Is your nervous system out of balance?
Ketamine therapy, when combined with polyvagal exercises, offers a powerful solution to calm and regulate the nervous system, especially for individuals dealing with trauma, PTSD, or chronic stress.

Understanding the Nervous System
There are three primary states of the autonomic nervous system:

• Social engagement: Feeling safe, connected, and grounded.
• Fight-or-flight: Reacting to perceived danger with increased alertness.
• Shutdown: Feeling overwhelmed, frozen, or dissociated.

Polyvagal theory explains how the nervous system responds to stress and safety, shifting between these states. The vagus nerve, a key player in regulating our body’s fight-or-flight and rest-and-digest responses, runs from the brainstem to the heart and other vital organs. When we perceive a threat, our nervous system shifts from a restful state to a heightened one, marked by increased heart rate, blood pressure, and hormone release. For individuals with trauma or PTSD, this stress response can remain chronically activated, even when no real threat is present - putting a heavy toll on the body and mind.

How Ketamine and Polyvagal Exercises Work Together
Ketamine therapy helps reduce depressive and anxious thought patterns, providing relief from hyperarousal and calming the nervous system. By creating emotional flexibility and reducing the weight of intrusive thoughts, ketamine allows individuals to break free from the cycles of stress and trauma.
When paired with polyvagal exercises - such as deep breathing, humming, or gentle movement, which target the body's physiological responses to stress - additional relief and calm can be achieved. These exercises help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing individuals to regulate their emotions more effectively, feel safer, and improve resilience to stress.
Together, ketamine therapy and polyvagal exercises offer a holistic approach to healing, supporting long-term nervous system regulation, emotional balance, and overall well-being.



      
 
                                                                                                                                                                                Diagram - Polyvagal Institute 2023 - www.polyvagal.org

References

Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.

Wolfson, P. (2016). The ketamine papers: Science, therapy, and transformation. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).