This author does an excellent job of describing the Polyvagal Theory for manual therapists. If you are not a manual therapist, you may still see some benefit from reading this book. The author describes the polyvagal theory thoroughly and explains some ways of improving your autonomic state from stress or dorsal vagal to social engagement.
I came across this book title while searching for info on Dr. Porges and the Polyvagal Theory. I am a doctor of physical therapy and own a physical therapy practice called Muscle IQ. I have been in practice for over twenty years and use manual therapy techniques during every patient visit. So, I was able to quickly implement his recommended techniques. The Basic Exercise is one he thought up one night before addressing a group that was not licensed to touch clients. It is similar to the muscle energy technique I use for relocating the Atlas, so he does have good insight regarding manual therapy.
The author Mr. Rosenberg is a highly skilled and experienced massage therapist that started a "school" to teach other massage therapists in Denmark some osteopathic techniques. I did love his focus on using manual therapy to make changes in a person’s physiological state as using an anatomical perspective is obviously a perfect match for me as a manual therapist.
In the book he introduced me to the potential of the esophagus tightening up being a cause of the sensation of tightening in the chest that we might call anxiety. Using the technique he described in the book for this condition helped a patient of mine with COPD reduce some of his symptoms. But it was not a cure like the case he mentions in the book.
I have been trying his method to turn the Vagus Nerve on with most all of my patients (and with my son). After following his precise instructions to perform the Basic Exercise (over the last 4 weeks) I have to say that I am disappointed in the results. I have not seen a big change in the uvula lift in most all of my patients (maybe I didn’t get them to yawn enough times).
I am skeptical regarding the validity Mr. Rosenberg's assumptions. In physical therapy school we learned that some tests are what my professor called subjectively objective. This means that even though the test seems to qualify as objective, there is a good probability of the introduction of experimenter bias.
I have to admit that this is one of the difficulties inherent to manual therapy. Especially in craniosacral therapy where ESP (yes, extra-sensory perception) is professed to be the way many practitioners determine whether a patient has positive results. So, I applaud Mr. Rosenberg’s attempt to use different measurements of palpating asymmetry, observation of the uvula lift, and palpation of tension in soft tissues. But again, experimenter bias is easily introduced in these subjectively objective measures.
What’s more, how do we know that being able to lift the uvula demonstrates validity (of being in a social engagement state)? Validity in data collection means that your findings truly represent the phenomenon you are claiming to measure.
Validity in what the author suggests in the book would be the following: If an individual passes the uvula test, then he/she should not have any of the chronic problems the author lists (e.g., my son’s autism is therefore cured) because the ventral vagus is active.
Furthermore, how do we know what Stanley Rosenberg means when he repeatedly states that the client improved after performing the Basic Exercise? He does not quantify the improvement beyond his observation of change. Can the vagus nerve test be quantified? Can the uvula lift be graded like other muscle tests: 0 to 5 out of 5)?
Another issue that should be addressed is yawning (one of the steps in the Basic Exercise that is repeated). Yawning causes the uvula to lift and retract until it almost disappears. So, is that just a warm up exercise that makes it easier to perform the uvula lift during the retest?
He also claims to be able to tell whether someone has low or high heart rate variability by palpating a pulse while observing breathing and breath out. This may be true (or not) but how does he quantify the change. He has a training school so why has he not employed proper equipment to do data collection and publish it.
I am on a quest to find help for my son with autism. The book title includes the word “Autism” but then he transitions to telling about a case study of an autistic client who received more than what is offered in the book. He has an example on YouTube of a student of his (in his two year program) who used craniosacral therapy (taught in the book) on his autistic brother. In a video on YouTube the bother states (contrary to what is in the book) that the main benefits and the cure came after multiple treatments by Mr. Rosenberg.
So, there may be a conflict of interest with his claims of cures.
I am highly skeptical regarding the validity Mr. Rosenberg's assumptions. It is well know that there are experimenter biases in regards to comparing the before and after measurements with observation and palpation. Because of this practitioners and massage therapists are convinced that they always get positive results.
I have found that it is common for manual therapy gurus who teach their methods to over-state the effects of their techniques. "All will be cured with my technique in one visit." It is sometimes called "cherry picking" as one guru recommended that we charge a lot for two or three visits with the marketing ploy that the novel method we were using was better than any other.
My conclusion is that much more is needed (than what the author describes in this book, specifically the Basic Exercise) to "pump up" vagal tone. And, the autism spectrum is more complicated than just poor blood flow to the brain stem. I have found other methods that are helping to down regulate my sons "mobilize with fear" state. I think a combination of a variety of stimuli for the vagus nerve (Rezzimax tuning device for example provided greater observable changes in uvula lift), self-talk therapy (especially with guided imagery), manual therapy in the cranial field, diet changes (keto is helpful, search "keto Dr. Berg" in YouTube or avoiding toxic food and MSG, search Katherine Reid unblindmymind.com), yoga breathing (specifically Breathwalk--which is synchronizing steps with segmented breaths of 4 sniffs and 4 puffs), kundalini breath of fire, therapist or parent using a prosodic voice, creating safe environments, EFT meridian tapping, and smile rehab exercises. In other words, more work than most people will be willing to do on their own (especially those who are trapped in a defense states of fear).
I hope this review helps those who are also on a similar quest to help those we love to live a happy, peaceful, untroubled life.
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The way to move people out of both states—stress with accompanying fight-or-flight behaviors (mobilization with fear) and depressive feelings behaviors with shutdown (immobilization with fear)—is to activate the ventral branch of their vagus nerve.Highlighted by 671 Kindle readers- If you are easily disturbed by background noises, your stapedius muscle might not be doing its job of reducing the volume of the low-frequency sounds, making it hard for you to hear what someone else is saying in a noisy room.Highlighted by 638 Kindle readers
- Sensing our own bodies and staying grounded helps us to remain in a ventral vagal state. Awareness of our body can help us avoid getting carried away by emotions that can lead to faulty neuroception.Highlighted by 622 Kindle readers
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Looks like a great book but the cover is folded, I don’t think it happened during delivery. Just the front cover, I don’t want to bother with a return just an fyi if you are buying a gift
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Top reviews from other countries
Plamen G
I recommend the readers to watch some interviews with Stephen Porges ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 26, 2018Mariel Saville
Worth buying for overall info but not easy to find solutions quickly
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 19, 2021Hayley
Interesting, good book for practitioners
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 15, 2021
