Nina Vukas Yoga

Spring equinox, a day of equal light, equal dark - nature’s great awakening, and the promise of new beginnings. I feel all of that deeply right now - equal parts exhausted and excited. Out of our apartment, staying at a friend’s, yet so much at home, back in Ericeira.

This year brought more surprises than I could have planned for. And today, on the first day of spring, running between painters, carpenters, and all the surprises that come with refurbishing an old property, I couldn’t be more grateful. For the mess, the magic, and everything in between.

Every night we go to sleep happy, slowly watching this new chapter of our lives bloom alongside the nature around us.

May there be light and bloom in your life too. Happy equinox 🌸🌗

Thoughts on Polyvagal Theory and its recent critique

Over the past decade, PVT (S. Porges) has become very popular in somatic psychotherapy, trauma work, and even education and yoga. At the same time, it has faced criticism from physiologists, neuroanatomists and evolutionary biologists since its early development (something I always stressed when discussing PVT). Recently, a group of 38 experts published a detailed response to Porges’s latest paper. They concluded that several of the theory’s core biological and evolutionary explanations are not supported by current scientific evidence.

While concepts such as safety, co-regulation, attachment, freeze responses, and understanding trauma responses as protective long predate PVT, PVT became influential because it arrived at a moment when trauma care needed a more humane and relational language. It offered a story that reframed distress responses as protective rather than pathological, and it linked safety, connection and regulation to bodily processes in a way that clinicians and clients could immediately grasp. In that sense, it wasn’t anything new, just perhaps more organised and relational, and for many practitioners, it provided a coherent map for phenomena they were observing.

However, the difficulty arises when the explanatory biology behind PVT is treated as settled science rather than a hypothesis. The nervous system does not operate as a tidy hierarchy, and modern physiology shows that autonomic responses are dynamic, overlapping and shaped by multiple interacting systems. Brain networks, hormones, immune responses, perception, prior experience and context all contribute to how we respond to threat and safety. Models sometimes risk oversimplifying processes that are far more complex. Yes, simplification is necessary to identify patterns and guide interventions. But the problem arises when simplification is taken or presented as complete explanation.

Yes, PVT helped shift the conversation toward relational regulation and embodied experience. Still, we need to let go of unproven hypotheses, ground our explanations in the best available science and remain open to revision as understanding evolves.

A post I recently saw on IG claimed that people who are always busy are ‘avoidant.’ It was widely liked and shared, and like much pop-psychology content online, it oversimplifies human behaviour. Humans are not one-dimensional. Reducing complex patterns of behaviour to a single psychological label shows a lack of critical thinking and knowledge and ignores decades of psychological and neuroscience research.

People fill their time for many different reasons. Yes, sometimes busyness can serve as a way to avoid uncomfortable emotions, unresolved conflict, grief, or uncertainty. But that is only one possible explanation among many.

Some people genuinely love what they do. Deep engagement in meaningful work can increase well-being, purpose, and life satisfaction. Research on purpose and meaning shows that contributing to something larger than oneself is associated with better mental and physical health outcomes.

For others, staying active supports self-regulation. Structured activity can help stabilise mood, regulate arousal, and support executive functioning. Behavioural activation, a well-supported therapeutic approach that focuses on increasing engagement in rewarding, goal-oriented, and pleasurable activities, demonstrates that purposeful activity can reduce depressive symptoms and improve motivation.

Busyness can also reflect temperament and neurobiology. Some people are naturally driven toward goals, novelty, and productivity. Their brain’s reward systems reinforce engagement, learning, and sustained effort. For some, activity creates flow states - periods of deep immersion linked to increased creativity, intrinsic motivation, and psychological well-being.

And for others, staying engaged is a practical response to real-world demands, such as caregiving, economic pressures, or life-stage responsibilities.

Context matters. When looking at behaviour, we should be asking “What function does this behaviour serve in this person’s life?” (not lives of all people behaving this way). Psychological insight begins when we move beyond bumper stickers and become curious about complexity.

I just published a new blog post about Deepak Chopra’s appearance in the Epstein files. I wrote it because I believe it matters to talk about these issues, which seem to be ever-present. As yoga practitioners, teachers, and humans, we need to be willing to have uncomfortable conversations about powerful men (and sometimes women) in the spiritual/wellness spaces and how they got there in the first place.

Different allegations against him were raised as early as 1991, raging from sexual misconduct to plagiarism, yet he still steadily built his empire worth millions. I find this troubling

If we want healthier communities, we have to stop buying into guru narratives and start practising critical thinking when it comes to those we follow, learn from and support. And we have to hold those who do harm accountable.

Link in comments below

We just made one of the modules in the Spanda Institute’s .institute Yoga Therapy training, “The Key Principles of Functional Biomechanics”, available to everyone. In the course, delivered by yours truly, I cover a wide range of topics (see below) in 15 hours of lectures. If you are a yoga teacher who wants to develop a deeper, evidence-informed understanding of how the body functions in movement and stillness, this one is for you.

