This exercise by Lou Laspregado is designed to help you communicate directly with your autonomic nervous system.
We aren't trying to force anything,
But rather we're aiming to build our capacity to shift from a state of high alert and mobilization,
I.
E.
Sympathetic dominance,
Into a state of grounded presence and rest,
I.
E.
Parasympathetic dominance.
By using specific physiological levers,
We can reset our baseline.
Find a position where your body feels supported,
Sitting or lying down.
If you're sitting,
Feel the contact of your bottom and or back with whatever you're seated on.
If you're lying down,
Notice how the surface holds your entire weight.
In either case,
Notice the contact your body's making with its surroundings.
If you haven't already,
You may choose to gently close your eyes or keep them open with a soft gaze.
That's up to you.
As a means of anchoring into the present moment and beginning to send a message of safety to our nervous system,
I invite you to say the following words to yourself,
Either silently or aloud.
I am here now.
And notice what effect,
Even if very subtle,
Saying these words has on you.
You may repeat the phrase a couple of times.
I am here now.
As we proceed forward with the exercise,
When your mind chimes in with commentary or pulls you away from the here and now,
Like a dog on a leash vying for your attention,
See if you can simply give the leash a gentle tug and return your attention back to your body,
Back to my voice and the exercise at hand.
Now I invite you to scan your body for any indication that the sympathetic branch of your nervous system is currently dominant.
See if you can do this with a sense of passive curiosity and receptivity rather than judgment or struggle.
You may notice a generalized somatic sensation throughout your entire body,
Such as wiriness or feeling keyed up,
As if it's in overdrive.
Or you may notice more localized sensations such as tightness in your chest.
Pressure behind your eyes.
Clenched or sore jaw.
A bracing in your gut.
Or tension in your neck,
Shoulders,
Or legs.
While you may naturally want relief from these experiences,
See if you can just make note of them for now,
As they are.
You might silently say to yourself something like,
There's tension.
Or there's that wired but tired feeling.
Uncomfortable sensations in the body are data points.
Your mind might label them as anxiety or stress,
Though they're also signals that your nervous system is doing its job.
Trying to protect you from or prepare you for whatever it perceives as dangerous,
Threatening,
Or enticing.
Which can sometimes fall under our conscious radar and remain turned on long after the stimulus has passed.
See if you can acknowledge these somatic sensations as such,
Not as something broken but rather very much working as designed.
Albeit without the brakes of the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system,
Which we're going to attend to now.
The parasympathetic branch can be engaged by specific breathing patterns.
In a moment,
I'll prompt you to take a relatively deep breath in through your nose,
Allowing your lungs and or belly to expand,
Followed by a long,
Slow exhale through pursed lips,
As if you're blowing bubbles.
The key is for the exhale to be longer than the inhale.
This activates the vagus nerve,
Sending a message to your heart to slow its beat.
We aren't trying to calm down,
Rather we are simply providing the body with the biological data it needs to recognize safety.
I'll start us off with a count of breathing in for 4 seconds and breathing out for 6 seconds,
Which translates to about 6 breaths per minute.
Though you may then decide to adjust that based upon your own needs and what suits you best at this time.
Okay,
Here we go.
Breathing in,
2,
3,
4.
Breathing out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Breathing in,
2,
3,
4.
Breathing out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Continue at your own pace,
Breathing in through your nose as you expand your lungs and or belly,
And out through pursed lips,
Emptying your lungs as much as possible.
As your nervous system receives the signals of safety that you're sending through the breath,
You may begin to notice a settling of sorts,
A gentle letting go with each out-breath.
As your shoulders drop.
And your body sinks further into the surface on which you rest.
You may notice an overall softening of your body or a slowing of your heart rate.
Even if subtle,
See what changes in your physiology you notice from one moment to the next.
And then gradually allow your breathing to return to its own natural rate and rhythm.
A powerful method of activating the parasympathetic branch involves closed mouth humming.
Otherwise known as vocal vagal stimulation or the bumblebee breath.
The vagus nerve passes directly through the larynx or voice box and pharynx or throat.
When we hum,
The vocal cords vibrate,
And those physical vibrations are picked up by the nerve fibers in our throat,
Which sends a signal to our brain that it's safe to down-regulate our stress response.
Closed mouth humming in particular increases vibration and naturally allows for a long slow exhale through our nostrils.
So in a moment we're going to hum together for three to four breathing cycles.
We'll breathe in deeply through the nose,
But then keep our mouth closed as we hum with a low,
Steady MMM.
So like the letter M.
MMM.
You should feel some sense of vibration in the back of your throat.
Okay,
Here we go.
Breathing in.
And then humming.
And again,
Breathing in.
And humming.
I invite you to continue on your own for three to four more cycles,
Experimenting with different pitches and tones to see what most resonates with your nervous system.
You may even choose to try different humming sounds,
Such as voo,
Voo,
Or zee,
Zee,
Both of which involve opening the mouth just a little bit.
And both of which have been found to stimulate the vagus nerve.
Okay,
Now allow your breathing to return to its own natural rate and rhythm.
And see what changes,
If any,
You notice in your body and physiology as you let this practice sink in.
Even after having made use of methods to stimulate the vagus nerve and thus activate the parasympathetic brake.
You may still notice parts of your body continuing to hold on to tension in a protective stance.
Creating a context of safety for our nervous system can take time when it's wired for threat detection or defaults to mobilization.
So let's spend a few moments responding to our nervous system in a more affiliative manner.
First,
I invite you to simply recognize how hard your nervous system has worked for you over the years,
Attempting to protect you or propel you into action countless times.
And consider how you would like to acknowledge this vital role it's played in your life.
Perhaps with a few words of your own choosing.
Next,
Bring to mind someone you deeply care about.
And imagine that they experience what you experience in your nervous system.
Perhaps they often feel wired but tired,
Or anxious,
Or tense and tight.
What do you feel towards this person as you imagine them suffering in this way?
What are you moved to do in response?
And is it possible to bring some aspect of this stance towards yourself.
In this last piece,
I invite you to notice any residual gripping or holding in any particular part of your body.
Or you may notice some residual wiriness or sense of contraction in your body as a whole.
Once again,
Instead of trying to force or relax anything,
Which often can create more tension,
I'm inviting you to simply breathe into those sensations.
Imagine a space opening up within and around the sensation with each inhale.
Notice your ribcage expanding as you breathe in and creating more physical room in your torso.
On the exhale rather than attempting to push anything away.
See if you can embody a gentle sense of letting go.
That is a letting go of any effort or resistance.
So in essence you're softening the periphery around any sympathetic activation.
Breathing in to any tension,
Tightness.
Allowing it to be there as it is and then emphasizing a long slow exhale as you let go of any struggle.
Continue for another moment.
To create this buffer zone of space and tenderness.
Breathing in,
We expand.
Breathing out,
We let go.
As we move towards bringing this exercise to a close,
I invite you to return your attention to the contact your body is making with its surroundings.
Notice the weight of your heels on the surface.
Clothing on your skin.
And the temperature of the air on your face.
Gently begin to open your eyes,
If they're not already open.
And before moving your head,
Let your eyes scan the room around you,
Looking for colors or shapes that feel grounding or at least neutral.
This orienting behavior tells your primitive brain that the environment is clear.
As we end this exercise,
Recognize that you have the tools to reset your nervous system at will.
And when you're ready,
Give your body a gentle stretch and bring this grounded presence back into your day.
Thank you for listening and take care.
