Full Transcript Introduction to the Vagus Nerve 0:01 Today, I'd like to give you some tips and tricks to stimulate the vagus nerve. 0:07 The vagous nerve, it sounds just like Las Vegas, spelled a little bit differently, but it is one of our longest nerves, longest cranial nerve in the body. 0:18 And it starts in our brain and goes all the way to our large intestine. 0:23 We've heard of the gut-brain connection. 0:25 You'd heard this gut brain axis. 0:30 one of the primary reasons why that gut-brain connection is so strong. 0:37 This is a nerve that we want to be strong, we wanted to have good tone. 0:43 We want it to engaged enough that can get into a parasympathetic state, a rest and digest state for meal times, certainly. 0:55 But it's something that you can also tap into throughout our day. 0:58 If we're feeling stressed and we wanna come back down, comeback to that nice, easeful place. 1:06 So I'd like to give you three ways to stimulate the vagus nerve specifically. 1:15 The first one, we might all be very familiar with it. 1:21 Meditation helps to simulate the Vagus nerve, but more specifically, deep belly breathing.
Deep Belly Breathing Exercise 1:32 Because I want us to feel the pace of a deep belly breath. 1:36 Let's take a moment to deep-belly breathe together. 1:40 So if you haven't already, find a comfortable seat. 1:48 Make it easeful. 1:53 No need to tone the belly. 1:56 Can we let that soften? 2:04 Let the shoulders fall away from the ears. 2:15 Maybe even place a 2% smile on the face. 2:19 And then notice, notice your normal everyday breathing. 2:40 You might choose to place a hand on your belly and see if you can move the breath down to your bell. 2:53 If the belly feels hard to access today, maybe it's the diaphragm, this place where you find your ribs, you come off of the ribs and find the squishy stuff. 3:05 The diaphragms lives right there. 3:11 Inhale into your belly. 3:16 And exhale, let your bell collapse. 3:19 Okay, lets start to deepen the breathing now. 3:24 Inhale. 3:29 Exhale. 3:34 inhale. 3:39 exhale. 3:44 Inhale. 3:48 Exhale. 3:52 Inhale Exhale Inhale, exhale. 4:13 Inhale. 4:18 Exhale. 4:23 Inhale Exhale Inhale, Exhale, Inhale Exhale. 4:50 And then return to normal, everyday breathing. 4:58 Let the eyes open. 5:02 This deep belly breathing, you might have noticed, has a hitch in the rhythm. 5:10 We want to do about six breath cycles per minute to stimulate the vagus nerve. 5:17 So this means about 10 seconds per breath cycle, but we want the exhale to be longer than the inhale. 5:26 I usually like to about four seconds inhale, six seconds exhale. 5:32 And this, I put a lot of stock into your body's intuition. 5:36 If we're ever doing a breathwork technique and you feel stress come on, you your whole system tightening, then it's time to modify. 5:46 You know your body better than anybody. 5:49 And if there is an alternate pattern and alternate pacing that feels more easeful and more soothing to you, please do that one. 5:59 With this knowledge in mind, let's take two more minutes of that pace, that 10 second breath cycles, and all guide us through about a four second inhale, 6:10 six second exhale. 6:13 We'll return to your breathing posture. 6:16 If you'd like to place your hand on your belly again, please do. 6:21 Let the eyes close if that feels comfortable. 6:27 And take a normal breath in. 6:32 normal breath out. 6:36 Inhale, exhale, inhale, Exhale, Inhale. 6:57 Exhale.
Cold Water Stimulation 7:02 Inhale, exhale, inhale, Exhale, Inhale Exhale Inhale Inhale, exhale, inhale, and exhale. 7:52 Inhale. 7:56 Exhale. 7:59 Last paced inhale. 8:04 Exhale, release. 8:08 Return to normal, everyday breathing. 8:19 So just a couple of minutes really soothes the system and it stimulates and tones that vagus nerve. 8:29 Deep belly breathing, trick number one. 8:33 Trick number two, splashing cold water on your face. 8:38 It could be right when you wake up in the morning, wake the system with some cold waters splashed to the face, some people like to take a cold shower, 8:48 even if it's just for six deep belly breaths or a quick splash. 8:55 The cold you might notice even just the thought makes you inhale. 9:01 and then exhale to really sink right in. 9:05 So that cold water not only changes your breath pattern, but it changes the whole tone of your vagus nerve. 9:13 This is very good for digestion. 9:17 Cold water to the face, cold to water the body. 9:20 It's very for decreasing blood pressure. 9:23 When you have a strong and soothed vagal nerve, people tend to have healthy or lower blood pressure. 9:31 So people that have high blood, pressure do these techniques to strengthen their vagus nerve and soothe it. 9:37 And they notice their blood. 9:38 Pressure comes down.
Singing and Humming for Vagus Tone 9:40 It's also very good for your immune system. 9:43 Taking a cold shower helps to stimulate new white blood cells to be made and then a fresh water, cold, fresh, water just to the face. 9:51 can be not as specific to the whole immune system, but especially to lymph nodes under the chin. 9:58 And usually people notice their skin clears up pretty well too because they're starting to manipulate some blood flow to their cheeks and the forehead 10:05 and chin, so deep belly breathing, cold water to face or the body. 10:12 The third trick is singing. 10:16 Now I will spare you the singing demonstration, but I would recommend as much as you can throughout the day, sing loudly. 10:29 Sing like your whole soul is on fire. 10:33 It's not only helps to open up the larynx and open this place where the vagus nerve starts, but it helps to put yourself in a parasympathetic state, 10:46 a rest and digest state. 10:48 When was the last time that you were so stressed out and you are singing a song? 10:53 It's so rare. 10:54 So this singing technique helps trick our bodies and trick out brains into going from sympathetic, flight or flight, into parasympathy rest then digest. 11:05 Humming helps too. 11:07 If you're in place where you not quite comfortable singing it, humming, loudly, great option. 11:14 Sing in your car, hum in the shower, sing throughout your day. 11:19 If you are stressed, maybe say, I'm so stressed just to get yourself out of that stressed out place. 11:28 So deep belly breathing, cold water to the face or body, loud singing, and loud humming. 11:36 These are great ways to stimulate your vagus nerve, help to connect that brain, gut, mind, body, and gut-brain axis. 11:47 These will be some helpful tips if you can do them every day. 11:52 Please give them a try. 11:53 Let me know how it goes. 11:54 And if have any questions, let me
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