How to Map Your Own Nervous System
It’s helpful to be able to identify where you are on the nervous system “map,” so that you know what type of tools and exercises will be the most helpful to get to Ventral vagus state of connection and safety.
Dr. Stephen Porges is a neuroscientist and trauma expert who created a model to understand and work with the autonomic nervous system called the Polyvagal Theory.
Dr. Porges discovered that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is organized in three “subsystems” and we naturally move between each state:
The Ventral Vagal system, which is the newest part of our nervous system, and is concerned with social connection and safety
The Sympathetic system, the sencond oldest part of our nervous system concerned with fighting and fleeing
And the Dorsal Vagal system, the oldest part of our nervous system and is concerned with survival and freezing or playing dead.
Vagus Nerve
Each of these subsystems is controlled by the vagus nerve, the 10th and longest cranial nerve in our body. The vagus nerve runs from the brainstem to the intestines and is sometimes referred to as the “brain in the gut.”
The vagus nerve is remarkable because it is both afferent and efferent. This means that the vagus nerve takes information from the brain to the organs of the body, and from the organs of the body back to the brain. So a feedback loop works to keep us safe and alive. When the body feels safe and relaxed, it sends a message through the vagus nerve to the brain that all is well and we experience a mental sense of calm and safety.
Calming ourselves is not dependent on exterior circumstances resolving — we can use our body to calm our brain and nervous system. This is called a “bottom up” approach. Therapy and using the mind to calm us is a “top down” approach.
When our nervous system is overwhelmed, we can stay in either Sympathetic (fight or flight) or Dorsal Vagal (freeze and dissociation) or ping pong between the two states. Many of us live between these two states or in freeze with sudden surges of adrenaline. We call this having one foot on the brake and the other on the gas pedal.
It’s possible to gradually move more into the state of connection and safety, but it’s important to understand where we are on the Polyvagal “Map” so that we can utilize the most effective nervous system regulating techniques to move us in the appropriate direction from where we are at the moment.
In other words, the question is not only how to regulate nervous system physiology, but where are you currently on the spectrum so that you know which tools will be most effective.
Here’s a summary of the three states so you can identify where you are on the nervous system “map.”
Ventral Vagal
The ventral side of the vagus nerve responds to cues of safety and interactions in our environment. It supports feelings of physical safety and safe emotional connection to others in our social environment. It’s associated with feeling connected with others. This is the newest addition to the nervous system and when we’re in our ventral vagal nervous system, we feel grounded, safe, calm , connected and engaged. It’s a good place to make decisions from.
Ventral Vagal = Safe + Social
Communicates well
Resourced
Present
Connected + warm
Curious
Grounded
At ease
A good place from which to make decisions
Ready to learn
Physical:
Increased digestion, immune response, rest, oxytocin, breathing freely
Dorsal Vagal
The dorsal side of the vagus nerve responds to cues of danger. It pulls us away from connection, and into a state of self-protection and dissociation. In moments when we might experience a cue of extreme danger, we can shut down and feel frozen, an indication that our dorsal vagal nerve has taken over. It’s associated with being immobilized. When we’re in fear or we can’t call for help, fight or flee, our nervous system is overwhelmed, we shut down and get numb.
Dorsal Vagal = Immobilized + Freeze
Shutdown
Trapped
Disconnected
Numb
Hopeless
Helpless
Shame
Despair
Depressed
Emotions shut down
Dissociated
Physical:
Feels like a zombie, hard to get out of bed or off the sofa
Decreased eye contact, awareness, social behavior, libido, heart rate slows
Increased pain threshold, endorphins that numb pain
Sympathetic
The Sympathetic nervous system is associated with fight and flight. In this reponse, we mobilize in the face of a cue of danger. We spring into action with our adrenaline rush to get away or to fight off our threat. Often we stay in this part of our nervous system much longer than we need.
