The vagus nerve has received quite a bit of attention in recent years – and for a good reason. Science has discovered all the amazing things that this nerve, the longest nerve in our body, can do for our mental, emotional and physical health. Let’s look into how to stimulate the vagus nerve with yoga for our optimal health and well-being.
The vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) is the largest nerve in the body. It is in charge of sending signals from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain. It affects how we breathe, our heart beats, digestion, immune response and even metabolism. And of course, all of these influence our mental health. The vagus nerve is important for both emotional and physical health because it meditates the activity from the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The vagus nerve is the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system, and thus regulates our mood as well. Here are the easiest ways to activate the vagus nerve with yoga:
- Breathing exercises: functional breathing, extended exhalation, diaphragmatic breathing, Bhramari, Moon Breath or Chandra Bhedana, Ujjayi breath
- Oming and chanting
- Yoga asanas: chin to chest, child’s pose, cat cow, seated forward fold, Moon Salutation, chest openers and backbends: Camel pose, Bow pose, Cobra and/or Upward facing dog, Fish pose, Locust pose, Wheel pose.
- Yoga Nidra with the body scan
Our Nervous System
The sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic nervous system control and regulate functioning of different organs and glands. Our nervous system has a task to balance the activities of these two opposing systems. The sympathetic nervous system, also known as flight or fight response, releases cortisol and urges us to action. The parasympathetic nervous system on the other hand, does completely the opposite – it helps us relax, rest and digest. For optimal physical and mental health, these two systems need to be in balance. So your inner systems in charge of alertness and relaxation need to take turns for the organism to be healthy.
The problem nowadays is that our fight or flight response is overactive, producing more cortisol (the stress hormone) than it’s good for us. It can get activated any time we are late for the bus, late for a deadline etc. Interestingly enough, this system was biologically created to save us from life threatening situations, such as being attacked by a lion, etc. However, nobody told our brains that lions are not a threat in the modern world, so it still gets activated at anything we perceive as life threatening. To make things worse, our present overstimulating world gets our flight or fight response to work overtime. Physiological and psychological stress are proven to disrupt the balance of our autonomic nervous system. This imbalance can lead to a wide array of health issues.
The Problem of Trauma
To read about the relation between trauma and addictions, head over here.
Chronic stress and trauma affect the balanced functioning of these two nervous systems.
Let’s say you are sitting and watching TV. And all of a sudden you hear noise on your rooftop. A normally functioning nervous system will react to the noise and after seeing it was just a cat, for example, it will relax. However, a nervous system that has been compromised by trauma has a hard time reaching this state of relaxation. You’ve probably met such people, those who can never relax. The trauma remains stuck in the body. For such people, talk therapies might not be enough. Knowing things intellectually is one thing. However, if your body and your nervous system tell you something else, it’s hard for this knowledge to sink in. Other signs that the nervous system isn’t working right are fatigue, anxiety, and depression.
So, many of us need actual tools to bring these two systems in balance and help us calm down and revitalize. And this is where vagus nerve stimulation comes in.
The Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) is the largest nerve in the body. It is in charge of sending signals from the brain to the body and, even more (80%), of sending and regulating signals from the body to the brain. The vagal nerve starts from the brainstem, goes through the neck, chest, diaphragm, and into the abdomen. It affects the functioning of the throat, facial muscles, heart, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. And from the brainstem, it sends fibers that connect with different areas of the brain (amygdala, hypothalamus, thalamus, and orbitofrontal cortex).
The vagus nerve affects how we breathe, our heart beats, digestion, immune response and even metabolism. And of course, all of these influence our mental health. The vagus nerve is important for both emotional and physical health because it meditates the activity from the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The vagus nerve is the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system, and thus regulates our mood as well.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is any technique that stimulates the vagus nerve. The stimulation of the left cervical VNS is used in treating epilepsy and treatment-resistant depression. Right cervical VNS helps in treating heart failure. Other effective applications of VNS have been found in treating headaches.
“VNS deserves further study for its potentially favorable effects on cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, metabolic, and other physiologic biomarkers associated with depression morbidity and mortality,” Springer
Vagal Tone
Vagal tone is a biological process that reflects the vagus nerve activity. The tone of the vagus nerve is crucial for our health and well-being. Increasing the vagal tone helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system. It enables us to relax after a stressful event. Vagal tone activity is related to our ability to experience positive emotions. So, the higher its activity, the healthier we will be. The lower its activity, the more likely we are to feel anxious, depressed, stressed or have problems with intestines or eating disorders.
Yoga Breathwork Practices to Stimulate the Vagus Nerve
Prolonging the exhalation
Prolonging the exhalation stimulates the vagus nerve. Make the exhale 2 times longer than the inhale. You can inhale for the count of 2 or 3 and exhale for 4 or 6.
