Should You Be Toning Your Vagus Nerve? Here's How It Can Calm Anxiety & Aid Digestion

I suggest practicing these exercise on a daily basis and incorporating them into your self-care routine. You can also implement them during times of stress or when you notice that your breathing is shallow.

Each morning I sit in my chair, take a couple of sips of coffee, and begin Step 1—clearing reactivity—by resetting my vagus nerve using the following sequence to help loosen up and release tension all around.

You should notice your breath become deeper, your jaw release, your neck feel looser, and your shoulders shift away from your ears. If you don’t notice anything, try again.

The technique called "the fear tap" calms the fight-or-flight response, reduces irrational fear, and steadies your mind. First, you flip one of your hands over so the palm is facing down. With your other hand, take your fingers and press on the backside of your hand, halfway between your wrist and fingers, between your ring finger and pinkie finger. Tap this area with two or three fingers for 30 to 60 seconds, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.

The cat/cow stretch is something I do often. It is a yoga asana that is one of the most refreshing ways to stimulate your vagus nerve. Here is a seated version. Sit on the edge of a chair with your feet about hip-width apart. Place your hands on your thighs, and as you exhale, round your spine like a scared cat, tucking your chin in toward your chest. Then inhale, open your spine, and draw your heart forward while you bring your shoulder blades back. Inhale (open your heart) and exhale (squeeze your core, rounding forward). Allow your breathing to create more flexibility in your spine.

Another way to reduce reactivity is by rubbing your hands together vigorously for about 10 seconds and then placing one palm on your forehead and the other hand on top of the hand already on your forehead. It will look like you are checking your head for a fever. By placing your hands in this position, closing your eyes for 30 seconds, and breathing into your lower belly, you are pulling the blood up to the forebrain. As this occurs, reactivity reduces. You’ll know this because once you take your hands away (placing them palm down on your lap), your breathing will come from your lower abdomen.

Clearing reactivity is best done in the morning because when you sleep your body is digesting the stressors of the day. Take 10 seconds out of your morning to do the following scan:

Based on excerpts from Emotional Detox: 7 Steps to Release Toxicity and Energize Joy by Sherianna Boyle, Med, CAGS. Copyright © 2018, Adams Media, a division of Simon and Schuster. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.