Benefits and Adverse Effects of Mindfulness: A Reflection Paper

Advantages of Mindfulness Practices

For this section, I will draw on my own training as a social worker where I have started to realise the importance of body-oriented interventions in view of my understanding of Steven Porges’ Polyvagal theory (Porges, 2017). Porges discusses how the vagal nerve, which connects the brain to structures in the body such as the neck thorax and the abdomen, is linked to whether an individual gets escalated following a stimulus. The theory posits that talk therapy alone would not be able to influence “neuroception”, which is how our body neurologically responds to stressful events, as the brain would send signals directly to the body. This theory connects with my struggles when working with clients who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, who despite our conversations about finding ways to respond to stressful events, find themselves disempowered when responding to stimuli that they experience.