A Framework
3 Steps: Assess, Down-Shift, Connect
{19 minutes}
3 Steps: Assess, Down-Shift, Connect
Polyvagal Restorative Practices
This video-based practice is really designed for caregivers of all kinds- formal and informal. Whether you are providing care as a human services professional, or caring for aging parents, this is a Polyvagally-informed approach to Restorative Practices for those serving others. This practice is dedicated to Compassion Fatigue expert Beverly Kyer, and our colleagues on the frontlines in medicine and mental health in Manila in the Filipines.
It will walk you through 1) thinking about a systematic process for self-assessing your present moment state by tracking your own physiological and interoceptive cues, 2) down-regulating various neural platforms of threat (fight, flight, shutdown), and 3) bringing your connection system online.
Related Practices:
This practice is at the intersection of Polyvagal Theory and Mindfulness, arising from the awareness that traditional mindfulness practice is generally contra-indicated when the body is in strongly defensive states (e.g., fight, flight, or shutdown). It is related to the films Polyvagal Theory and Heartfulness. It is related to Polyvagal Maps, Coming out of Fight, Coming out of Flight, and Coming out of Freeze.Photography: Stein Egil Liland | Licensed from Pexels.com, used with permission.