October 13, 2026
Connect Physiology With Your Performance
When we feel safe, our body is in a physiological state supporting health, growth and restoration (i.e. homeostasis). But when we feel unsafe, our body is interrupting homeostasis and enters survival mode, where we begin expending resources to attack, defend or escape, or start freezing and shutting down to conserve what resources we have left. 18 CEs available from NBHWC.
- For wellness coaches
- For body-based professionals
- For athletic coaches
- For executive coaches & corporate trainers
A New Model for Peak Performance
Applied Polyvagal Theory
Develop a deep understanding of PVT that you can apply directly to your work, how you show up, what you do, and how you are received so that you can optimize the growth and development of your clients.
Connect With Community
Become part of an integrated community of other coaches, leaders, wellness practitioners, performers and enthusiasts who are Polyvagal-aligned and continue to evolve, share ideas and collaborate on your professional journey.
Follow Your Nervous System
Cultivate resources, tools, practices and strategies aligned directly with your unique discipline that you can employ on-demand for yourself and those you are leading.
Course Timing
Live Meet-ups will be held every other Tuesday from 1-2:30 pm ET (US & Canada) (time zone converter). These will include experiential practices, breakout sessions, and guest PV-informed coaches from a variety of disciplines (i.e. business, wellness, athletics, creatives, etc.) demonstrating how they apply the core concepts embedded in this course. All of this is meant to expand on the material included in this course and help you integrate the key concepts you are learning, while learning from other coaches and how they are integrating PVT and the Play Zone into their personal and professional lives. All live meetups will be recorded and uploaded within a few business days to the learning platform.
In addition to live meet-ups, you will move through 8 modules designed for you to complete at your own pace over the course of a year.
Convert the meetup time to your time zone here.
Interested in the course but can't make these dates? Sign up to receive updates on future cohorts here.
About This Course
What will I learn in this course?
Led by Michael Allison, this course is designed for wellness and performance coaches of all kinds, and demonstrates how an understanding of the nervous system can empower us in all that we do.
Each student will focus on their self awareness and self-care, to become more accessible and present, and in turn, assist their clients on the pathway to health, wellness, and performance. This is the essence of optimizing our own and our clients' human experience.
Who is this course for?
This course is for body-based teachers, clinicians, coaches, teachers, athletic coaches, personal trainers, health and life coaches, executive coaches and performance coaches.
There is no prerequisite for this course.
What is the course format?
This is a hybrid course of live (6 hours) and self-paced (approx 20 hours) instruction, plus one case study assignment and a multiple choice final exam. Self-paced content includes recorded discussions with Dr. Stephen Porges.
The four live 90-minute sessions are scheduled every other week over an 8-week period, with self-paced exercises and content that students can move through at their own pace over the course of a year. In the live sessions, Michael is accompanied by PVI Course Partner Mathilde Shisko.
Are CEs available?
You have the option to earn 18 hours of CE credit provided by the National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC). NBHWC course # CEA-000096-1
*If you plan on earning CE credit for completing this course, 100% live attendance OR complete viewing of the recordings of live classes is required.
How do I access the recordings?
Recordings are available on our course platform a few business days after each live meeting. You'll have access to all self-paced recordings and materials for 365 days beyond the date of the first live meeting.
About Michael
Michael Allison is a globally recognized performance consultant, educator, and author who specializes in applying Polyvagal Theory to enhance health, resilience, and performance. He has trained hundreds of consultants and coaches as Play Zone Pros©, a methodology endorsed by Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. Michael's expertise is sought by elite professionals across major sports organizations, including MLB, NBA, ATP, WTA, FIFA, ITF, NCAA, and others. As a contributing author for Psychology Today, he explores the physiological, psychological, and social challenges of performing in high-stakes environments in his platform titled "The Pressure Paradox."
Michael is a speaker and educational partner with the Polyvagal Institute, where he is recognized as a leading expert on its flagship course. He is the co-author of "Polyvagal Parenting" (New Harbinger, 2026) and has contributed to multiple books in the Norton Professional Series, including co-authoring "Empathy to Compassion: A Two-Step Physiological Process" with Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. Additionally, he is a featured speaker at major global conferences, including Oxford University’s Master Series, The Polyvagal Institute's International Gathering, Global Exchange Conference, and Psychological Safety Day. His work bridges neuroscience and performance to help individuals and teams thrive under pressure.
Watch Michael on Wired for Connection
In this episode, we learn more about Michael and his background in performance consulting, and how polyvagal principles help inform performance in the workplace and in building relationships.
Enroll
Frequently Asked Questions
While we always encourage you to participate directly in our live group meetups by asking questions and sharing insights as you feel comfortable, live attendance is not required for the certificate or for Continuing Education Credits through the NBHWC: National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coaches. All live meetups will be recorded. If you are unable to attend in real-time, you may view the recordings that will be uploaded to the learning platform.
We upload recordings of our live course sessions to our Learning Platform within a few business days for you to view. (Please see the attendance policy above.)
Upon enrolling in a course, you will receive an email from [email protected] inviting you to access the course on our learning platform - learning.polyvagal.org. You'll find all of the course materials, links, and class community on your Dashboard. Your username is the email address you used to register.
You can reset your password by going to https://learning.polyvagal.org/users/sign_in and clicking the “Forgot Password?” link. You will then enter the email address you used when creating your account to receive a one-time password reset link. Password reset emails come from [email protected] - if you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Use the instructions in that email to complete your password reset. If you have any other technical questions, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].
Our prices are listed in USD (United States Dollars). Your credit card or bank statement will likely reflect the price in your local currency.
Yes, PVI offers partial scholarships for all of our courses. You can apply for a scholarship at https://forms.gle/vvfQdyAtw3k79LpM9
We are proud to offer a 30 day Money Back Guarantee for all of our courses (from date of purchase for self-paced courses and from date of first live session for live courses). Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you'd like to inquire about a refund.
Live sessions are held online via Zoom. You will find your course Zoom link inside the course content on our Learning Platform once you enroll. Email reminders with the Zoom link are sent 24 hours prior and 2 hours prior to each meeting from [email protected]
While having your camera on is not required, you are invited to turn your camera on during your live course session; this allows you to share in co-regulation with other learners and to build a sense of community.
To convert live course session meeting times to your local time zone, please use a conversion website such as this one:
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html?iso=20260521T170000&p1=tz_et&p2=tz_pt&p3=136&p4=tz_cest
All of our offerings are listed in Eastern Time (US and Canada).
PVI is the founding home of Polyvagal Theory, and we believe our courses offer the most accurate and up to date content about Polyvagal Theory and its many applications. There is no accrediting body for this type of curriculum.
Our course descriptions will list any continuing education credits (CEs/ CEUs) or other professional benefits that might be available for the course (along with any applicable restrictions). If CEs are not listed for a particular course, then none are available.
Yes. All live meetings are held on Zoom, which offers an automatic closed captioning feature. In addition, most of our pre-recorded course content is hosted on a platform that offers an automatic closed captioning feature. If you come across a video that does not have closed captioning, please send us a message at [email protected] and we will be glad to assist you.
If you are located in the US or Canada, you will be charged the relevant sales tax based on your location.
If you are tax exempt, please email [email protected] to receive an invoice without sales tax.
Yes. For groups of five or more participants, a 15% discount is available for each participant. Please contact us at [email protected] to inquire and to enroll as a group!