In the course, you’ll learn:

• Foundations of movement mechanics, including osteokinematics, arthrokinematics, and load and force distribution
• Core stability and spinal biomechanics, with a focus on efficient force transfer, postural control, and injury prevention
• Posture and postural assessment, understanding variability, adaptation, and common patterns without rigid ideals
• Functional movement and muscle activation, including stabilisers vs movers, compensatory strategies, and practical observation
• The fascial system, force transmission, tensegrity, and common misconceptions around myofascial work
• Physiology of stretching and tissue adaptation, distinguishing between neural, mechanical, and behavioural effects
• Range of motion, hypermobility, and hypomobility, with clear clinical reasoning for different approaches
• Proprioception, pain, and protective strategies, linking sensory input, motor control, and long-term movement health

Link in the comments below 🙂

Photo is oldie but goldie by 🤍 I can still balance in W3 on my toes though;)

I was recently told that, as a yoga teacher, I should not have a political opinion, so here are some thoughts about that.

Yoga teachers come from all walks of life. Teaching yoga is one part of who I am, not the entirety of my identity. Alongside my yoga training, I hold various degrees and wear many hats. I am also a lifelong student of history, and follow current events closely. I read the news daily, discuss politics with my partner and friends, and engage in conversations that are sometimes challenging but often illuminating. Many yoga teachers I know are also journalists, activists, or have studied political science, law, or social sciences. Yoga teachers are not removed from the world we live in.

That said, these credentials are not the reason I believe yoga teachers should have political opinions. The reason is much simpler: yoga teachers are citizens. We live in countries, cities, and communities. We are affected by laws, policies, and social structures. We pay taxes, use public services, raise children, care for elders, and exist within economic and political systems. To suggest that yoga teachers should remain ‘apolitical’ is to suggest that they should opt out of civic responsibility, something I fundamentally disagree with. All citizens have a responsibility to inform themselves about past and present events so they can make thoughtful, informed decisions.

I believe in agency, critical thinking, voting, asking questions about power, justice, access, and harm. What I do not believe in is spiritual bypassing in forms of disengagement. I do not believe in ‘rising above’ the world by pretending it doesn’t exist. And I certainly do not believe that turning away from reality is a form of wisdom. Yoga is a practice of awareness and truth-seeking. And yes, reality can be hard, but this is precisely what we have these (yoga) tools for, isn’t it?

Having a political opinion does not negate my ability to hold space, teach ethically, or meet students with compassion; quite the opposite. Engaging with the world thoughtfully deepens my understanding of suffering, resilience, and responsibility, values that are inseparable from the practice of yoga itself.

In my new blog post, I explore emotional embodiment from a neuroscientific and somatic perspective, questioning the common idea that emotions are stored in specific parts of the body, such as the hips. Instead, I look at how emotions arise as whole-system processes, involving the brain, nervous system, and body as an integrated whole.

As always, would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

I wasn’t planning to jump on 2016 bandwagon until I scrolled through my IG. 2016 was an important year.

It started with an amazing trip to Myanmar, after which my friend and I decided to change our plan to Vietnam for Sri Lanka’s waves. It was my second trip to the island, but an important one. I loved it so much that I decided to return the next year and organise a retreat, which I did, followed by a YTT every year after that:).

I visited Portugal for the first time in June 2016. I went on a solo surf trip for two crazy weeks. At the airport on the way back home, I decided to move to Portugal, but I still wasn’t sure exactly where. In October 2016, I took another surf trip and stumbled (almost literally) upon Ericeira. I knew then that I had found my new home. The rest is history, and the future is unfolding...

2016 was the second year of my body-oriented psychotherapy course, meeting my group and teachers in some beautiful places, digging deep and unearthing and healing old wounds. I had some really powerful revelations at our summer intensive in Tuscany, some that changed certain narratives and allowed me to thrive. But I remember it was intense! A sailing trip afterwards was a good antidote.

In 2016, I was teaching every weekend, either a 200h YTT, a 300h YTT, or a Prenatal Yoga TT in my studio, plus workshops in Croatia and abroad, and an annual yoga retreat in Croatia. During the week, if in Zagreb, I taught regular classes at my yoga studio, which in October 2016 celebrated its 10th anniversary. Life was busy but fun; I was doing what I loved.

In the autumn, I taught classes at the Groove Yoga Festival and reconnected with my global yoga friends. It was a bit surreal and a lot of fun taking them to my favourite spots in and around Hvar island.

Present tense (Radiohead) was my most listened to song. Seeta was 5. I was 10 years younger;) Global events were more normal, and life was simpler.

But this little trip down memory lane also reminded me that there is much to be grateful for, and that trusting your gut, being brave, and working hard for your dreams really do pay off.

Some random photos and thoughts in the images.

