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COURSE

Vagus Nerve & Nervous System Self-Regulation

With Prema Gaia

Welcome to this guide to resetting the vagus nerve and self-regulating the nervous system. If you would like to expand your toolkit with a variety of simple, pragmatic and easy to do practices that will shift your state quickly and help you to feel centered, calm, grounded and resourced on a more consistent basis, this course is absolutely for you. Over these 10 days, you will discover new pathways for gaining nervous system resiliency and cultivating greater emotional stability. I will share resources and information to support you in toning the vagus nerve, which is the longest cranial nerve in the body, and is responsible for restoring relaxation after a response to stress, trauma or adversity. Increasing the tone and function of the vagus nerve can help make you more resilient to stress overall and help you feel less debilitated by things that may have been overstimulating or triggering for you in the past. I will share tools for self-regulating your nervous system and understanding how to come out of the 'fight or flight', ‘freeze’ or ‘shutdown’ response, and into a state of feeling safe and rooted in your body. These practices will draw from the wisdom of Polyvagal Theory, Breathwork, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupressure Points, EFT Tapping, Somatic Experiencing, Feldenkrais, Eye Yoga, Cold Water Therapy, and Self-Massage. Each session starts with a short breathing practice, followed by a 10-20 minute teaching. Many of the sessions include step-by-step guidance on somatic, body-focused practices for you to explore in order to discover the tools that work the best for you. I am honored to share this course with you here on Insight Timer. May it support and empower you along the journey of befriending your nervous system and tracking your body’s unique signals effectively. To stay connected and continue the conversation, I invite you to join my Insight Timer Group, 'Friends of Prema Gaia', and click the 'follow' button to be notified about new Meditations, Courses and Livestreams.

Simple and effective tools and somatic practices to self-regulate your nervous system and vagus nerve, so that you can feel more resourced, grounded and centered in your body on a more consistent basis

10 Days

34.2k students

4.9 stars

17 min / day

English

About this course

Vagal Toning Exercises

4-7-8 Breathing

Sensation Tracking

Meet your Teacher

Prema Gaia

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Uvita, Costa Rica

Prema Gaia is an embodied wellness guide and transformational mentor. Over the past two decades, Prema has traveled the world collecting tools, knowledge and best-practices from a wide variety of modalities and wisdom traditions to support people on the journey of embodying their fullest and most thriving potential. 20 years ago, Prema had a life-changing spiritual awakening and gave away her possessions until she only had the clothes on her back and embarked on a 5 year vision quest, in which she walked over 350 miles and hitchhiked over 20,000 miles, visiting spiritual teachers, shamans, intentional communities, sacred sites and studying many healing arts. Prema has been teaching on Insight Timer since 2019 and hosts regular Livestreams. She works with people in 1:1 and group coaching containers, is a strategic advisor for mission-driven leaders, and also offers transformational retreats internationally.

View Profile

10 Days

34.2k students

4.9 stars

17 min / day

English

Lesson 1

Introduction To The Vagus Nerve And Nervous System Self-Regulation

In our first session we will be talking about the importance and significance of nervous system self-regulation and co-regulation. In order to learn how to self-regulate our nervous systems as adults, ideally, we would have had an attuned and resourced caretaker in our lives as children, that we could co-regulate our nervous systems with on a regular basis. Because so many of us didn’t have that experience growing up, it became more challenging to learn how to self-regulate, self-soothe and stay centered and resourced in healthy ways. But the deeply encouraging news is that neuro-plasticity researchers have been finding that as our bodies, brains and nervous systems regenerate themselves on a regular basis — new, healthy neural pathways can be created that can powerfully and positively transform the baseline experience of your day-to-day life. Today we will also discuss the Vagus nerve, which is also known as ‘the love nerve’. It is the 10th out of our 12 cranial nerves, and is responsible for restoring relaxation in the body, after a response to stress, trauma or adversity.

Lesson 2

Somatic Tools: Working With The Eyes & Ears

In today’s session we’re going to talk about 2 very effective ways to self-regulate the nervous system: by working with the eyes and the ears. 6 out of 12 of the cranial nerves in our central nervous system are connected to the functions of the eyes. Our eyes and our nervous systems are deeply interwoven and many very effective practices have been developed that utilize eye exercises to reset the vagus nerve and activate the parasympathetic, relaxation response. 3 of our 12 cranial nerves are connected to the function of our ears: cranial nerves 5, 7 and 8, and the ears are one of the points on our body where we can most easily access fibers of the Vagus nerve in a tactile way. I will be sharing several very effective somatic practices for working with the eyes, and the ears, to noticeably shift your state to more centeredness and calm within 2-5 minutes.

Lesson 3

Working With The Voice & The Throat

Today we are going to be talking about several very effective ways to self-regulate the nervous system, working with the voice and the throat. The fibers of the pharyngeal and the laryngeal branches of the Vagus nerve pass through the throat and the voice box. Singing, chanting and toning releases beneficial neurotransmitters, including endorphins, serotonin and dopamine and help turn on the body’s relaxation response. Another Vagus Nerve reset tool we will practice in today’s session is making the ‘Voo’ or Vvv’ sound, which was popularized by author Peter Levine. We will also discuss why yawning and gargling with water support in downregulating the nervous system. Yawning and gargling both stimulate the pharyngeal and the laryngeal branches of the Vagus nerve and quickly and effectively signal our body that it’s time to slow down and relax.

