For All: Safe and Sound Protocol
This intervention is a listening program of music, designed by Dr Stephen Porges, to treat the Vagus nerve and the autonomic nervous system.
This program does not involve playing music but involves listening to treated music that is designed to enable regulation, improve social engagement, produce better sleep, improve digestion, lower anxiety and a greater tolerance threshold.
There are several playlists to choose from to suit the listener and the Core treatment is for 5 hours of listening. This powerful intervention can be delivered face to face or remotely via an App which makes it ideal for those who struggle to leave the house.
The Vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the human body. It stretches from the brain stem into the colon and controls many of our bodily functions, heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and speech. The Vagus nerve processes the signals and cues from the world around us which determines how we react through three physiological states:
Ventral vagal/Parasympathetic.
We are our true selves and are able to engage socially, feel connected to others and can be creative. We are at rest and digest.
Sympathetic.
We feel threatened and in danger. We need to remove ourselves from a situation and seek safety, sometimes called the fight or flight response.
Dorsal Vagal.
Our freeze state. We feel our lives are in danger, so we shut down. A sense of hopelessness may take over, we feel disconnected from ourselves and the world.
The Safe and sound Protocol is designed to sooth the nervous system using music which some frequencies are removed and others amplified. This restores a sense of safety and enables social engagement and a return to the Ventral Vagal state.