Deb Dana, a clinician, consultant, and author, gives us a primer of the key points of Polyvagal Theory, and in doing so, explains the ways in which it can support the way we parent our differently-wired kids. Deb explains the nervous system pathways, why co-regulation is essential to our survival, what befriending and listening to our autonomic nervous system looks like in practice, and the benefits of having a breathing practice. We also talk about why these concepts can change our relationships to our daily life even if our circumstances stay the same. 

Things you'll learn from this episode

• The mission behind Deb’s book Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory
• What the nervous system pathways are and the three states we can be in
• What aspects of our nervous systems are innate or “hardwired” versus routed in nurture or life experience
• Why co-regulation is essential to our survival and examples for ways in which we constantly do naturally
• What befriending and listening to our autonomic nervous system looks like in practice

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