I’ve been chatting to a lot of clients this week about making self care easy…and I wonder, would you like to put feeling calm on speed dial too??
Our nervous system is constantly assessing if we are safe in the World, and many things can trigger us…
So finding a way to relax our system can feel out of reach…
Chances are, if you are feeling tired yet wired, your fight or flight switch may be flicked ON
But the good news is, you can flip that switch, and in todays blog, I’m sharing the best way how.
Meet your vagus nerve:
The vagus nerve is involved in nearly every physiological action in the human body and stimulating it counteracts the fight or flight system
It is the longest nerve in the body, transporting vital information between your brain and the rest of your internal organs;
It originating in the brain stem and travels through the face, neck, lungs, heart, diaphragm and abdomen, including the stomach, spleen, intestines, colon, liver, and kidneys.
The vagus nerve is intricately connected to mood, immune response, digestion, and heart rate. And it helps us remain calm and build resilience in stressful situations.
However you tap into the vagus nerve, you are coming home to yourself when you do.
So how do we stimulate it?
There are a few ways, in my clinic, I have found the most powerful is number 4 here ~
1. Wash your face in cold water, or even better step into a cold shower!
2. Hum or sing, as the vibrations stimulate it. In fact singing lights your vagus nerve up like a christmas tree ~ no wonder we find singing so cathartic!!
3. There is research to show that good gut bacteria improves brain health via the vagal nerve. Get those pro-biotics in!
4. “The simplest vagal stimulation that you can recruit is being able to exhale slowly,” says Dr. Stephen Porges, who introduced the polyvagal theory in 1994.
This one is my favourite, as we can use it in Pilates, as well as any time of the day when we aren’t operating machinery.
Wondering how to do it? Try this:
1. Inhale for 4 counts & aim to send your breath down past your ribs,
2. hold for 4 counts,
3. exhale for 4 counts & notice if you can send your breath all the way out of your belly up & out
4. hold for 4 counts.
Repeat and each time aim to lengthen your exhale (the rest stays the same) Aim to build up to 8 counts on the exhale.
If you are still unsure, let’s have a chat. This breathing is a foundation to health & something we focus on in massage, pilates in person & in my online studio.
Over to you, which one of these strategies are you going to try?
xx