Episode 16 Dr Porges talks Cardiac Vagal Tone, Heart Rate Variability and Homeostasis

Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) Podcast- A Polyvagal Theory Informed Therapy

Dr Porges early research career started when the science of psychophysiology was in its infancy. He studied heart rhythms, specifically the time interval between each heartbeat (Heart rate variability) which was recognized as a direct measure of vagal influences on cardiac function. He studied how this time interval varied in different states such as sustained attention or stress and was the first to provide the quantification of such phenomena in 1969.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is considered to be the "Gold Standard" for measuring stress. However, as you will discover in our discussion HRV is measuring vagal tone and homeostasis.
This episode is packed with invaluable information for practitioners and individuals wanting to learn more about cardiac vagal tone and how to improve neural regulation. HRV is a valuable tool to assess vagal tone, facilitate learning about body states, is a portal to vagal functions, and can be used to support SSP outcomes.
Listen in as Dr Porges expands on:

• Cardiac vagal tone- a measure of how the brain controls the viscera- like a "window into the brain."
• Vagal system and its role in maintaining Homeostasis
• Homeostasis versus Stress
• Vagus as a neural surveillance system
• Measuring Vagal Efficiency
• Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA)- measurement index solely for Ventral Vagus
• What is the "Vagal Break" and its role in regulation, attention & flexibility
• HRV Biofeedback and the "Resonance Sore" or "Coherence Score"
• HRV biofeedback as a neural exercise to facilitate vagal tone like the SSP
• What is the "plasticity" in the underlying neurophysiology of the vagal system?
• The sympathetic system is not our enemy!
• SSP- an amplification of cues of safety via emphasis of prosodic features
• Biofeedback tool- IOM2 as a measure of vagal tone & supporting the SSP.
• IOM2 Interactive Biofeedback as a tool for practitioners to help clients learn about their body states

Discussion including questions submitted by the Safe and Sound Protocol Podcast Facebook group

• Dysautonomia- vagal homeostatic functions under a state of perceived threat
• Long COVID- body re-tuned into a state of threat and its relationship to Trauma
• Inflammatory reactions as a "defense response"
• Sleep medications impact on SSP
• RSA across the lifespan
• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Vagal Efficiency study

Learning Opportunities
Course 1:Polyvagal Based Heart Rate Variability Introduction Course
This first course will cover:

• HRV research and relevance to practice in mental health, trauma, and ADHD
• Cardiac vagal tone and how to apply it in a therapeutic setting
• Vagal influences on the heart
• The Heart-Brain Connection
• Terminology- vagal tone; RSA: HRV; high vagal tone; Resonance and Coherent Breathing; HRV biofeedback
• Tools to measure HRV

Course 2: SSP and HRV Biofeedback ( pre-requisite Class 1 )

• This short course will introduce the IOM2 as a measure of vagal tone and how it can be used to help guide SSP application.
• Learn about the IOM2 Grapher and Resonance Score for baseline measures and as a tool to facilitate a narrative with clients about body states
• Using the Biofeedback "Journeys" to facilitate vagal tone to support SSP implementation

Both Courses will be available via live webinars and then on-demand.
Course 1- click here to REGISTER
Course 2

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