Releasing The Neck: Polyvagal Practice For The Vagus Nerve

Releasing the neck.

If you're feeling tightness in your neck,

This can help to relieve the muscles in the area to decompress the vagus nerve.

So you can go ahead and roll your shoulders up and back and down and direct your gaze forward.

And you can slowly begin tipping your right ear to your right shoulder without turning your head.

And simply shift your attention to the left side of your neck.

And when you feel it fully lengthened,

Bring your eye gaze to the right and take four to six deep breaths while you're noticing the sensation in the left side of your neck.

Continuing to breathe,

Continuing to notice the sensation in your neck,

On the left side,

You're helping to decompress the vagus nerve as you do this,

Noticing your breathing.

And when you're ready,

You can begin tipping your left ear to your left shoulder,

Again,

Without turning your head,

And shift your attention to the right side of your neck.

And when you feel it fully lengthened,

Bring your eye gaze to the left and take four to six deep breaths,

Again,

While noticing the sensation in the right side of your neck.

Continuing to notice your breath,

Again,

Noticing the sensations in your neck,

Allowing yourself to decompress that side of your neck to help the vagus nerve.

And when you're ready,

You can return your head and your gaze to the starting position and just come back into a relaxed posture.