How You Can Stimulate the Vagus Nerve to Calm Down
The world can be a triggering place and for the past two years our collective is going through a potentially deeply traumatizing time. One organ that is involved in navigating your response to the world is the polyvagal nerve (or vagus nerve). The vagus nerve is the biggest organ of the autonomic nervous system and its job is to regulate all of the body’s basic functions. It connects the brain (the brain stem) with numerous organs; the throat, the heart, the lungs, the stomach, the liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, and the intestines (both large and small). The polyvagal nerve’s function is to navigate and mediate between your body’s resting and activating energy. It is absolutely crucial for your health and wellbeing, because it is linked to the regulation of your heart rate, your breathing, your blood pressure, your fear management, inflammation and mood. It is also involved with how you make memories. Your deepest emotions e.g. anger, dread, sorrow etc. activate your body via the vagus nerve to the reptilian (emotional) brain.
About 80% of the nerve fibers of the vagus nerve run from the body to the brain and only 20% run from your brain to your body. All of your sensory input passes through the reptilian brain asking if it is safe or dangerous before the logical part of your brain, the prefontal cortex, is active. (This demonstrates how trauma is never something that anyone can or does choose.) The largest portion of the nerves with about 100 million neurons (more than the spinal cord) are connected to your gut, the large and small intestines. Your gut feelings are literally your inner compass that is adjusted to keeping you safe. The polyvagal nerve also communicates from one person to another, influences how you interact with others, and where you feel a sense of belonging[i].
While your polyvagal nerve influences your nervous system response and in turn, your body’s response to what is happening to or around you, there is way to integrate your body in your healing work and work the opposite way around: Various bodywork techniques allow you to stimulate and influence your vagus nerve and consequently can help you calm down whenever you are triggered or experiencing episodes of anxiety and panic attacks.
A brilliant, free and accessible way to do this is humming. Since the vagus nerve is connected to your vocal cords, it can be activated by humming (just as much as chanting or gargling can have this effect). Let’s focus on the practice of humming for today.
How to Practice Humming to Calm Down
Find a comfortable position. This can be standing with both feet hip width apart, seated cross-legged on the ground or on a chair, supported by the back of the chair or leaning against a wall. Ideally, practice this in a safe space where you cannot be interrupted. If you do not live alone, let others know that you do not wish to be disturbed. Close your eyes, if it feels comfortable to you to sink in deeper.
Begin to focus on your breath. Consciously inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. With every inhalation, let your belly expand, with every exhalation allow it to flatten, releasing all of the air you inhaled.
Whenever you’re ready, maybe at your 4th or 5th exhalation, hum a low and even tone. Continue inhaling through your nose, exhalating your mouth, repeating the humming in varying pitches, exploring the different tones your body can make as you hum. Breathe and hum for a couple of minutes, maybe three minutes, maybe five minutes. Make time to stop and simply your body’s experience after humming. What thoughts, images or emotions present themselves? Do you feel different after humming? What has stayed the same? Just notice and observe.
Once you finish you humming practice you can continue to breathe into your lower abdomen for a few more breath cycles until a sense of calm is restored. If it feels good to you you can also journal about the experience or anything that came up for you during the practice.
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