#2016

Some thoughts about the breath...

In healthy humans, breathing is generated by the brainstem and continuously shaped by higher brain centres, sensory feedback and context. This means there is no single, fixed, physiologically ‘correct’ way to breathe, nor a universally best breathing technique for x or y.

Rhythm, depth and the relationship between inhale and exhale all change depending on what we are doing and what state we are in – resting, moving, speaking, concentrating, feeling safe, anxious, panicked or emotionally activated. In simple terms, the system is designed for adaptability, not consistency.

When we look at breathing practices through this lens, it becomes clear why different techniques have different effects, and why one method can be helpful for one person and not for another. Practices such as resonant frequency breathing, with an equal inhale and exhale at around five to six breaths per minute, are based on research showing that this rhythm maximises heart-rate variability and helps the heart, breathing, and blood pressure fall into a more coordinated rhythm. The aim here is not to push the system into either sympathetic or parasympathetic dominance, but to improve overall autonomic balance, coherence, and regulation capacity. Depending on someone’s baseline state, this may feel calming, clarifying, stabilising or gently energising.

Techniques that deliberately lengthen the exhale, on the other hand, are designed to bias the system more strongly towards vagal influence and parasympathetic dominance, and are therefore particularly useful when the system is over-activated and in need of settling and down-regulation.

With this in mind, it becomes clear why different techniques can feel so different from person to person. There is no universally ‘normal’ breath to return to; only a nervous and respiratory system constantly adjusting to internal and external demands. What feels regulating, supportive or comfortable for one may feel effortful or even dysregulating for another, not because one of them is breathing ‘wrong’, but because their baseline state and immediate needs are different.

There is currently a lot of content online about ‘nervous system regulation,’ and much of it focuses on practices that promote relaxation and increase parasympathetic activity. These approaches can be very supportive, especially when someone is feeling overwhelmed or over-activated. At the same time, they represent only one part of a much larger picture.

From a biological perspective, regulation is not about staying in a constantly calm or low-arousal state. It is about the nervous system’s capacity to adapt to the situation at hand. A regulated system can increase energy, alertness, and focus when action is needed, and it can also settle into rest and recovery when safety and restoration are available. The key feature is flexibility, allowing for movement between states rather than remaining in any single one.

When this flexibility is reduced, the system may become biased toward high activation, showing up as anxiety, vigilance, or overwhelm, or toward low activation, experienced as numbness, shutdown, or exhaustion. Supporting regulation, therefore, means helping the system regain range and responsiveness, so it can meet changing demands without getting stuck at either extreme.

Biologically, this adaptability depends on coordinated communication between the brain, brainstem, and autonomic nervous system. When these systems are working well together, the body can accurately sense internal and external cues and adjust its level of activation accordingly. This allows for appropriate mobilisation, adequate recovery, and smooth transitions between the two.

In this sense, supporting the nervous system is less about pushing it toward constant calm and more about restoring its natural capacity to respond, recover, and adapt. There are many ways we can do this, including, for instance, safe exposure to challenges and stress, followed by recovery. But, because each nervous system has its own history and baseline, what feels supportive for one person in a given moment may not be the same for another.

I’ll share more in the upcoming posts - so stay tuned;)

For quite a few years now, I find myself contemplating similar questions around this time of year and setting variations of the same intentions: to slow down, be more present, spend more time with the people I love, enjoy things I care about beyond work and projects, and generally live in a way that feels more aligned with what truly matters.

And yet my days fill up quickly. There is work I care about, curiosity to learn more, and projects that matter, alongside a genuine desire to do things well, and these things often leave little space for anything else. Sometimes that’s fine, because I enjoy it all, but when there is too much on the plate, what should feel joyful, meaningful, and fulfilling can gradually turn into pressure and fatigue.

Even though my work and life have always been intertwined, I feel I was better at finding a workable balance in my 30’s, or perhaps there was less pressure then. Lately, there always seems to be more to do, more to learn, and more to respond to, much of it important. However, I’m starting to see that this pull to do more isn’t only personal; it’s shaped by the broader context in which we live, where uncertainty is constant, change is rapid, and slowing down can feel uncomfortable, impractical, or even irresponsible. In such a climate, staying engaged and responsive can feel like a way to contribute, to keep our footing, or to maintain a sense of agency. And so the pace continues.

This year, I’m not setting intentions. Even that has started to feel like another item on the to-do list, another way of asking more of myself. Instead, I’m holding a few simple hopes: that the world might begin to feel a little steadier and safer, that we are not so easily pulled by fear, speed, or distraction, and that we each do the best we can, with who we are and the circumstances we are in. And alongside that, I hope we stay connected to our people and communities, supporting one another, and that we don’t lose sight of the many small and ordinary things that bring joy. I also hope we remember our blessings and remain rooted in gratitude, even when life feels complex or demanding.

Happy New Year!

📸