11 Vagus Nerve Hacks to Soothe Your Soul
Sometimes - you just gotta shut the door - and soothe your soul via the vagus nerve.
If that's where you are at, my friend. This post is for you.
We are gonna explore the vagus nerve - a part of your autonomic nervous system that helps you rest, digest and renew.
Let's just savour that for a moment. Put down your high stake social media conversations. Turn off your Netflix series. Lay your strong opinions to rest. Shut the refrigerator for a sec.
Rest. Digest. Renew.
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SO WHAT EXACTLY IS THE VAGUS NERVE?
The vagus nerve is one of twelve cranial nerves in your body - and it has a rather special reputation, as you may have heard. The reason being is that it's the only nerve that actually exits the cranium. Which means that it carries out the rather splendid function of being the means by which many of your organs communicate directly with your brain.
The vagus nerve literally enervates the heart, lungs, stomach, gall bladder, kidney, liver, digestive tract, spleen and cervix. And it conveys information about the health and wellbeing and needs of these organs to the brain and back again. (For example, sexual pleasure can travel from the cervix to the brain completely independently of the spine through the vagus nerve. Amazing! You can read all about that here.)
Furthermore, the vagus nerve is often known as the "rest and digest" part of the nervous system. And the front (or ventral) vagus nerve governs social interactions and allows for healthy connections between people too. (If you want to know more about the vagus nerve and about Stephen Porges' vagus nerve theory, watch this video here.)
Pleasure is much harder for a person with a blocked vagus nerve, or low vagal tone. Low vagal tone can lead to a permanent sense of anxiety instead. And because I am all about maximising pleasure, I thought you might find it useful to know some techniques to calm, soothe and increase the health of your vagal tone.
Use these techniques regularly to restore calm and increase feel good.
Vagus Nerve Hacks
Positive Social Connections
The front vagus oversees social connections - in fact it is not even fully developed at birth but grows in relation to our mothers. Developmental trauma can stunt the growth of this nerve. But generating positive social connections can help bring it back on board. Get with your friends! It's good for you.
Get Cold
Wim Hof anyone?! So have you ever been in a Swedish sauna where you go from super hot to super cold? Or a Japanese spa? It would seem that many traditions understood the value of ice cold water in its capacity to calm and soothe your nervous system. One of my faves, I will admit.
Gargle
Apparently gargling will gently massage the vagus nerve as it passes the back of your throat and can help activate this nerve into better health. I'll admit, I do this every evening after cleaning my teeth.
Sing/Chant/Hum
Pretty much every spiritual tradition in the world has a type of chant attached to it. Whether that's hymns, or mantras or just plain call and respond community singalongs. Peter Levine advocates the sound "VOOOO" as a chant to activate and soothe the vagus. Give it a try. I like to d this in the bath. (Much to my family's amusement.)
Neck Massage
Yum. What's not to love about this one? Because the vagus nerve emerges at the base of your brain, it can feel really releasing to relax the muscles that encase it. Try experimenting with pressure. It's also really good to subtly move your neck too as you do it. Your neck moves thousands of times a day - awareness and gentleness with the movement can be very releasing.
Laugh
Have you ever noticed how completely revolutionary an act it is to just - laugh?
Just the other day, I was scrolling through my feed. Feeling the slow draw of the death force, as you do.
And there was somebody I love. Posting something hilarious.
My entire body felt lighter. I literally felt like I could breathe again.
I must get together with that person soon, I thought. And laugh more. At times like these, laughter is incredible medicine and lights the vagus nerve back up.
Yoga or Tai Chi
Slow, embodying exercise is the vagus nerve's friend. Anything that slows you down is what you are looking for.
If your nervous system is frazzled, start with really gentle workouts to regain daily groundedness.
You can begin with even a super simple version of these forms of movement, just standing barefoot on the earth for ten minutes a day will help calm and down regulate.
Breathe Well
I spent many years practicing as a Buteyko breath work facilitator. And, as a lifelong asthmatic, I know a thing or two about breathing. (Or trouble with breathing.) As everyone will tell you, breathing is core to relaxation. What they won't normally tell you, is that over breathing (ie depth of volume) over time, can be extremely bad for your health.
Once again, when it comes to the vagus nerve, we are avoiding extremes. So start slow. 1) Nose breathe at all times 2) Relax your diaphragm and let it take control as much as you can 3) Let the out breath be slightly longer than the in breath.
Get Exercised
If you feel you and your body is ready for it. then it's time to get that heart pumping again.
A frozen nervous system response (technically called functional freeze by the experts) might be familiar to you - you can't raise yourself. It's hard to tend to your basic daily needs. You feel numb. This kind of thing is a vagus nerve in shut down.
Time to get moving again.
Prioritise Relaxation
Sometimes relaxation can feel like just another thing on the to do list. In fact, most of the women I work with have this as a complaint. There is never enough time to do what they need to do - how will they ever fit in time to relax?
Here's the thing - you just do.
Mama Gena talks about scheduling pleasure - literally planning it into your day. For example, at 12.30, I will stop whatever I am doing and spend ten minutes smelling flowers in the garden (or park.)
If you are a woman who loves to schedule too - then I invite you to take your pleasure and relaxation seriously enough that you can, actually contemplate doing this.
if planning ain't your thing - well, you let me know. How could you take time to really and truly relax each day?
Get Into Your Gag
Well this is a curious one isn't it? But did you know, the vagus nerve is connected to your gag reflex? (I mean, they are in the same place in the body right?)
Now I am not suggesting that you make yourself sick in any way. But I am saying that if disgust is an emotion that is surfacing for you - and actually disgust and horror are tremendously common emotions to feel once trauma starts to unfreeze - then practicing and approving of your gag reflex can be beneficial to your nerves as a whole.
Think of it as a toning exercise, and give it a try.
So. Here is the way I look at it.
Your nervous system is an organ. And, in times such as these, it is probably an organ that's having to work fairly hard for you on a daily basis. It affects your pleasure directly too, and you can read more about that here.
So if you feel that your nervous system is getting exhausted and tired, and that it could need some support, then try these vagus nerve hacks for health and wellbeing.
Whether you are looking to change your own life and experience of pleasure, or whether you are working to change the world in some way. These tips will help grow your resilience if you make a habit of them.
With love and pleasure. xxx
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With love
Julia
(Please note, I earn a small affiliate income from the products recommended to you in this article. However, this does not add to your price, and all products are genuinely tested and recommend by me.)
Categorised in: Feminine Power
This post was written by Julia