In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Stephen Porges about polyvagal theory. They discuss the importance of safety, the vagus nerve and polyvagal theory, and why the Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) is important. They discuss the various branches, the social engagement system, neuroplasticity, and how the polyvagal theory works with trauma and co-regulation. They discuss the practical and clinical uses of the polyvagal theory, criticisms of the theory, future of the theory, and many more topics. Stephen Porges is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland.He was president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and was a recipient of National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers across several disciplines and is the founder of the polyvagal theory. He is the author of numerous books, including the most recent book (co-authored with Seth Porges), Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us. Website: https://www.stephenporges.com/Paper 1: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497621000436?via%3DihubPaper 2: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnint.2022.871227/fullPaper 3: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497623000346?via%3Dihub Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe