Lição 1
Introduction to Releasing Trauma Through Vagal Tone
Welcome to “Releasing Trauma Through Vagal Tone”, a transformational course on Insighttimer. I’m your host Ellen Mouton.
I’m so glad you are here!
Like many people, I have experienced childhood trauma. I don’t remember all the details, but I know that I felt unloved and didn’t receive the touch and affection that I needed as a child. As a result, I developed chronic depression and an eating disorder, as ways to cope and try to regulate myself. Of course, I wasn’t aware of what I was doing at the time. My nervous system was acting on survival mode, trying to protect me from rejection or abandonment. So I can relate to what you might be going through in your life due to your trauma or past wounds. You may not even realize that you have them, but you may feel a sense of unease or disconnection inside. And I’m here to help you start or continue your healing journey.
In this course, we will explore the power of the vagus nerve and how it can help us release trauma and reconnect with our bodies.
Lição 2
The Polyvagal Theory and the Window of Tolerance
In our last session, we introduced the polyvagal theory and its relevance to trauma release. In this session, we will explore the three states of the polyvagal ladder: Safe and Social (ventral vagal state), Fight or Flight (sympathetic state), and Shut Down (dorsal vagal state).
The polyvagal theory proposes that there are three branches of the vagus nerve that correspond to three different states of our nervous system: ventral vagal, sympathetic, and dorsal vagal. These states form a hierarchical ladder that reflects how we respond to stress and trauma.
Lição 3
Techniques for Working with the Vagus Nerve
In our last session, we explored the three states of the polyvagal ladder: Safe and Social, Fight or Flight, and Shut Down. In this session, we will learn about how the vagus nerve is responsible for the freeze response and the importance of breathing to calm the body and bring the heart rate down, and how it is linked to trauma.
Before we begin, I want to check in with you and see how you did with the last exercise. The exercise was to use the polyvagal ladder to identify which state you were in at different times of the day and what coping skills you used to shift your state. How did it go for you? What did you notice? What did you learn? Feel free to share your experience with me or with a partner if you have one.
The freeze response is a survival mechanism that occurs when we are faced with a perceived threat that is too overwhelming or we are unable to escape.
Lição 4
Techniques for reconnecting with the body
In our last session, we learned about how the vagus nerve is responsible for the freeze response and the importance of breathing to calm the body and bring the heart rate down. In this session, we will learn about simple techniques for working with the vagus nerve to promote healing and reconnection with the body. We’ll also practice a meditation to help you connect with your emotions and feel your feelings, as a way to learn from them and release your trauma.
Before we dive into these techniques, let’s take a moment to check in with our journaling practice. How has it been going so far? Have you noticed any patterns or insights emerging as you reflect on your experiences with trauma and past wounds?
Now let’s turn our attention to the vagus nerve and its role in healing. The vagus nerve is a powerful tool for promoting relaxation and restoring balance in the body. By educating ourselves about this nerve and its functions, we can learn how to work with it to release trauma and reconnect with our bodies.
Lição 5
The Importance of Co-Regulation in Trauma Healing
In our last session, we learned about simple techniques for working with the vagus nerve to promote healing and reconnection with the body, and we’ve practiced learning from and heal our emotions. In this session, we will delve deeper into the concept of co-regulation and how friends, family, and therapists can help us restore a sense of safety and calm as we work to heal from trauma and past wounds.
Before we move on, have you discovered any new perspectives? How does it feel to write about yourself and your past wounds? Remember that expressing our emotions and feelings is a big part of healing.
Now let’s turn our attention to co-regulation. Co-regulation is the process by which our nervous system takes cues from the people around us to determine how anxious or calm to be. This process begins when we are babies and relies on being held, making eye contact, hearing our mother’s voice, being touched, and having our cries soothed.
However, not everyone receives this type of co-regulation when they are young. Some parents may not have known how to provide this type of support, or may have been unable to do so due to their own struggles. It can result in an overload, which plays a role in the formation of trauma, which we will discuss in this session.
Lição 6
Practices for Stimulating the Vagus Nerve to Release Trauma
In our last session, we learned about the importance of co-regulation in restoring a sense of safety and calm as we work to heal from trauma. In this final session, we will explore practices for stimulating the vagus nerve to promote relaxation and release trauma.
The vagus nerve is a powerful tool for promoting relaxation and restoring balance in the body. By practicing these techniques, we can tap into the power of the vagus nerve to release trauma and reconnect with our bodies.
Stimulating the vagus nerve can have many benefits for our mental health, especially if we have experienced trauma. In this session, we are covering some of these benefits. We also practice some of the most efficient exercises, together.
Lição 7
Conclusion and Next Steps
Congratulations! You have completed the six-part series on healing from trauma using Vagal Tone techniques. In this final session, we will summarize the main and most important points that you have learned and might want to remember or write down.
We will also talk about what you could do next to continue your trauma and wounds healing journey, and we will end with a very important emotional release exercise that you can take with you and practice every day to help you in your healing journey.
Thank you for following this course with me. I wish you the best.
Namaste