A headline began circulating through therapy and wellness circles recently:
Polyvagal Theory has been debunked.
Over the next few days I had several conversations with clients and colleagues that all started the same way.
“Have you seen this?”
The conversation was sparked by a critique published in the February 2026 issue of Clinical Neuropsychiatry, where a group of researchers questioned several of the biological claims made within Polyvagal Theory.
Whenever headlines like this begin circulating, they tend to travel quickly through therapy and wellness communities. For those of us who have found the language of nervous system regulation genuinely helpful in clinical work, it can create a moment of uncertainty. If the science is being challenged, what does that mean for the framework we’ve been using to understand safety, regulation and connection?
My own reaction to the news was less alarm and more curiosity. In many ways this is exactly what science is meant to do. Ideas are proposed, examined, questioned and refined over time. After all, it is called Polyvagal Theory. Theories evolve as new research emerges and as different scientists look at the same questions from new angles.
Rather than rushing to defend or dismiss anything, moments like this can invite us to pause and look more closely at what is actually being debated and what remains meaningful in the work of helping people feel safer in their bodies.
In this article I’d like to explore the conversation through a few different lenses. We’ll look briefly at what researchers are discussing, but we’ll also step out of theory for a moment and return to something more immediate: the lived experience of the nervous system itself.
Along the way, I’ll invite you to pause for a short experiential practice so you can notice what regulation feels like in your own body.
Because sometimes the most useful way to understand the nervous system isn’t through explanation, but through experience.
What Is Actually Being Debated?
So what exactly are people referring to when they say Polyvagal Theory has been “debunked”?
Recently, a group of researchers published a critique arguing that some of the specific biological claims made within Polyvagal Theory may not be fully supported by current evidence. You can read the full critique and Stephen Porges’ response published in the February 2026 issue of Clinical Neuropsychiatry found in the links. The lead author of the paper has been raising similar questions about the theory for nearly two decades. In particular, the debate centers around how different branches of the vagus nerve function and whether the nervous system organizes itself exactly in the hierarchical way the theory proposes.
This kind of scientific debate is not unusual. In fact, it is one of the ways knowledge evolves. Researchers propose models to explain complex systems, and over time those models are tested, questioned and refined. This is good science.
For many clinicians, however, the more practical question remains: does the framework help people understand their experience and move toward greater regulation and connection?
That is the question that continues to matter in the therapy room.
The Psychological Lens
When I first began introducing Polyvagal ideas in therapy, the moment it truly clicked for me had less to do with explaining the nervous system and more to do with helping clients understand something relational.
Many people arrive in therapy believing that regulation is something they are supposed to accomplish alone. They think that if they just try hard enough, breathe correctly or control their thoughts more effectively, they should be able to calm themselves down.
But what we see again and again in therapy is that regulation often begins in relationship.
When a client feels genuinely seen, understood and safe in the presence of another person, something subtle begins to shift. Breathing slows. The body settles. Their thinking becomes clearer. What previously felt overwhelming begins to feel more workable, doable.
This is where the idea of co-regulation becomes so important.
Before we learn to regulate ourselves, we experience regulation through the nervous systems of other people. Through tone of voice, facial expression and presence, our bodies receive cues that signal safety. Over time those experiences begin to build an internal capacity for self regulation.
In this way, the language of nervous system states can be incredibly helpful. It gives people a framework for understanding experiences that previously felt mysterious or personal.
Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” clients often begin asking a different question: “What state is my nervous system in right now?”
That shift alone can create a tremendous amount of relief.
The Body Lens
Rather than staying only in theory, it can sometimes be helpful to pause and notice the nervous system directly.
One of the core ideas within nervous system work is that our bodies are constantly responding to cues in the environment around us. When the nervous system detects threat, perception tends to narrow. Vision becomes more focused. Muscles tighten. Attention locks onto whatever feels important for survival.
When the body begins to sense safety again, something different happens. Awareness widens.
I sometimes refer to this simple shift as Widening the Field and it is something that we can encourage.
The practice is surprisingly subtle. It doesn’t require breathing in a particular way or forcing the body to relax. In fact, it often works best when we approach it gently.
If you’re willing, you might try it for a moment now.
