Welcome to today's meditation.
We are now going to focus on our breath.
Please close your eyes when you are ready and make sure that you're in a comfortable position.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth during this meditation.
We are now going to think about how our nervous system plays a role in our overall health and our ability to cope with stress.
When we experience something in our environment,
Our nervous system responds.
This can be the fight,
Flight,
Or freeze response.
When we are activated,
Our body gets ready to deal with stress.
Many of us struggle to return to a peaceful,
Calm baseline after experiencing an activation of our nervous system.
We need to learn to move from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic state.
Our parasympathetic state helps us to feel safe,
Calm,
Relaxed,
And at peace.
Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose.
Exhale slowly and deeply through your mouth.
Just continue to breathe in and out for another few rounds of breath.
If we are in a sympathetic state of activation,
Which is fight or flight,
We may feel unsafe,
Defensive,
On edge,
Hostile,
Overwhelmed,
Or out of control.
We might struggle to make decisions,
Manage our lives,
Our relationships,
Or struggle to feel safe in our body.
We are now going to think about how to move into a parasympathetic state.
The vagus nerve is a bundle of nerves leading from the gut to the heart and up into the brain.
It is the longest cranial nerve and communicates with every organ in the body.
Its main function is to power our parasympathetic nervous system.
A vagal tone is the process of shifting from sympathetic to parasympathetic in response to daily stress.
Poor vagal tone results in misdirected responses and high sensitivity to perceived threats in our environment.
This often activates the body's responses and leads to reduced emotional and attentional regulation.
The higher our vagal tone,
The more we experience positive emotions and better physical and mental health.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
It is natural for your mind to wander,
Just acknowledge if this is happening and come back to your breath.
One of the tools that can help us to improve vagal tone is through breath work and meditation.
By focusing on our breath,
Becoming more conscious and aware and slowing down our breathing,
Helps us to feel balanced,
Calm and at ease.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth and just continue to focus on your breath.
You can continue to meditate in your own time or you can bring your attention back to your body,
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
