Polyvagal Institute

You will choose from a menu of individual workshops running simultaneously. Seats in each workshop are limited and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Community as Medicine: Embodied Polyvagal Practices for Collective Healing
With Niki Elliott

This advanced half-day workshop expands Dr. Niki’s “Community as Medicine” framework through embodied, relational practice grounded in Polyvagal Theory. Participants will explore how a facilitator’s nervous system shapes co-regulation, safety, and connection within group settings as community leaders. Through experiential exercises and guided reflection, clinicians will learn practical tools for cultivating safety, connection, and resilience—especially when working across identity differences, trauma histories, and power dynamics.

Autonomic Agility®: The Physiological Skill Beneath Health, Connection, and Trust
With Michael Allison

This 90 minute workshop introduces Autonomic Agility® - the capacity to recognize our physiological state, understand how it shapes our actions, reactions and interactions, and develop the flexibility to guide our state when needed. Participants will explore how Autonomic Agility as an embodied resource supports health, trust, relationships, and performance across clinical and everyday settings. The session offers a practical framework and accessible practices for building greater physiological awareness and adaptability.

Science, Symptoms & Safety: A Somatic Brain-Gut Approach
With BG Mancini

This 90 minute workshop explores the brain-gut-vagus axis and the nine sensory systems as pathways to move from symptom management toward creating inner coherence and connection to self, loved ones, and the world around us. Blending accessible neuroscience with guided practice, participants will experiment with tools that ground the nervous system in safety. 

Polyvagal Theory in Practice: A Somatic Approach
With Ruby Jo Walker

This advanced half day workshop brings Polyvagal Theory (PVT) to life in the therapy room. It offers an overview of applied Polyvagal Theory through the lens of Deactivation Pathways™, including demonstrations, practice, experiential learning, and didactic instruction. The training supports clinicians in assisting clients somatically. Participants will leave with practical skills and a deeper understanding of PVT-informed approaches to working with clients.

Sensory Integrative Interventions: Portals to Possibility
With Tracy Stackhouse 

In this 90 minute workshop, participants will explore how sensory integrative interventions can become powerful portals to safety, groundedness, and relational connection. Through vestibular, proprioceptive, and other sensory-based activities, participants will deepen their understanding of neuroception and interoceptive awareness in clinical practice, learning how to relationally resource from an embodied perspective. Attendees will leave with practical tools to recognize cues of safety and support greater access to ventral states and embodied engagement.

From Conflict to Co-Regulation: Using the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model
With Jan Winhall

Conflict resolution strategies often fail because they miss the most important point — they overlook the wisdom of the body. This 90 minute workshop introduces Jan Winhall’s Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM) - an embodied, regulation-first approach to transforming relational conflict. Participants will learn to help clients track autonomic states and regulate before responding through experiential practice and a clear, teachable framework that is relevant to couples, families, friendships, and workplace dynamics. Clinicians will leave with practical tools to cultivate nervous system literacy and support more meaningful, connected dialogue.