Welcome to today's practice,
The practice for activating your vagus nerve through breath.
The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your body,
Running from your brain stem through your face,
Throat,
Heart,
Digestive system.
It's the major highway of your parasympathetic nervous system,
So your rest,
Digest and heal response.
When your vagus nerve is well toned and activated,
You feel calm,
Safe,
Connected,
Resilient.
And when it's not,
You might feel anxious or disconnected or stuck in fight or flight.
So the good news is you can activate your vagus nerve through specific breathing practices and that's what we're going to do together.
So to begin,
Find a comfortable seated position,
Sitting tall but relaxed,
And close your eyes if that feels comfortable.
We'll take three natural breaths to begin,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
In,
Out,
Breathing in.
And as you settle into your breath,
Before we begin the practices,
Let me explain what we're doing.
The vagus nerve is activated through several mechanisms,
Slow breathing,
Extended exhales,
Humming,
Chanting and stimulation of the throat.
So we'll use several of these techniques in this practice.
A high vagal tone means your nervous system can easily shift between states.
It's flexible and responsive.
And a low vagal tone means you get stuck in a stress state and maybe have trouble calming down.
So you can think of this practice as an exercise for your vagus nerve,
Strengthening its function.
Let's begin.
So first we'll establish slow,
Deep belly breathing.
This is the foundation of vagal activation.
Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly.
As you breathe in,
You want the hand on your belly to rise while the hand on your chest stays relatively still.
This is diaphragmatic breathing,
One of the most calming ways to breathe.
So breathing in through your nose,
Expanding your belly,
Feel it press into your hand.
Breathing out through your nose,
Feel your belly soften and fall.
In,
The belly expands.
Out,
The belly softens.
And continue this for a few breaths,
Slow and steady.
You can remove your hands at any point,
But continuing this belly breathing.
And we're aiming for about five to six breaths per minute.
So roughly four to five seconds on your inhale.
Four to five seconds on the exhale.
And this slower breathing rate is optimal for vagal activation.
Let's breathe in and out together for a few breaths.
Breathing in for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And continuing at your own pace.
Slow,
Deep,
Belly centered.
And now we're going to extend the exhale,
Which further activates the vagus nerve.
So breathing in for a count of four.
Breathing out for a count of six or seven.
This longer exhale is key.
This is a signal to your nervous system that you're safe and you can rest.
Let's take a few breaths together.
Breathing in,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Again,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Good.
Continuing at your own rhythm.
As you breathe out,
Imagine you're activating a calming response throughout your whole body.
Your heart rate slowing.
Your blood pressure dropping.
Your digestion improving.
All through this extended exhale.
And keep this rhythm going as we move to the next technique.
So now we're going to add humming.
This is one of the most powerful ways to stimulate the vagus nerve.
So the vibration created by humming stimulates the nerve directly where it passes through your throat.
And here's how it works.
We're going to breathe in through your nose.
As you breathe out through your nose,
Make a humming sound.
Keep your lips lightly closed.
And feel the vibration in your face,
Your throat,
Your chest.
So let's do that together.
Breathing in.
And humming out.
Feeling that vibration.
That vagal stimulation.
Repeat this a couple of times at your own pace.
You can vary the pitch of your hum.
Trying a higher pitch or a lower pitch.
Notice where you feel the vibration most strongly.
In your sinuses or your throat or your chest.
All of this vibration is activating your vagus nerve.
Continue humming with each exhale.
Allowing the hum to be as long as your breath allows.
All of this vibration activating your vagus nerve.
And now just returning to silent breathing and notice how you feel.
And next we'll practice ocean breath.
This is also known as ujjayi breathing.
Comes from yoga.
And this is where we create a gentle constriction in the back of your throat.
Making a soft ocean-like sound.
So it's like you're fogging up a mirror with your breath.
But you're breathing through your nose instead of your mouth.
So try this.
You can open your mouth and breathe out like you're fogging a mirror.
You might hear that haaa sound.
Now try to make that same sound.
That subtle sound but with your mouth closed.
Breathing in through your nose and out through your nose.
So you should hear a soft whisper or ocean sound in the back of your throat.
Inhaling through your nose with that gentle constriction.
Exhaling through your nose with the same constriction.
Allowing the sound to be soothing like waves on the shore.
Continue this ocean breathing.
In and out through the nose maintaining that gentle sound.
And this breath can be both calming and energizing.
Stimulating the vagus nerve but also creating a focused meditative state.
Feeling the slight sensation in your throat.
This is the vagus nerve being activated.
Couple more breaths like this,
Breathing like the ocean.
Now let your breath return completely to normal.
No technique,
No control.
Just natural breathing.
And notice how do you feel.
Perhaps more calm or more centered or more present.
Your vagus nerve has been activated.
Your parasympathetic nervous system is online.
This is your natural state of balance.
You can return to it anytime through these breathing practices.
Slow breathing.
Extended exhales.
Humming.
Ocean breath.
These are tools in your nervous system toolkit.
The more you practice them the stronger your vagal tone becomes.
And the easier it becomes to access calm.
Take a moment to feel grateful for your vagus nerve.
This remarkable part of your nervous system.
It allows you to rest and to heal,
To connect,
To feel safe.
It's always working for you.
And now you know how to support it.
Take one final deep breath in.
And release it with a sigh.
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
You can use any of these techniques throughout your day.
Maybe when you're stressed,
Take a few slow belly breaths.
When you're anxious,
Maybe extend your exhale.
When you need a reset,
Hum for a minute.
Your vagus nerve is your pathway to calm.
And it's always accessible through your breath.
Thank you for practicing today.