Allow your eyes to soften slightly, sometimes called soft eyes. Rather than focusing sharply on one point, let your gaze be soft and begin to notice what else you can see at the edges of your vision, in the periphery. The light in the room, shapes in the distance and the space surrounding you.
There’s nothing you need to do beyond noticing.
As the field of vision begins to widen, many people notice a shift in the body. Often the first sensation is a feeling of spaciousness, as if the environment has opened slightly.
From there, the muscles around the eyes and forehead may begin to soften. The jaw releases.
Shoulders might drop a little.
The nervous system recognizes something it has been looking for: cues of safety.
Below is a short guided version of this practice if you would like to explore it without reading.
The body often understands something long before the mind does.
The Spiritual Lens
Thousands of years before neuroscience attempted to map the nervous system, contemplative traditions were observing something very similar about human awareness. Yoga philosophy has long described the human system as moving between different qualities of energy known as the gunas.
These qualities are present in the body, the mind and even the environment around us. Traditionally they are described as rajas, tamas and sattva.
Rajas is movement, activation and agitation.
Tamas is heaviness, inertia and withdrawal.
Sattva is the quality of balance, clarity and ease.
Anyone who has worked with the nervous system will probably recognize these states immediately. There are moments when the body feels higher energy, maybe moving into restless or on edge. Moments when it feels lower energy, sometimes heavy or shut down. And occasionally, moments when everything seems to settle into a quiet sense of steadiness.
In yoga philosophy that steadiness is called sattva.
What is interesting is that sattva is not something we force into existence. It tends to emerge naturally when the conditions are right. When agitation softens and heaviness begins to lift, clarity appears.
In many ways this is exactly what practices that support nervous system regulation are doing. They are not imposing calm from the outside. They are creating the conditions in which balance and flexibility can arise.
When the body begins to feel safe, awareness widens. Perception softens. Our system becomes more available to itself.
From this perspective, the conversation about the nervous system is part of a much older human inquiry: how do we create the conditions for clarity, presence and connection to emerge?
Where the Conversation Might Actually Be Useful
Scientific debates like the one currently unfolding around Polyvagal Theory are not unusual. In fact, they are part of how knowledge evolves. Ideas are proposed, tested, challenged and refined over time.
Rather than seeing this as a threat to nervous system informed work, it may be helpful to view it as part of an ongoing process of clarification. One that encourages adaptability, which is the goal of nervous system work.
For therapists and practitioners, the central question often remains quite practical.
Does this way of understanding the nervous system help people move from shame toward curiosity? Does it help them recognize moments of safety, connection and possibility?
If it does, then the framework has already served an important purpose.
Ultimately, the goal of this work has never been to win a theoretical debate. It has been to help human beings feel more at home and alive in their own bodies.
Ways to Work with Me
Many of the ideas explored in this article: safety, co-regulation and nervous system awareness, are also central themes in my Somatic Skills Course. The course offers a practical introduction to embodied regulation through breathwork, somatic awareness and guided inquiry.
I am also currently developing a new offering called Polyvagal Skills for Modern Life, which will explore how the principles of safety, regulation and co-regulation can be applied both in everyday life and in clinical practice.
More information about that course will be shared soon. Stay tuned.
Where This Leaves Us
Perhaps the most interesting part of this conversation is not whether Polyvagal Theory will ultimately be refined or revised. Science has always evolved this way.
The deeper question may be what helps human beings understand themselves with greater clarity and compassion.
In therapy rooms, yoga studios and everyday moments of life, people are discovering that the nervous system responds to cues of safety, connection and presence. When those conditions are present, something begins to settle. Awareness widens. Choice returns.
And in many ways, that has always been the heart of the work.
About the Author
Shauna Bergh, LMFT, SEP, RYT-500, is a somatic psychotherapist, yoga and meditation teacher based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work integrates trauma informed psychotherapy, nervous system education and contemplative practices drawn from yoga philosophy.
In addition to her clinical practice, Shauna teaches courses for therapists and individuals interested in embodied awareness, helping people develop greater awareness of their nervous system through breathwork, somatic practices and guided self inquiry. Her approach bridges psychology, the body and contemplative traditions with a focus on cultivating safety, presence and deeper connection in our increasingly complex world.