The Science Behind Yoga

Dr. Stephen W. Porges

Dr. Porges is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University, where he directs the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium within the Kinsey Institute. He holds the position of Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He has published approximately 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers across several scientific disciplines. In 1994 he proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior and emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders. Polyvagal Theory provides an understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms through which music influences physiological state to promote mental and physical health.

04:30 | 2019

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