Polyvagal Acupuncture® and Polyvagal Massage (TM): An Integrative Path to Nervous System Healing - Revised

© 2025 J. Moffitt. Registered U.S. Copyright Office. Polyvagal Acupuncture®.

Polyvagal Acupuncture ® (PVA) and its twin modality Polyvagal Massage (PVM)™ is an integrative technique I developed out of necessity—born during a time of crisis, refined through clinical application, and grounded in both traditional Chinese medicine and modern neuroscience.

Primitive Reflexes and Their Role in Nervous System Development

© 2025 J. Moffitt. Registered U.S. Copyright Office. Polyvagal Acupuncture®.

Primitive reflexes (PRs) are foundational components of the human nervous system, and serve as essential building blocks for complex motor and cognitive functions. These automatic, involuntary movements are present at birth and were thought to integrate as the child matures, usually by the age of 8. Controlled by cranial nerves in the brainstem—a primitive part of the brain—these reflexes maintain a balance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems to support motor movement, decision-making, and emotional regulation. When PRs remain reactive (retained) or reemerge later in life, they disrupt vagal nerve signals and leave the body in a heightened state of arousal, with higher levels of stress hormones along the HPA axis.

Primitive Reflexes in Clinical Practice: Autonomic Dysregulation, Fascial Bracing, and Developmental Retention

© 2025 J. Moffitt. Registered U.S. Copyright Office. Polyvagal Acupuncture®

Primitive reflexes (PRs) are involuntary motor responses that establish foundational postural tone, orientation, and motor-sensory coordination during early development. These reflexes should integrate as higher cortical control matures. When they remain active—or reactivate in the context of trauma, emotional stress, neuroinflammation, or structural compromise—they produce persistent motor patterns that disrupt movement, stability, and autonomic regulation.

In clinical settings, retained PRs do not present abstractly. They express through specific, reproducible fascial bracing patterns, muscle spasticity, and sinew channel fixation. These patterns impair functional mobility, destabilize postural tone, and often correlate with elevated sympathetic drive, reduced vagal tone, and impaired cranial nerve regulation.

The Polyvagal Acupuncture® Integrative Model: From Self to Soma

© 2025 J. Moffitt. Registered U.S. Copyright Office. Polyvagal Acupuncture®.

A Master Synthesis of Psychoanalysis, Developmental Neurobiology, and TCM

In our previous discussions, we ventured deep into the neuro-somatic constructs underpinning personality fragmentation and the mechanisms sustaining chronic defense. The preceding summary provided an overview of our most recent neuro-somatic synthesis. However, that brief encapsulation did not fully capture the intricate web of psychological, neurobiological, and somatic components explored in our ongoing conversation.