The Vagus and the Social Nervous System

Five-part course
with John Wilks

This course is a bundle of classes on the vagus nerve and the social nervous system based on the work on Dr. Stephen Porges.

In five engaging sessions, you will learn how to engage the ventral vagus. You will get background information combined with practical exercises to help us and others regulate our nervous systems.

COURSE CONTENT

Please click the image above to view an excerpt.

PART I

The Neuro-Anatomy of the Social Nervous System

This course lesson is based on extracts from two lectures on the Polyvagal Theory with Dr. Stephen Porges.

In this footage, Dr. Porges outlines the evolutionary and hierarchical nature of the vagus and the autonomic system in an easy to understand way and shows its implications for clinical practice, human relationships and behaviour.

PART II

Safety and Neuroception in the Therapeutic Setting

John Wilks examines the aspect of safety in the context of manual therapy. Why is creating safety so important in the therapeutic setting and how can we ensure our clients feel safe?

This presentation looks at how our bodies perceive threat and how our ‘new’ vagus needs safety in order to build trust and relationship which are a prerequisite for a favourable response to therapeutic intervention.

Please click the image above to view an excerpt.

PART III

The Neural Love Code

In this course session, John explains how relationships and social engagement are built on a specific order of neurological functioning. This will give us an understanding of why health and well-being are based on the healthy functioning of the new vagus with particular reference to the face, head, neck, heart and digestion and how this can be tracked and supported in our clients.

PART IV

50 Ways of Engaging the Vagus – Part 1

Now more than ever, understanding how we can regulate our nervous systems in response to current challenges can be incredibly helpful. In this presentation, John Wilks goes through some very practical ways that we can engage our social nervous system and our ‘ventral vagus’ in order to calm our nervous systems and integrate experiences positively.

Using some practical exercises involving breath, embodiment practices, touch and social activities (both in person and online), John goes through a series of ways you can engage the newer vagal circuits to encourage well-being both in ourselves and our clients. This is an interactive and experiential presentation so please allow yourself time out during this hour to switch off, engage and chill out!

Please click the image above to view an excerpt.

PART V

50 Ways of Engaging the Vagus – Part 2

This course section explores more ways of experiencing an active ventral vagus. Short practical exercises involving the breath, touch, music and other aspects will provide us with a little toolkit we can use for ourselves and others to regulate the nervous system.