Sympathetic = Mobilized for Fight + Flight
Rage
Anger
Frustration
Irritation
Confrontational
Panic
Chronic stress
Anxiety
Jumpy
Worry
Hard to think
Impulsive
Ready to run
Easily activated, startled
Senses are on alert
Physical:
Increased heart rate, adrenaline, faster or restricted breathing
Decreased ability to relate to others, digestion
A Paradox
The important thing to know is that when we’re in Sympathetic, we can use calming techniques or exercises to bring us back into Ventral vagal. But inorder to return to Ventral vagal from Dorsal vagal (freeze) state, we need to go through the Sympathetic state... but this is more nuanced than it sounds.
Because freeze state is essentially immobilization, we need to gently and slowly mobilize in order to find safety and connection. We cannot get to safety by doing calming exercises. At first this seems like a paradox.
But if you think about when a hibernating bear wakes up, there’s a lot of immobilization energy to jump start, and it can’t happen quickly. At first Mr. Bear will move his arms and legs, then he’ll scratch and stretch, then he’ll groom himself. (Yes, I did research how a bear comes out of hibrernation for this article). He’ll be a bit groggy and he’ll move slowly as he emerges from his den. He doesn’t jump right into socializing, nor does he jump into action. He has a transition period which includes slow, gentle mobilizing.
Coming out of a freeze or dissociated state is much like a hibernating bear waking up.
Rather than jumping up quickly or doing something super calming, our nervous system requires some very slow, gentle movement. This actually mobililzes us and we’re able to enter into a Ventral vagal state of safety and connection more naturally.
Unfortunately many well-intentioned nervous system regulation advice on social media doesn’t understand this about freeze state and suggests calming exercises for freeze state or overly activating exercises (for example, activating breathwork) for either state that doesn’t serve any purpose.
Therefore, the more you understand about where you are on the map and what you need to regulate, the better.
Your next step…
It’s helpful to be able to identify where you are on the nervous system “map,” so that you know what type of tools will be the most helpful to get to Ventral vagus state.
Once you have a clear sense of where you are on the Polyvagal map, and a clear sense of where you need to go to regulate, your next step is to find techniques and exercises that you enjoy and relate to that you’re willing to commit to practicing regularly (daily) to begin creating new neural patterns.
Somatic Exercises to Take You From Freeze State to Safety and Connection
When working within the Polyvagal nervous system regulation framework, we know that in order to bring someone out of a freeze and dissociated state, we need to gently mobilize their nervous system within their capacity. Here are some effective somatic exercises for working with the freeze state.
When working within the Polyvagal nervous system regulation framework, we know that in order to bring someone out of a freeze and dissociated state, we need to gently mobilize their nervous system within their capacity.
We don’t want to overstimulate or overwhelm their system, but we want their system to experience a little bit of activation within their capacity. It’s in this way that their system will begin to experience expansion and their window of tolerance — what they can tolerate without moving into fight or flight — will grow. The key is to to know how to regulate nervous system physiology, which can include either knowing how to calm your nervous system or how to gently stimulate it— depending on what you need.
Where you are on the nervous system “map” will determine which somatic exercises may be the most effective for you
In How to map your own nervous system, we discussed the three different subsystems of the Polyvagal system: Ventral vagal which is the state of connection and safety, the Sympathetic system, which is the state of fight and flight or mobilization, and the Dorsal Vagal system, which is the state of freeze and immobilization.
Many people are stuck in the Freeze state or what we call “functional freeze,” where they are able to function or even excel in their jobs, but feel numb and unfulfilled, self isolate, and feel like they’re in a fog when at home.
Others find themselves ping ponging between flight and flight state and freeze states. Often this looks like feeling exhausted and dissociated (detached from their bodies) but easily startled by sounds or activated by anything even remotely stressful and then they plunge back into freeze. In the Polyvagal world, this is called having one foot on the brake and one foot on the gas, and it’s exhausting to live like this.
Somatic exercises for freeze state
These Somatic exercises are some of my favorite practices to help you gently mobilize while staying well within your capacity. Try one or all of them and see whether any of them shift you .01%. You’re not looking for a huge shift — you want a tiny subtle shift. Then, you practice it every day. I know, that’s the hard part, but think of it as training your nervous system — creating new neural pathways… new neural habits, a tiny bit at a time. After 3 weeks, see what you notice.