Functional breathing
Inhale and exhale for the same count focusing on the breathing from the diaphragm. You can put one hand on the belly and the other one on the chest to tune into this type of breathing better. On an inhale, the belly should rise first and the chest should follow. On the exhale, the chest goes down first and the belly follows.
Moon Breath or Chandra Bhedana
Close the right nostril with your right finger and breathe in and out through the left one only. The left side of the body is associated with calming the nervous system down, so breathing in this way calms you down and helps with better sleep quality.
Bhramari
This exercise helps to stimulate the vagus nerve. It’s very simple: Place the top of your tongue on the upper palate. Close your ears with your hands. Inhale through the nose and exhale humming. Focus on the vibrations in the head or on the middle of your forehead. Practice this exercise in a 1:2 ratio of inhale and exhale. The minimal length of the inhale should be 3 seconds.
Ujjayi Pranayama
This type of breathing helps the vagus nerve to register this slow, deep breathing and send appropriate signals to the brain that all is good and one can relax. Tighten the throat slightly so that, as you breathe in and out through the nose, you produce a sound in your throat similar to the ocean or a sleeping baby. If this is hard for you starting out, breathe with your mouth open and imagine you are trying to create fog on a window.
Oming and chanting
Since the vagus nerve is connected with the throat, by stimulating the throat and the vocal cords, you can activate it. You can sing anything you want, and anywhere you want it! The Om mantra is claimed to be most powerful for calming you down and clearing out negativities from your system and the space around you.
And oming and chanting also have a very calming effect for children with autism and special needs.
Yoga Asanas for Stimulating the Vagus Nerve
Marjari asana
The famous cow cat pose massages the inner organs and helps to have a healthy gut. It also tones the vagus nerve, which among other things, helps with digestion.
Go on all 4’s placing the ankles under the shoulders and knees under the hips. As you inhale, roll the shoulders back, arch the spine, and bring the heart forward. As you exhale, round your spine, tuck the navel and the chin in and look towards your belly button. Also, bring the pelvis forward and tuck your tailbone in.
Chin-to-chest and head back
Do this motion super slowly and gently, and pause in between. Sit comfortably and let your shoulder relax and melt away from the ears. Inhale in the middle and on an exhale, bring your chin down towards the chest. Go only as far as it’s comfortable, there should be no pain. Focus on the sensations in the back of the neck. Inhale, come to the center. Exhale, bring the head back as far as it’s okay. Relax the jaw and open the mouth, allowing for spontaneous exhales to come out through the mouth.
Child’s pose
Spread your knees and on your heels. Go down so that the forehead touches the floor. If you can’t manage this, make fists with your hands and place one on top of another and then place the forehead on your upper fist. Stay here, breathing from the diaphragm and stay as long as you can – the longer, the better. Feel your chest and the rest of your body sink down into the mat. Surrender to this feeling.
Seated Forward Fold
Extend the legs and fold forward from the hips as low as it’s comfortable. You can also bend the knees slightly. Let your arms hang down, and rest your belly on the thighs. Relax into the pose as you feel your belly breathe. Relax the neck and the face. Stay here for as long as you can.
Moon Salutation
This sequence is great for activating the vagus nerve because it is focused on grounding, so it enables us to have more grounding breaths.
Check how to do it here:
Chest openers and backbends
Chest openers and backbends work with the vagus nerve directly. They open and tone the belly, chest, and throat which are all connected to the vagus nerve. When the vagus is toned with these yoga poses, the body sends signals to the brain that all is well and there is no need to stress.
Sit comfortably and place your hands on your shoulders. As you inhale, open your chest, lift the chin and move your elbows to the sides, away from each other. As you exhale, round the spine slightly, tuck the chin and bring the elbows in front of your body to touch. Repeat this for 5-10 times.
Other great chest openers and backbend are:
- Camel pose
- Bow pose
- Cobra and/or Upward facing dog
- Fish pose
- Locust pose
- Wheel pose
Yoga Nidra with the Body Scan for the Vagus Nerve
Yoga Nidra or the yogic sleep is great in helping change the brainwaves in your body and much more. Scan your body going from the head to toes or the other way around. Feel each body part, breathe into it and relax it and release it to the floor. Let gravity take care of you. Surrender to it.
To read more about how Yoga Nidra can help with stress and to try out a short 10 minute session, head over here.
Conclusion: Achieving Peace and Calm Is Easier Than You Think
There you have it – science, biology and ancient yogis all agree on how to achieve peace and tranquility. As we mentioned in our article on embodiment – what is it and how to use it – change the body and the mind will follow. Now that you know the theory, it’s time to put it into practice.
Let us know how it went: reach out to us on our social channels: We would be happy to hear your experiences with yoga and the vagus nerve.
References:
- Vagus Nerve Yoga: The Weaver by Dr. Arielle Schwartz
- Vagus Nerve – Neuroanatomy and Functions, Animation by Alila Medical Media
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation by Steven C. Schachter, Clifford B. Saper
Tatjana Glogovac, Senior Contributor At L’Aquila Active
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