomic hierarchy is one of increasing activation and presence as our predominant biological state rises from the relatively passive dorsal through the reactionary sympathetic to nuance of vagal. Each state is characterised by its own range of sensations, feelings and emotions. A flexible ANS with the ability to adjust to the demands of daily life is characterised by increased activity in the ventral vagal, which is indicated through heart rate variability, and is often referred to as vagal tone. There are many different exercises that can support the capacity to influence our position on this hierarchy and ground in being in ventral. For example, nurturing awareness of feelings in the face and hands,awareness of peripheral vision, square breathing, or a few slow out-breaths while feeling for a consistent tone in the touch of the breath.

Overwhelm occurs when the intensity of physical sensations in the body goes beyond what can be held, understood and digested. This does not follow not from physical or psychological stress, but rather from our incapacity to respond to it. The nervous system responds by retreating down the hierarchy into a more primitive state. From vagal it drops into sympathetic with a rush of defensive energy. Access to the rational thinking of the cortex is reduced enabling a rapid reaction in flight or fight. If neither flight or fight reactions lead to a perception of safety, the overwhelm continues with a dropping into dorsal. Here the protective reaction is to dissociate or numb, turning off the capacity to hear the frightening message. In extreme cases this could mean that the cortex is off-line to the degree that no memory is recorded or that consciousness may be lost. I have heard it said that this is a natural response to unnatural stimulus!

Moving back up the hierarchy is a slower process as normalising the levels of released hormones and chemicals is a more timely process than their release. As the system moves up from dorsal into sympathetic, again there may be a defensive response of energy activation and an instinct to either flight or fight. This may be sufficient to re-stress the system and lead it back into dorsal. A return to full balance between the 3 states requires time and a gentle nurturing.

The working Polyvagal system. When I perceive irritation or frustration during an interaction with another person, my first experience may be an ‘awch!’, a recoil or tense contraction that indicates my sympathetic nerve rapidly stepping up. The degree to which I am in sympathetic mode limits my capacity to react other than habitually to my internal experience. If I can notice the felt impact upon my body, and receive it as a reminder to pause, perhaps I can sustain my inner connection and keep my ventral vagal nerve online, if only in a reduced capacity. In doing so I am nurturing my ability to create some sort of link or channel to the world of choice, compassion and uncertainty. These feelings may not feel ‘nice’, but if I can view them as messages that are guiding me towards presence and empowerment, then maybe I can cultivate friendship with them. Sustaining this internal awareness may lead to a relaxation of tension, an the easing of the breath, and towards a sense of curiosity in what could be going on for the other person.

The capacity to hold a strong engagement with the ventral state is reduced at times of exhaustion, hunger, or relaxation. When energy resources are limited the ANS seeks to save energy by connecting predominantly to the older branches of the vagal nerve which are less energy hungry. The defensive reactivity of the sympathetic along with reduced ventral flexibility results in a tendency to be grumpy and irritable at such times. Conversely, at times of excitement the activating energy of the sympathetic mode may kick in while sustaining a healthy relationship with the ventral mode. This ‘play’ of interactions between vagal states serves to familiarise and empower control over the system.