We have had a bit of vagal system extravaganza at MMI lately. I have been inspired by some dissection stuff during my class with Gil Hedley to re-look at vagal system anatomy. Dissection is messy business, and while we saw the vagus in the wild, as Gil likes to say, it was difficult to get the impressions of it that I wanted.

I have been thinking about “safety” lately. I love the polyvagal theory because it places feelings solidly within the ranges of our physiological felt sense, aka interoception. Many people experience the range of their emotions as physiological sensations (or symptoms depending on perspective/severity). The polyvagal theory offers us a map to help our people interpret what the body is expressing. However, most articulations of the theory use the word “safety” in a way I find troubling.

Wellness/biohack culture is obsessed with the vagus nerve and yet often misses the point of what can be helpful about understanding the polyvagal theory and the individual dynamism of each of our vagal systems. There isn’t a shortcut for deepening our capacity for both self and co-regulation. 

It's okay to play with anatomy and our ideas together to process our understanding and share with others without being hung up on exactitude. I recently had some fun exploring the polyvagal system and its potential impact on overall patient care.