Return to All Videos- Hear Deb Dana’s down-to-earth presentation of Polyvagal Theory, and understand the essence of this profound framework (key terms: autonomic hierarchy, neuroception, co-regulation, dorsal, sympathetic, ventral)
- Experience practices and exercises designed to bring us into ventral regulation and give us access to greater resilience, intuition, safety, and wonder
- Explore how how Polyvagal Theory can transform your therapuetic work, and give you tools to offer your clients to help them reliably self-regulate
Enjoyed the Summit?
Earn up to 22.5 CE Credits and get lifetime access to all 25+ Summit sessions.
Thank you for this knowledgeable and beautifully explained session.
Thanks for the tips on the ventral anchors and the 3 stories.
What a talk…so much wisdom in a nutshell! Thank you so much!! Jasmin from Austria 🧡✨
I would like to thank you a lot for the possibility to watch this very interesting presentation at an extra time period. It is the first time for me to hear about such a theory, the explanation is perfect.
Thank youso much for this session!
God bless you and the work you do.
One of the best presentations I’ve ever heard. It took me a while to find practical implementations of Polyvagal theory. Today was a major breakthrough. You are the best, Dr. Deb Dana! THANK YOU!
It helped for me to use the subtitles function, since the new polyvagal words are not ones I typical use and they roll by so fast during talks. It was great to understand the three principles and they will be personally and professionally useful. Enjoyed listening. Thank you.
What an adventure to hear about this, for me a new vieuw.
Very interesting and helpfull to understand a lot more.
So the intervieuwer for me was not very calm and it made my nerves system very alert…. I suppose I was in the sympathic…
Just invaluable ~ very very grateful thank you
Love this! I’ve learned valuable objectives from this training more so than what I’ve learned 3 years in graduate school!
Thank you,
Taylor
Fantastic learning.
just beautiful wisdom in action
Thank you, Deb Danna! It makes sense why I feel so wonderful going for nature walks, window shopping, being with my favourite people, or looking and my “stuff” 😀
That was a great presentation. It gave me a lot of insight into the sensations that accompany some thought patterns that seem to be dysregulated. My main opinion was control the thoughts and control the body but this presentation helped me to realize its a biological union of the two that must be addressed for true healing to be consistent. Regulating your nervous system is the key.
This was exceptional. Thoughts, feelings, sensations, breathing live in the body. This work has a profound connection to Eugene Gendlin’s work with Experiential Focusing. Like Focusing, Polyvagal can be integrated with other modalities. Both are so reliable for getting to the real emerging issues. This practical presentation was a joy to see.
Polivagal theory in action, what a treat!
Every time I listen to Deb Dana I feel a sense of calm and very grounded. It definitely takes a micro-moment.
Thank you both for your expert guidance.
Dear Mrs Dana, thank you so much for that beautiful insight of you mental praxis, that helps me really to understand what kind of misconceptional pattern are used in several moments within situational relationships within my environment. With your knowledge you gave me the very clear view of what is going wrong and doing wrong against human mental health here in my field, I always have been aware of the fact, that something very curios happens between the different awareness of mental connection I had with students, I always felt drained, pushed back and even repressed that it caused physical hurt within my biological system. Now I understand that I was just always hurt in my regulated and integrated nervous system because of disregulation and disintegration of of other people, they always send me negative pattern. I spoke with the social worker of the educational institution about that phenomen, but I just could describe the phenomen, but had no term for that, and know it is clear to me that in sum the polyvegal theory could just have bring me the answer and the proof, that my awareness of being mentally, emotionally and even physically abused (even without a real touch) was and is still right. I struggled really a lot during the last one and a half year to find out how I can explain correctly and name it correctly, what was happen to me within my inner mental structures, they’re obviously my nervous system that was always mistreat arbitrarily, I searched very badly for a proof to bring an end to that abuse. Because for me it is very important to have that evidental knowledge now, what is a fundamental science about neuroception and it will help me to make it real seen, what is going wrong within that environmental system, where students are trained to work with children and youngsters and they are not aware of that they have the ability to regulate and integrate themselve to overcome own challenging circumstances. I always asked myself how that can even be that such people shall be allowed to get in mental touch with children and youngsters and now the coin fell: They are just conditioned within their neuro system to behave on the surface of being regulated and integrated, but their biological system does not work with that, what is really problematic to them, because they are always dependent on a neuro system, that gives them the input to feel regulated and integrated, instead of being that themselve in