From the NSI Lexicon
All definitions →- ArticleFoundational12 min
Community and Nervous-System Regulation
Community, in the context of nervous system regulation, refers to the recurring presence of familiar others in shared physical or social space—what sociolo
- ArticleFoundational12 min
How Do I Regulate My Nervous System?
Nervous system regulation is the process by which the body's autonomic nervous system—the network governing heart rate, breathing, digestion, and arousal—s
- ArticleFoundational11 min
The Nervous System and Temperature Regulation
The human body maintains a core temperature near 37°C through a process called thermoregulation, orchestrated almost entirely by the nervous system. This i
- ArticleFoundational
The Kindness Your Nervous System Has Been Waiting For
Self-compassion as a regulation strategy — not luxury, but the safety signal your nervous system has been waiting for.
- ArticleFoundational13 min
What Is Safety, in the Nervous System?
Not the absence of danger — the presence of specific biological cues that let the body stand down. A definitive introduction to felt safety.
- Evidence-InformedFoundational10 min
Proprioception: How the Nervous System Knows Where You Are
Why body position and movement awareness influence balance, confidence, safety, and physical regulation.
- ArticleFoundational11 min
GABA and Nervous System Regulation
Gamma-aminobutyric acid—GABA—is the brain's principal inhibitory neurotransmitter. It slows neural firing, dampens excitatory signals, and sets the thresho
- ArticleFoundational12 min
Ritual and Nervous-System Regulation
Ritual is the deliberate repetition of structured behavior in a predictable sequence. It can be religious or entirely secular—a morning coffee made the sam
- ArticleFoundational12 min
The Nervous System and Weight Regulation
Weight is not a behavior. It is an output—one regulated by a distributed network of neural circuits that integrate signals from adipose tissue, the gut, th
- ArticleFoundational13 min
Yoga and Nervous System Regulation
Yoga is a family of practices originating in ancient India that combine physical postures, controlled breathing, and focused attention. In contemporary cli
- ArticleFoundational4 min
Co-Regulation — The Attachment System in Action
Co-regulation is not metaphor. It is the observable process by which one nervous system helps another return to a settled state — the biology attachment runs on.
- Evidence-InformedFoundational8 min
The Vestibular System and Emotional Regulation
How balance and spatial orientation may influence arousal, movement, and a person’s sense of stability.
- Article
What Is Nervous System Intelligence? — Evidence-Based Review
The cornerstone paper of the Nirva Institute’s Nervous System Intelligence Library. An evidence-based review of NSI: predictive processing, interoception, autonomic regulation, neuroplasticity, and clinical applications.
- Theory Under DebateFoundational9 min
The Autonomic Nervous System as a Dynamic Network
Moving beyond simplistic ladders toward context-dependent patterns of regulation.
- ArticleFoundational6 min
What If Communities Regulate Nervous Systems?
A community is not a backdrop to a nervous system. It is one of the largest regulators the nervous system will ever meet.
- ArticleFoundational5 min
What If Every Classroom Is Also a Nervous System Environment?
A classroom is a network of nervous systems co-regulating one another. Reading it that way changes teaching and school design.
- Theory Under DebateFoundational8 min
What Polyvagal Thinking Contributes to Nervous System Intelligence
How social context and bodily state can be incorporated without making one theory the entire framework.
- Evidence-InformedFoundational7 min
Aging and Regulation
Aging and Regulation within developmental neuroscience — the science, the human experience, and why it belongs inside Nervous System Intelligence as a practice.
- Evidence-InformedFoundational8 min
Boundaries as Regulation, Not Rejection
Boundaries as Regulation, Not Rejection within attachment science — the science, the human experience, and why it belongs inside Nervous System Intelligence as a practice.
- Evidence-InformedFoundational7 min
Early Co-Regulation
Early Co-Regulation within developmental neuroscience — the science, the human experience, and why it belongs inside Nervous System Intelligence as a practice.
- Evidence-InformedFoundational8 min
Shared Regulation
Shared Regulation within relationship and family systems science — the science, the human experience, and why it belongs inside Nervous System Intelligence as a practice.
- ArticleFoundational11 min
The Nervous System and Thyroid
The thyroid gland sits at the base of the neck, producing hormones that regulate metabolism, energy expenditure, and cellular function across every tissue
- ArticleFoundational10 min
Regulate: The Third Step of the NIRVA Method
Regulate is the third step of the NIRVA Method, the operational protocol for revising nervous system predictions. It is the phase in which a person de
- HypothesisFoundational24 min
Beyond Regulation
Beyond Regulation