Hello everyone and welcome to this Vagus Nerve activation practice.
Today we're going to be using the power of our voice and of sound to activate and tone the Vagus Nerve.
Now Vagus in Latin means wandering or wanderer and that's because this nerve runs all the way from our brain down through our body influencing and connecting with many different organs and systems and one of its primary functions is to share messages between the brain and the body.
So 80% of those messages are coming from the body back up to our brain and 20% are going back down.
This Vagus Nerve is a really large part of our parasympathetic nervous system so that branch of our nervous system that's responsible for us feeling relaxed,
Being able to rest and digest,
Feeling at ease.
So if we can engage in practices that activate this Vagus Nerve we're really supporting our ability to come back to regulation in moments where we need it.
Now the throat and the use of our voice is a really nice way to do this because our throat,
The back of our throat really connects in with the Vagus Nerve and gives us a bit of a portal for toning it and increasing our ability to come back to that relaxed state.
So we're going to be doing that today through the breath and through some humming.
So you could do this practice seated or lying down,
Whatever feels most intuitive and comfortable to you.
Just take a moment to find yourself somewhere cozy to spend the next few minutes.
Just take a moment to settle,
Give yourself space and time to transition from the outside world to whatever you've been doing to this moment,
To this practice.
No rush to get there,
No pressure,
So just give yourself a moment or two.
Be seeing any expectation on yourself to do this practice right or in any particular way.
I know there's nothing for you to do but just be guided into a place of relaxation.
As you settle and just begin to tune in softly to your breath,
Breathing in and out through your nose,
Just allowing that breath to be as gentle and as soft and as subtle as you can.
By breathing in this way we're already moving our system into rest and digest,
We're already moving towards regulation.
To begin this activation of the throat area and our voice,
Just do a little bit of ocean breathing.
All this is,
Is on the out-breath,
Just gonna slightly constrict the back of your throat as you breathe out,
Almost as if you're adding a little bit of resistance to the out-breath.
Now if you've done a lot of yoga before you might associate this with a kind of ujjayi breath.
What you'll notice is it may sound a little bit like an ocean wave,
So it's just breathe in through your nose,
As you breathe out just constrict the back of the throat.
Breathing in through the nose,
Allowing yourself a little resistance in the throat on the exhale.
Almost like on that exhale that you're fogging up a mirror but with your mouth closed.
Just keep that moving and flowing at your own pace,
Your own rhythm,
In and out through the nose with that lovely ocean sound on the exhale,
Even bringing that visualization in of your favorite beach or seaside location.
Then by breathing in this way and that little bit of constriction we can begin to extend the exhale even further too,
Moving us more and more into a parasympathetic state.
I will begin to transition that exhale into humming breath,
So again you'll keep breathing in through the nose nice and slowly and now on the exhale with your mouth closed just simply allowing yourself to hum.
So I'll do this for a couple of rounds with you and then leave you to your own devices,
So breathing in when you're ready through the nose and then humming.
Almost be like a long om that you might do but with your mouth closed,
So just keeping that going,
Breathing in all the way to the top and then exhaling as a hum.
Noticing and appreciating how the vibrations,
How the sound feels in your body,
In your system,
Lovely long exhale that comes with this practice.
If your mind wanders the sound of your breath,
The sound of the humming can be a lovely anchor for your attention.
You can continue with this breath,
With this humming for as long as feels good for you,
So if you're enjoying it please feel free to keep going.
If you'd like to bring your practice to a close just allow yourself one or two more of these breaths,
Really enjoying the feeling,
The sensation and then letting the breath go,
Pausing,
Noticing how you're feeling,
The effect that practice has had on you and your body and your mind,
Enjoying the moment of silence,
Of pause before you embark on the rest of your day.
I hope you enjoyed this practice and engaging your voice to activate your vagus nerve,
Something you can do any time,
Any place.
If you enjoyed the practice I'd love to hear from you so drop it a like or add a comment below to let me know how you got on,
Any feedback and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
