You’re a Bit of an Animal
An introduction to our mammalian neurobiology
Jane Shaw BCST
“The bottom line is our nervous system is constantly evaluating risk and danger, sensing whether we are safe or not.”
“Our behaviour is an emergent property of our biological state”
Stephen Porges
The human neocortex is an amazing thing, but much of our behaviour and experience of being in the world is determined by more primitive bits of our brain that we share with other mammals, and which developed in our early history when we were vulnerable to attack from much wilder animals than currently inhabit Primrose Hill. We are literally wired to survive, and much of our nervous system is dedicated to evaluating risk and safety in our environment, an automatic process known as neuroception which deeply effects our sense of wellbeing.
This presentation will introduce us to the brain circuitry that is involved in this process, including the vagus nerve. Understanding how our vagus nerve functions, and how increased vagal tone actually feels, is key to our ability to self-regulate and co-regulate under stress and to keep the socialised bits of our brain online.
The mammalian vagus nerve is part of what is known as the social nervous system, which gives us the capacity to read each others faces and voices for safety cues. The presentation will include a number of exercises to enhance our vagal tone, and shift into a more relaxed, creative and connected state.
Jane Shaw is a craniosacral therapist and Jungian psychologist whose passion is the well-being of others, supporting them to maximise their potential and their health, while at the same time tending the natural environment. She is the founder and director of the Elmfield Institute. She writes and teaches internationally, and runs retreats and workshops for individuals and corporates in Gilford, Co. Down, Northern Ireland where she also has a craniosacral clinical practice specialising in trauma recovery. www.elmfieldinstitute.com
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Last Updated on 29th April 2021 by Mick Hudspeth