reality. But there is another point to mention, namenly the fact that the situational context of being involved within a conversation of becoming aware of own disregulation and disintegration, to get in touch with the own nervos system in co-regulation, as you name it, just create and produced denying behavior, as to say, that the spoken individualsoul wont be confronted with themselve and just prefer to violence other nervos systems, to stay within the unawareness of own mental problematic conditions. So when I did suffer under such circumstances, as an adult with a lot of experiences and knowledge and the ability to have a great space of thoughts to create ideas, to find ways and solutions to deal with mental abuse, so what will be the case for children or youngsters, they are still on the progress to develop, to learn, to get aware on their own, being confronted with the unregulated and unintegrated nervos systems, they shall be a base of education to them, to grow and develop own personal awareness, when it seems to be just a switch of an unexpected moment, that will bring forth what is hidden behind conditioned behavior? I am so glad to have now answers to my questions, I thought I would never find them and just end up as a nerd who just wont to assimilate to the canon of ready-made behavior. And I thank you so much to give me a theory that shows how much important it is for each of us, to be free in mind and self regulated and integrated, to feel and be self confident within own horizon, that was always taken away from me and made me feel incomplete and unsatisfied, because of the fact that others needed just to stuck within their problematic mind conditions. And your theory also give me the key to make understand, which structural methods are used to hurt others within their neuro system, what is evidently a violence against the general human right to live in safety and dignity. I feel really mentally free now in that moment, what is an indication for my ability to self regulation and integrety, emotionally and mentally, to feel safe in my body. Thank you for that gift.
Lovely wishes,
Silvana Zehnpfennig
I really appreciate ya’ll extending this summer. A refresher this has been looking into holistic health for trauma, no one size fits all but to enjoy the process.
Absolutely wonderful. Thank you Deb and also Chris.
Deirdre
Excellent interview Chris, because you were willing to be beautifully vulnerable and Deb could reveal her therapeutic compassion in action. 🌻
Thank you, Deb Dana! Wonderful lesson! Very useful, simple and elegant. Thank you, Chris!
táim buiochas díobh (I’m grateful to you) for this practical and invitational presentation.
It was so lovely to hear you Deb, so clear and ventral, thank you so much.
Beautiful enlightening lecture! thank you Deb and Chris!
Wow thanks so much. I finally understand. Great interview.🥰🥰
Thank you Deb for this wonderfully enriching talk. I am currently reading your book on polyvagal theory so it was a pleasure to hear you and Chris engage with some helpful and practical techniques.
Fascinating discussion. Thank you Deb and Chris for making polyvagal theory come alive.
Thank you, Deb Dana, for making polyvagal theory more accessible for non-therapists like me! And Chris Willard, I enjoy your humble and enthusiastic approach to interviewing these speakers!
What am amazingly helpful session. Thank you to Deb Dana for her exceptional teaching abilities, and to Chris Willard for courageously being willing to share and be vulnerable.
Wow! Thank you so very much.
Excellent explanation of polyvagal theory and application in clear and accessible language, very useful. Thanks!
Thank you for this discussion on polyvagal theory! Historically it has been hard for me to understand, but this helped me to see it through a clearer demonstration 🙂
Just wow. This session was increadibly alive for me, not only for the excellent content but also for they way it was conducted or co-created… Thank you both!!
Thank you so much, this talk was so good, the which story am i in concept is so helpful, clear and workable. So grateful.
Deb, it was such an honour to just be a part of your authenticity and to learn from your sharing. Through the session you demonstrated for us in the way you shared what it was you were teaching. To be in your presence was so healing in itself. Your sharing has deepened my understanding of myself and of the polyvagal theory. It’s like you breathed life into a theory and have made it come alive for me. You showed in such a simple way throughout how a dysregulated nervous system can be regulated with Co-regulation. The most beautiful part of your sharing was that you also gave it closure in such a beautiful way(not in words but in the way your nervous system worked and how neuroception acknowledged it). The most practical experience of mindfulness and present moment awareness I have had. You have taught me what mindfulness and present moment awareness are from a totally different perspective. What an honour to have been in the presence of your infinite awareness. Thank you so very much.
Breathtakingly subtle modeling of attuned compassion and refined psychotherapeutic skill. A privilege to witness and learn. Thank you.
this is the first time I heard Deb, and I think it was an amazing opportunity for me, as a therapist. I had her books, but the she explains the theory, makes me so calm and like this make so much sence. I wish I knew it before. Thank you for this. I wonder if this three systems, area relatable with the three circles from compassion focused therapy.