Dr. Paret uses awareness of gravity and of bodily sensations as a therapeutic tool. Recent research suggests that this kind of attention to the body can influence brain activity and cognitive processes. Hypnosis offers a familiar example of this change of attention. During fascination, the eyes may remain open and the gaze becomes steady, while ordinary mental chatter gradually quiets down. In our school we observe not only where the person looks, but also how their posture, breathing and sense of bodily weight change. Presence can deepen without a long verbal induction.

The key to understanding it is the Default Mode Network (DMN). Three elements are linked: attention to physical sensations, the deactivation of the DMN, and the support this gives to executive functions, the abilities we use to plan, decide and stay focused.

Presence, meaning attention held on physical sensations and on the pull of gravity on the body, plays a central role in modulating the activity of the DMN. We knew the effects of this state from our practice long before brain imaging began to describe them: the person settles, the breathing slows, the gaze becomes steady.

The DMN is

a network of brain regions that becomes active at rest and is associated with thoughts about oneself and with mind-wandering,

and

tends to deactivate during tasks that require focused attention.

This deactivation matters. Research links an overactive DMN to several psychological disorders, including anxiety and depression, and an overactive DMN can limit the brain's capacity for tasks that require concentration and cognitive control.

Paying attention to bodily sensations, such as the feeling of one's own weight, anchors the person in the present moment and draws the mind away from rumination, the repetitive circling of thoughts about oneself that the DMN sustains. This shift reduces DMN activity and lets the brain's executive networks take over, which improves decision-making, problem-solving and planning.

Focusing on physical sensations and gravity also leads to embodied awareness: the person becomes more attuned to the states of the body and less absorbed in the stories the mind tells. This presence has therapeutic value. It brings calm and centredness, reduces stress and improves emotional regulation.

Scientific studies support the benefits of mindfulness and body-awareness practices. Research suggests that they can produce structural and functional changes in the brain: greater grey-matter density in areas linked to attention, sensory processing and emotional regulation, and stronger connections between the DMN and the executive control networks, so that the brain moves more easily from self-focused thinking to the task at hand.

Attention to bodily sensations, deactivation of the DMN and stronger executive functions are therefore connected, and this shows the importance of body-based practices for cognitive and emotional well-being.

Dr. Paret's focus on gravity and physical sensations is central to his method. It has roots in ancient traditions and is supported by a growing body of neuroscientific evidence that these practices can substantially improve mental health and cognitive efficiency.

Learn the method

Mesmeric Polyvagal Therapy is taught in the courses of Dr. Paret's School (ISI-CNV – Université Européenne): live seminars and online lessons, from the first-level Master to advanced training, with specific expertise in polyvagal hypnosis, trembling, completion of the response and ventral vagal stimulation. Request the programme and the next dates: our first contact is always a WhatsApp message, never a call.

→ Request information on the courses

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→ marcoparet.com: the School of Dr. Paret

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Research notes

A selection of peer-reviewed studies on polyvagal theory and vagal function that offer a scientific reading of the topics discussed in this article.

Raichle ME, MacLeod AM, et al. (2001). A default mode of brain function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 98(2), 676-682. Using PET measures of oxygen extraction, this study identified a set of brain areas that are active at rest and consistently deactivate during goal-directed tasks, introducing the concept of a 'default mode' of brain function. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.98.2.676

Brewer JA, Worhunsky PD, et al. (2011). Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 108(50), 20254-20259. Experienced meditators showed relatively lower activity in the main nodes of the default mode network (medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortex) across different meditations, consistent with less mind-wandering during present-moment attention. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1112029108

Killingsworth MA, Gilbert DT (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006), 932. Experience sampling via smartphone showed that people think about something other than what they are doing almost half of the time, and that mind-wandering was generally associated with lower mood. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1192439