Episode #69
The Relational Body: The Nervous System Between Us with Dr. Amber Gray
SYNOPSIS: What if the autonomic nervous system is more than a mechanism to regulate – and part of the extraordinary way our bodies are in relationship with one another? In this expansive conversation, dance/movement therapist, human rights psychotherapist and author Dr. Amber Elizabeth Gray joins Ali Mezey to explore the autonomic nervous system through the lenses of Polyvagal Theory, movement, trauma, relationship and the lived intelligence of the body. Drawing on nearly three decades of work with survivors of torture, war and human rights abuses – as well as her long collaboration and exchange of ideas with Stephen Porges – Amber takes the conversation beyond simplified notions of sympathetic “bad,” parasympathetic “good,” and regulation as the goal. Instead, she invites listeners into a nervous system that protects, mobilizes, settles, connects, plays, dances, loves – and continually responds to the bodies and world around it. Ali and Amber explore the vagus nerve and the promises and controversies of Polyvagal Theory; why “safety” isn’t equally available to every body; the danger of privileging particular nervous-system states; and what changes when survival responses are understood not as failures, but as expressions of an organism doing its best to remain whole. Amber also shares how movement became central to her work with profoundly traumatized people, and how her own embodied inquiry has led her toward a practice of restoration, reclamation and resistance . Along the way, the conversation wanders – as bodies do – through whales and dolphins, evolution, intuition, pattern recognition, the natural world, and the possibility that our nervous systems may be far less individual than we imagine. Ultimately, this is a conversation about relationship : within our bodies, between bodies, and between ourselves and the larger living world. What becomes possible when we stop trying simply to “regulate” the nervous system and begin listening to the complexity, creativity and intelligence of what it is already doing? To subscribe now, click here To be an angel to the podcast, click here To read more about the podcast, click here FOR MORE ALI MEZEY: Website: https://www.alimezey.com Personal Geometry® and the Magic of Mat Work Course information: FREE Guided Body Mapping Taster: Heart/Sexuality Split Five-films series (made by Ali Mezey) on renowned Family Constellation Facilitator, Stephan Hausner’s work with transgenerational influences on illness FOR MORE DR AMBER ELIZABETH GRAY: BIO: Dr. Amber Elizabeth Gray is an award-winning dance movement therapist, human rights psychotherapist, and Continuum teacher. She has worked for 29 years with survivors of human rights abuses, war, torture, natural disasters, and historical and intergenerational trauma. Equally artist, advocate, author, educator, poet, mystic and therapist, she, her clients, Ancestors and mentors co-create, ongoing, survivor- & Spirit-centered, Polyvagal-informed approaches to DMT for trauma and resilience that are holistic and emergent. A lover of all things wild, Amber regularly facilitates eco-somatic and movement retreats for survivors and caregivers. She brings her RightToEmbody human rights and BodyOfChange planetary rights work to survivors, therapists, educators, change agents and advocates worldwide. Her book, Polyvagal-Informed Restorative Movement Psychotherapy: Roots, Rhythm, and Reciprocity will be released August 11, 2026. CLAIM YOUR DISCOUNTED COPY HERE AMBER SOCIALS: Website: | https://ambergray.com/ Facebook: | Amber Elizabeth Gray YouTube: | Amber Gray@ambergray127 LinkedIn: | Dr. Amber Elizabeth L. Gray Instagram: | Restorativeresources PREVIOUS TBBP EPISODES WITH AMBER: Trauma and the Body with Amber Gray: Regulation, Restoration, & The Patience of Whales...REPRISED Trauma Healing, Somatic Psychology, and Human Rights Advocacy: LIVE AUDIENCE Q&A RECORDING W/ AMBER GRAY Earth Body Meditation: Rooting into Beloved Ground w/ AMBER GRAY DEFINITIONS, RESOURCES & INSPIRATION: Nervous System & Polyvagal Theory Autonomic nervous system (ANS): The part of the nervous system that largely regulates involuntary bodily functions – including heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, breathing patterns, temperature regulation and sexual arousal. It continually responds to conditions inside and outside the body, helping us mobilize, rest, protect ourselves, connect and adapt. Somatic nervous system: The part of the peripheral nervous system primarily involved in voluntary movement and in carrying sensory information between the body and central nervous system. It allows us to consciously move skeletal muscles and perceive sensations such as touch, pressure, temperature, pain and body position. Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems: Two major divisions of the autonomic nervous system that work together to continually adjust bodily functions. The sympathetic nervous system is often associated with mobilization and action, while the parasympathetic is often associated with rest, digestion and restoration. These are not simple opposites or “on/off” systems; both participate dynamically in healthy functioning, movement, relationship and responses to our environment. Ventral vagal: Within Polyvagal Theory, a term for vagal pathways associated with the nucleus ambiguus in the brainstem and with social engagement, connection, physiological flexibility and the capacity to remain engaged with others in conditions of relative safety. Dorsal vagal: Within Polyvagal Theory, a term for vagal pathways associated with the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus in the brainstem. The theory associates these pathways wit...
