The science

Why your nervous system
is the root of everything

Most of what we call stress, anxiety, or exhaustion isn't a mindset problem. It's a physiology problem. Your nervous system has shifted into a protective state — and it's doing exactly what it was designed to do.

The practices in Soma work directly
with the body's regulatory systems.

01The foundation

What polyvagal theory explains

Developed by neuroscientist Stephen Porges in the 1990s, polyvagal theory describes how the autonomic nervous system governs our sense of safety — and therefore our capacity for connection, focus, and rest.

The theory identifies three physiological states. Each shapes how you think, feel, and respond to the world around you.

Ventral vagal

Safety & connection

Present, regulated, capable of nuance. This is the state where healing, learning, and real rest happen.

Sympathetic

Mobilisation

Fight-or-flight. Energy surges, perception narrows, the body prepares to act. A survival tool, not a flaw.

Dorsal vagal

Shutdown

Numbness, disconnection, exhaustion without the ability to rest. Many people in burnout know this state well.

The goal of nervous system regulation isn't to eliminate these states — they're survival tools. The goal is to expand your capacity to return to ventral vagal. Flexibility, not suppression.

Porges, S.W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. Norton.

02The mechanisms

How Soma protocols work in the body

Each practice in Soma targets one or more of the following physiological pathways — all documented in peer-reviewed research.

HRV & Breath

Heart rate variability and the breath

Your heart doesn't beat at perfectly even intervals. The variation between beats — HRV — is a direct measure of how flexibly your nervous system responds to change. Slow, rhythmic breathing at 5–6 breaths per minute activates the vagal brake, downregulating sympathetic arousal and measurably increasing Heart rate variability. One of the most replicated findings in psychophysiology.

Lehrer & Gevirtz (2014), Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback

NSDR & Rest

NSDR and the sleeping brain

Non-Sleep Deep Rest — the framework developed by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman — describes a state of alert, wakeful rest with many of the same restorative effects as sleep. Yoga Nidra, the core of Soma's Night Reset, has been shown to increase dopamine in the striatum by up to 65%, reduce cortisol, and support emotional processing. Unlike sleep, NSDR is accessible on demand.

Kjaer et al. (2002), Nature Neuroscience · Moszeik et al. (2020), Current Psychology

Meditation & DMN

The default mode network

When you're not focused on a task, the default mode network activates — this is where rumination, self-referential thinking, and worry tend to live. Regular meditation reduces DMN activity and strengthens its connection to the prefrontal cortex. Thoughts still arise. They just have less grip. Structural changes are visible after as little as 8 weeks of consistent practice.

Brewer et al. (2011), PNAS · Hölzel et al. (2011), Psychiatry Research

Neuroplasticity

The brain that changes itself

Chronic stress literally reshapes the brain — enlarging the amygdala, shrinking the hippocampus, weakening prefrontal regulation. The same plasticity that creates these changes can reverse them. Meditation, breathwork, and intentional rest have all been shown to support hippocampal growth and reduce amygdala reactivity. This is why consistency matters more than intensity.

Hölzel et al. (2010), Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience

03 — What this means in practice

The body already knows how to regulate itself. It just needs the right conditions.

Every program in Soma is built around this premise. Not forcing a state, but creating the conditions for a natural return to balance.

7 days · Free trial

Nervous System Reset — HRV breathwork & vagal activation

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21 days

Night Reset — Yoga Nidra & NSDR protocols for sleep

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20 days

Energy Recovery — dorsal vagal reactivation after burnout