This is my favorite somatic exercise for gently mobilizing when in a dissociated or freeze state. Often, when we’ve been immobilized, we also feel stiff because we haven’t been moving, so this addresses both the physical mobility as well as moving energy stuck in the joints.
When in freeze state, some people feel exhausted and can barely get out of bed or off the sofa, but as tired as they feel, they can’t sleep either. If you can relate to this, try doing this while lying in bed. Some people report falling asleep while listening to the audio. Doing only a few of the movements regulates them enough that their sleep improves. Think about it this way, when we feel safe, our bodies will do what they naturally need to do. Sometimes, the most important thing is to sleep deeply.
For this exercise, Moving the Joints, I’m sending you to my Insight Timer account for a free guided audio recording. You may need to download Insight Timer on your phone or go to insighttimer.com to set up a free account and then click on this link.
Click on this link for Moving your Joints audio recording.
Please follow me on Insight Timer for access to other free audio recordings.
Squeezing your arms and legs
This exercise is especially helpful if you feel dissociated in your limbs. It helps bring awareness back into your limbs. Begin by squeezing your upper arms, from your shoulder to your elbow and from your elbow to your wrist. Then do the same for your thighs and then lower legs.
Anchoring your container
Our hands take up 35% of the real estate in the sensorsy part of your brain. This means that your hands are influential when bringing attention and awareness to different parts of your body.
Often when we’re in freeze or dissociated state, we aren’t connected to parts of ourselves. We don’t feel our lower body or limbs.
What we’re doing in this exercise is using our hands to bring awareness to the parts of ourselves that feels disembodied and drawing the energy downwards in to our feet on the ground.
Exercise:
Begin by having your feet flat on the floor or ground. Wiggle your toes and feel the connection with your feet and toes. Then, place your hands on your upper body or lower body — wherever you feel disembodied — and begin to stroke downwards. You can do this on your head and face, arms, torso, hips, and then really focus your attention on your legs, knees, lower legs and feet. You continuously stroke downwards towards your feet and the floor. Spend extra time stroking your feet and heels, feeling the connection to the ground.
Orienting + grounding exercise
This is one of the most important exercises you can do daily. You’ll practice feeling your body on your chair or bed as well as looking around the room and orienting. Animals in the wild do this exercise naturally to let themselves know they’re safe. Babies orient constantly. When we practice these innate nervous system exercises, our brain recognizes these as familiar and signals to our brain and body that we’re safe.
Download Insight Timer free app or go on Insighttimer.com and click on the link below for a free 7-minute audio recording.
Click on this link for “Orienting + Grounding.”
Voo
This is an effective Somatic Experiencing® exercise that gently stimulates the vagus nerve by vibrating all of the organs.
When we’re in freeze, our body signals the brain that it’s not safe. Then the body operates at a low level and conserves energy. But when we Voo, we create a gentle vibration throughout the entire system and the vagus nerve connects all the internal organs and signals to the brain that the body (including the lungs, heart, organs, and digestive system) is safe, and the body slowly mobilizes.
Exercise:
To practice Voo, sit comfortably. Because the vagus nerve innervates both sides of your face and neck, you can place one of both hands on the sides of your neck so you can feel the vibration.
Take a deep breath in, and as you exhale, make a low, deep sound of “Voo.” Think of the Voo sound being like the low deep sound of a fog horn on the water at night.
When you complete your Voo, sit for a moment and feel yourself.
Then repeat once again. Only do this 2-3 times as it’s sneaky powerful and you don’t want to overdo it.
Sit with yourself for a few moments. Some people may observe some physical sensations, notice some images, emotions, or feel a little activated. If it feels like too much, do less next time. Our goal is to gently mobilize, so it’s okay to be a tiny bit activated as long as it feels completely tolerable and doesn’t put you in fight or flight. This builds capacity in your nervous system.
Remember that the nervous system is super sensitive and processes more slowly than your rational, thinking brain does. So don’t overthink or overanalyze or over judge what’s happening. You’re in new territory!