LECTURE

The nervous system as a road map : from gut feeling to eyes

The Polyvagal theory (gr. polus=many + vagal=vagus nerve) is a theory that posits that the Vagus nerve is interconnected with and sensitive to influences that flow from the body toward the brain.

According to this theory, the physiological state dictates the range of behaviour and psychological experience. Polyvagal theory has many implications for the study of stress, emotion, and social behaviour. And also, it has implications for our common interest: the experience of seeing.

Through the lens of the Polyvagal theory, our eyes and visual system become an open window to our whole body nervous system. And this understanding awakens a new curiosity to face old difficulties or unresolved dilemmas in the field of natural vision.

This lecture will describe the road map of the Autonomic Nervous System, its relationship with visual function and its implications in our field of natural vision.

WORKSHOP

Tracking the body : a pathway to the aliveness of your visual system

Vision fluctuates : the experience of seeing is regulated by the Autonomic Nervous System (Polivagal Theory, S. Porges, 1994)

How our eyes will look and see, will depend on whether we feel safe, (whether in motion or immobility), or experiencing the flight-fight response or if our nervous system has chosen the strategy of freeze in order to preserve life.

The visual function is linked to the physiology of each person. In each state, the gaze and experience of seeing is unique.

This workshop offers you the opportunity to explore the fascinating world of your gaze in relation to the automonic nervous system.

Specifically, it is an opportunity to :

• Discover the different types of gaze and find relationships with the different autonomcc states,
• Learn to modulate the activity of the Autonomic Nervous System through gaze,
• Identify, recognize and track the sensations felt in the body, in order to rediscover its relationship with the visual system and explore the experience of seeing,
• Deepen the principles of relaxation, movement, centralization-peripheral vision, memory and imagination as embodied experiences.

This perspective has a real potential to bring us to connection with the aliveness of the visual system. You are very welcome to join !

Nora Uranga, Spain

Visual Educator, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, specialist in crisis and health emergencies. I am a pharmacist, with an MSc in Health Science and also a coach specialized in the nervous system for people experiencing crisis situations. For more than 10 years I worked in the humanitarian field; specifically in health emergencies. I was a consultant at the United Nations. As a result of exposure to high levels of stress, I began, among other symptoms, to lose my eyesight. Guided by intuition, I discovered that the visual system is the "tip of the iceberg" of the nervous system. I trained in the Bates Method (2013) and in Somatic Experiencing® (SE, 2018). I am assistant in the training team of the Somatic Experiencing Trainings in Spain and a board member of the Spanish Association of Visual Educators (VEA) and of the Spanish Somatic Experiencing Association (AESE). I work accompanying people at my center, in Donostia-San Sebastian in the Basque region. I am passionate about vision from the perspective of the nervous system.