BY Barbara Baudissard
Very often, the flow of my thoughts follows the path of my studies, and my studies arise from an urgent desire to respond to the emerging needs of the people who inhabit the world of work today.
At this moment in time, learning how to manage one’s state of regulation has become an unavoidable NEED, especially in light of the latest research on disengagement, depression, and stress.
There can be no professional growth without a felt sense of safety.
There can be no true development of capabilities without first working on one’s grounding.
And we cannot speak of an excellent team if its members have not deeply understood the value of co-regulation.
It is time to begin speaking about this openly — simply, effectively, and with tools that can support us every single day.
Thank you, Stephen Porges[1].
Thank you, Deb Dana[2].
Thank you, Polyvagal Theory.
A paradigm shift is underway: from the Cartesian Cogito, ergo sum — “I think, therefore I am” — to something profoundly more embodied:
“I feel, therefore I am.”
And yet, we were never truly taught to read the signals of our body. For decades, we have been educated to care almost exclusively for our thoughts and our minds.
Now we must begin again from the beginning: listening to ourselves, accepting ourselves, and only then moving forward.
All of our pathways — whether training programs, accompaniment processes, or team coaching experiences — begin from the same foundational assumption: we can only work meaningfully on our capabilities once we have first worked on our state of regulation, or, as our models describe it, once we have learned how to remain grounded.
There are many theoretical frameworks supporting the importance of learning how to regulate our nervous system. Yet, in our view, the one that most closely aligns with both Western thinking and scientific understanding is Polyvagal Theory.
The Polyvagal Institute[3], founded by Stephen Porges[4], offers a rich body of studies and insights that provide an innovative, reassuring, and deeply compassionate lens through which to understand our emotional states.
Our nervous system, shaped over thousands of years of evolution, responds autonomously and extraordinarily quickly to external stimuli through what is called neuroception. Designed primarily for protection and survival, it activates differently depending on the environment we are in and the traumas we have experienced.
We cannot prevent these activations from happening.
What we can do is become aware of them — noticing when and how they arise — and gradually learn how to restore a sense of safety.
We must learn how to intentionally send comforting messages to the nervous system.
The signals we send toward the brainstem — the ancient part of the brain and the seat of neuroception — can help soften its defensive activation and guide it back toward social engagement and openness.
The desire here is not to remain trapped in theory, but to move directly into practice, leaving deeper exploration to your own curiosity and further reading.
There are five broad categories of practices that support the work of regulation. Each of them deserves hours, even days, of exploration, and each will become the subject of dedicated reflections in the future[5]:
- Breathwork (which has a direct impact on the vagus nerve)
- Sound and vocalization (the vagus nerve is intimately connected to the mouth and larynx)
- Slow and rhythmic movement (Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga…)
- Embodied mindfulness (learning to recognize the autonomic state we are in)
- Intentional co-regulation
What is needed is a gentle dialogue with the body.
A recurring pattern:
NEUROCEPTION – AWARENESS – REGULATION
As we have said, neuroception comes before conscious perception. We cannot control it directly; we can only observe it and understand the effects it has on our nervous system.
But we can work on awareness — on recognizing what is happening inside us — and this is where something almost magical begins.
[1] Stephen W. Porges. La teoria polivagale. Giovanni Fioriti Editore, 2014
[2] Deb dana. La teoria polivagale nella terapia. Giovanni Fioriti Editore, 2019
[3] https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org
[4] https://www.stephenporges.com
[5] Deb Dana. Anchored. Sounds True Adult, 2021
Becoming familiar with the reactions of the nervous system means learning to care for our internal state. It means understanding that these reactions are biological in nature: they are not “our fault,” but rather deeply intelligent survival responses.
To become familiar with the mechanisms of opening and closing is to become more aware of how we function, and above all, to accept this functioning as profoundly human and natural.
The paradigm changes once again.
No longer: “There is something wrong with me.”
But rather: “What is happening in my body right now, and how can I help it return to regulation?”
A small exercise for beginners.
From the moment you wake up in the morning until the end of the day, pause four or five times and ask yourself:
- Am I regulated and connected to what surrounds me?
- Am I tense and activated, as if in fight or flight?
- Or am I shut down, with the feeling that everything has become too much?
Then ask yourself:
Who are the people that usually make me feel safe and well?
Which places? Which moments?
Name them.
Return to them.
Treasure them.
And use them as anchors whenever you feel you are entering territory that becomes difficult for your nervous system.
A journey that has only just begun.
See you soon
