PVI will be closed from 12pm ET on December 20, 2024 to January 2, 2025 as our team takes a collective pause.
We wish you a New Year full of community, connection, wonder and joy.
"Michael Allison's warmth and caring, and his ability to connect through this material is a testament to him embodying what he teaches. The teaching style was excellent, clear and engaging and there were just the right amount of repetition, reinforcement and interactive exercises to have this material sink in on a deep level. This class has been transformative to me and the way I practice, and I hope to the patients/clients with whom I work."
--Beth Kurland, Ph.D.
Course Timing
The next cohort of The Play Zone Pro begins January 30, 2025. The first live online session is February 6, 2025.
Live Zoom sessions meet every other Thursday from 1:00-2:30 PM Eastern Time.
Jan 30 - Module 1: Self-paced
Feb 6 - Module 2: Live session
Feb 13 - Module 3: Self-paced
Feb 20 - Module 4: Live session
Feb 27 - Module 5: Self-paced
Mar 6 - Module 6: Live Q&A with Dr. Stephen Porges
Mar 13 - Module 7: Self-paced
Mar 20 - Module 8: Live
Course Description
When we feel safe, our body is in a physiological state supporting health, growth and restoration (i.e. homeostasis). But when we feel unsafe, our body is interrupting homeostasis and enters survival mode, where we begin expending resources to attack, defend or escape, or start freezing and shutting down to conserve what resources we have left.
Through this course, students will learn how these adaptive survival responses are triggered autonomically, and how the Polyvagal Theory can act as a guide to their own body-mind connection.
Led by Michael Allison and Dr. Stephen Porges, this certificate course is designed for wellness and performance coaches of all kinds, and demonstrates how an understanding of the nervous system can empower us in all that we do.
Each student will focus on their self awareness and self-care, to become more accessible and present, and in turn, assist their clients on the pathway to health, wellness, and performance. This is the essence of becoming a Polyvagal-informed Coach and optimizing our human experience.
Payment Information
This course costs $999. Students can pay the full fee at registration or in three-month installments. Other payment plan options may be available upon request. Students will have access to the course for 300 days from the date of the first live session.
Course Requirements
There are no pre-requisites for this course.
If you plan on earning CE credit for completing this course, 100% live online attendance is required.
Course Format
Course Framework
Module 1: self-paced
Module 2: live Zoom meeting on September 19
Module 3: self-paced
Module 4: live Zoom meeting on October 3
Module 5: self-paced
Module 6: live Zoom meeting on October 17
Module 7: self-paced
Module 8: live Zoom meeting on October 31
Hybrid course of live (6 hours) and self-paced (20 hours) instruction, plus case studies and exam:
• the four live 90-minute sessions are (mostly) every other week over an 8-week period, with self-paced assignments in between
• live sessions are held (mostly) every other Thursday 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Eastern Time as noted above; all sessions are recorded and available if missed.
Recommended Audience
Course Outcomes
Through this Polyvagal-Informed Certificate Course, you will:
• Develop a deep understanding of PVT that you can apply directly to your work, how you show up, what you do, and how you are received so that you can optimize the growth and development of those you are working with.
• Construct a comprehensive framework grounded in PVT that will support and organize all of the other tools and strategies you implement in your work.
• Cultivate resources, tools, practices and strategies aligned directly with your unique discipline that you can employ on-demand for yourself and those you are leading.
• Become part of an integrated community of other coaches, leaders, wellness practitioners, performers and enthusiasts who are Polyvagal-aligned and continue to evolve, share ideas and collaborate on your professional journey.
• Gain wisdom, experience and an embodied understanding so that you can feel confident in applying Polyvagal Theory and the methodology of The Play Zone in all aspects of your work.
• Learn how to regain control of your physiology to optimize your wellness, performance, longevity, adaptability and improve the quality of your relationships in every role that you play.
• Build daily habits, lifestyle practices, inner resources and relationships that help you become an effective co-regulator.
You will receive a Certificate of Completion upon finishing this course.
You have the option to earn 21 hours of CE credit provided by the National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC).
Our Polyvagal-Informed Certificate courses offer a deeper level of training including:
20+ hours of curriculum
Live interaction with instructor
Application exercises and embodiment practices
Group discussion and individual reflection
Assessment(s) to demonstrate understanding
Polyvagal-Informed Certificate
Please Note: Because we are not an accrediting agency, neither the Certificate of Completion nor the Polyvagal-Informed Certificate offers licensure or certification of any kind. We do not measure nor endorse one’s ability to teach Polyvagal Theory or use the term “PVI certified.” However, the Polyvagal Institute affirms that certificate training results in a polyvagal-informed level of knowledge and application.
INSTRUCTOR(S)
Michael Allison
Michael Allison has partnered with Polyvagal Institute in developing education and coaching around his unique application of Polyvagal Theory to performance. The Play Zone provides a paradigm shifting methodology to optimize control of our performance through skillful and conscious control of our physiology, and is endorsed by Polyvagal Institute and Dr. Porges. Michael consults with professional, collegiate and high performing coaches, teams, organizations, athletes and performers in a variety of disciplines, as well as executive coaches, business leaders and corporate teams. He is a Health & Performance Coach, Personal Trainer, Medical Exercise Specialist, Post Rehab Specialist and Certified Oxygen Advantage Breathwork Instructor. He is the author of SMARTER Coaching, a certificated behavior change course accredited by the American Council on Exercise. In addition, Michael is a certificated ILS Safe & Sound Provider / Remote Provider and Focus System Training Provider. With more than 25 years of experience in the fitness & wellness industry, he is the founder (1999) and co-owner of Physical Focus Inc. in Santa Barbara, California and leads a team of personal trainers, fitness instructors, health coaches, nutritionists and bodyworkers. Most importantly, Michael is a husband of 22+ years to his wife Jamie, a teacher-librarian, and father of two beautiful daughters, Kate (21) and Samantha (17).
Email: michael@theplayzone.com
Website: www.theplayzone.com
Meet Michael in this video: https://player.vimeo.com/video/734571050
Michael Allison
Stephen W. Porges, PhD
Stephen W. Porges, PhD
Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium in the Kinsey Institute. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both 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 is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. He is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™ , which currently is used by approximately 4,000 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, and to improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement. Dr. Porges is a founder of the Polyvagal Institute.