Lesson 4

Working With Your Skin, Your Neck & ‘Tapping’

Today we will be talking about several effective ways to self-regulate the nervous system, working with your skin, your neck and working with ‘tapping’. Any form of self-massage will help to bring us out of hyperarousal and into a parasympathetic state of rest and restoration. Some particularly helpful self-massage points to focus on are the front and back of the neck. The vagus nerve passes through the neck, and neck massage can access some of its nerve fibers. Many vagus nerve massage techniques focus on massaging the region of the neck called the ‘sternocleidomastoid muscles’ which run down both sides of the front of the neck. We will also go over a practice of tapping specific areas of the body with the fingertips which helps with emotional processing and circulating stuck energy. And we will discuss why oiling your body with an oil that contains calming herbs or essential oils can really support with soothing anxiety or overwhelm and self-regulating the nervous system.

Lesson 5

Working With Your Belly And With Gentle Movement

The belly is situated over many of our vital organs, which are connected to the vagus nerve, such as the intestines, kidneys, spleen and gut. The gut is responsible for producing up to 90% of our serotonin and 50% of our dopamine. This, as well as the natural flora of microbes in the gut, make it an essential organ for regulation of mood and emotions. Laughter is one of the most fun and joyful ways to tone the Vagus nerve. There are laughter meditations here on Insight Timer specifically created to help you get a good giggle, and enjoy all the benefits that come along with it. We will also discuss exploring gentle movements with your body that feel regulating to your nervous system. The physical state in which we feel relaxed and safe in our bodies is referred to as the ‘Ventral vagal state’. An example of a ‘Ventral vagal’ movement is to wrap your arms around yourself in a gentle hug, and stroke up and down your upper arms and shoulders with the palms of your hands and your fingertips. This movement is from a practice called ‘havening’ which helps with self-soothing and downregulation.

Lesson 6

Working With The Breath

Today we will be talking about one of the most simple yet incredibly effective ways of self-regulating the nervous system: Working with the breath. The breath is the only autonomic function in our body that we can consciously control. Autonomic bodily functions refer to those that are involuntary and happen without us consciously making them happen, and this includes things like heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, digestion and the production of bodily fluids. By intentionally regulating our breathing, we can shift other autonomic functions of the body, and catalyze a ‘relaxation response’, which is why it is so powerful and such a key to nervous system regulation. There are many wonderful breathing practices that are helpful tools along the journey of repairing the nervous system, and in today’s session, we will be practicing 3 of them.

Lesson 7

Working With Nature & The Elements To Support Your Journey

Along the journey of nervous system repair and regulation, our relationship with mother earth is our most foundational ally. When our bodies and nervous systems have become imbalanced, one of the first places to look, to come back into balance and harmony is our relationship with nature, and its cycles and elements. Our bodies' ‘circadian rhythms’ and their alignment with the rhythms of the earth, impact every level of our experience, more deeply than we may realize. We will talk about 6 ways to begin rebalancing your circadian rhythms and giving your body the resources it needs to regulate stress and restore balance in the nervous system: We will also discuss cold water therapy, an effective practice for resetting the nervous system, that has the added bonus of boosting 'feel-good neurotransmitters'. And I will share about several calming and grounding essential oils, flower essences, and herbs that you may wish to explore.

Lesson 8

Sharpening Your Ability To Track Your Body & Nervous System

Today we will be talking about the revelatory and empowering journey of becoming ‘your own greatest healer’, and sharpening your ability to track your body and nervous system. One of the most empowering decisions we can make on the journey of learning to self-regulate our nervous systems is the choice to recognize that we are ‘our own greatest healer’. With our inner guidance supporting us each step of the way, we can discover the unique recipe for our own healing, wellness, thriving and ultimately, fulfillment of our divine potential. One of the first steps towards this is learning how to deeply track and listen to your body’s signals. We will be talking about the importance of paying close attention to what happens to your body when you start getting dysregulated, so that you can begin making changes to ‘nip it in the bud’. I will be offering several journaling prompts to support you in gaining greater awareness about your body and nervous system’s unique signals and messages.

Lesson 9

Getting To The Root

Today we will be talking about discovering the roots of why your nervous system may be getting dysregulated, and exploring some restorative steps that you can take for deeper nervous system repair. If your nervous system is getting dysregulated or feeling overwhelmed on a fairly consistent basis, that is a cue that your body is signaling to you for deeper tending, attention and attunement. If you have been through periods of trauma, adversity or chronic stress, it is common to experience a phase of burnout and fatigue, as the body lets us know that it’s time for some things in our lifestyle to shift. To get to the root of any imbalances that stress or anxiety may have caused in your physiology, it can be very helpful to work with a trusted doctor, naturopath or functional medicine practitioner. Within 3 to 6 months of making intentional changes to our lifestyle and daily habits, positive and noticeable shifts in nervous system resiliency and overall wellbeing can often be felt.

Lesson 10

Receiving Additional Support

Today I will be sharing several helpful resources for further support, and a very special practice to close out our 10 day journey together. One of the most helpful things to remember along this journey of nervous system regulation and repair is that you are not meant to do this all on your own. No matter what your life circumstances or income level, there are always ways to receive support. I will discuss several modalities which can be very helpful in rebalancing the nervous system. ‘Somatic co-regulation’ is a practice of sharing intentional and attuned, skin-to-skin contact with another person or group of people in a way that generates mutual support and resourcing for the nervous system. We will go over several ways to explore this practice and discover if you find it to be supportive and resourcing for you. I will also share Insight Timer playlists and other Insight Timer Courses for further exploration. To stay connected, I invite you to join my Insight Timer Group: ‘Friends Of Prema Gaia.’