Calm Is Closer Than You Think

Summary
In this episode of Growth from Grief, Susan Andersen delves into the significance of the vagus nerve and its role in regulating our nervous system, especially during times of grief and anxiety. She discusses various techniques, including breathwork, cold exposure, and sound, to stimulate the vagus nerve and promote relaxation. The episode emphasizes the power of self-regulation through breath and mindfulness practices, providing listeners with practical tools to enhance their emotional resilience and healing process.

Takeaways

• The vagus nerve connects the brain to vital organs.
• A well-functioning vagus nerve promotes calmness and grounding.
• Trauma can cause the nervous system to get stuck in survival mode.
• Breathwork can help activate the vagus nerve.
• Cold water exposure can regulate the nervous system.
• Chanting and humming can induce a state of calm.
• Gentle yoga movements paired with breath can soothe the nervous system.
• Loving-kindness meditation builds emotional resilience.
• Understanding the nervous system aids in trusting the healing process.

Thank you for listening! Visit www.sueandersenyoga.com for Yoga for Grief classes and additional resources.

Transcript

Susan Andersen (00:01.646)
Hi everyone and welcome back to this episode of Growth From Grief. Sue Andersen here. And today I want to continue the discussion that I had with Claire O'Brien. That was in episode 43 where she talked about breathing techniques like the Breakthrough Breath and how that how those breathing techniques can help us really calm our nervous system. 

And one of the parts of our discussion, she talked about how people might be walking around, they're very tense, and so they're breathing in their upper lungs, right? So they're not taking a really deep, full breath. When we're in that state where we're breathing from the upper lungs, we're telling our body that, you know, there's there's something a little bit wrong, we're, you know, we're nervous, we're anxious, and that signal goes to our brain that turns on kind of our fight or flight response, our sympathetic nervous system.

And Claire also talked about the vagus nerve and how important that vagus nerve is because it delivers information from our organs into the brain and it's sending signals to the brain about how our body should respond. So I want to talk a little bit more about the vagus nerve.

And it's really interesting to me because I've certainly heard about the vagus nerve over the years, especially in the breath work and different techniques that I've used in yoga classes, right. And and just to be able to calm myself when I've gotten into that fight or flight, you know,mode, if you will. 

Susan Andersen (02:30.286)
And, you know, it's really important, I think, for each of us to be able to understand that we have the power to regulate our bodies, right? We have it within we have it in our breath. And that's a lot of what Claire was talking about in Episode 43. 

So what is the vagus nerve?

So the vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the body going from the brain to the organs. So the word comes from the Latin word for wandering. So the word vagus comes from a Latin word that means wandering. And this longest nerve, this vagus nerve really does wander through our body.

It connects, as I mentioned earlier, connects the brain to the heart and the lungs, the digestive tract. Think about it as a communication highway between your brain and your body. It plays a major role in the parasympathetic nervous system. So this is the part of our nervous system that helps us rest, digest and heal. It's the opposite of that sympathetic nervous system where we've get into that fight or flight mode. 

So when this vagus nerve is functioning well, we're feeling grounded, we're feeling calm. But if it's overtaxed or underactive, which can happen in trauma or in loss, it can feel like we're stuck in anxiety, numbness, exhaustion.

Susan Andersen (04:30.838)
And I think this is really important when we're grieving, because when we go through a loss, especially if it's sudden, or even if it's traumatic, our nervous system often gets stuck in that fight, flight or freeze mode, that survival response.

And, and that's what happens, certainly, you know, you're you experience that loss, you're in shock, and your your body is just trying to bring you into a survival mode. And, and that's okay, right? There's a purpose for it. But when it lingers, it can keep us from accessing peace, connection, sleep.

So we can actually use the breath, use sound to help us activate the vagus nerve and bring us back into this kind of a safe mode. So we're gonna talk a little bit about and maybe practice these accessible ways to stimulate it, bring our nervous system in balance, but in a gentle way. So nothing that's forceful or just doesn't feel right. So what are some of the ways that we can support this vagus nerve? So first one is the breath work, breathing deeply. 

So you recall, if you listen to episode 43, you'll recall Claire talking about this three-part breath, which of course, if you've been in a yoga class, you've also perhaps practice this three-part breath called Dirga breath, D-I-R-G-A, where you're breathing deeply into the belly and then into the chest and then into the upper chest. 

Susan Andersen (06:52.718)
And then maybe...holding for a moment and then exhaling upper chest, middle chest and belly, letting all the air out. So you can do this also by just taking long slow exhales. So another way would be inhaling to a count of four, maybe exhaling to a count of six or eight. So just making the exhales longer and do this for, you know, two, three times.

Susan Andersen (07:26.667)
The other thing which I didn't realize but as I was doing a little bit of research for this episode that splashing your face with cold water or ending your shower with 30 seconds of cold water is surprisingly regulating. So that was really interesting to me that you can use cold water on your face or again at end of your shower and that'll help regulate the vagus nerve. The other thing that I do like doing and I recall this also from other yoga classes that I've taken is chanting, humming or singing. So our vocal cords are also connected to this vagus nerve. So chanting or humming or singing can bring you to a natural calm.

And there are many, many chants or even breath work that you can do like Bees Breath where you're humming. So having that gentle humming breath or just again, a chant of Om, Om Shanti, any of these kinds of chants are very helpful in terms of bringing your body into calm.

Susan Andersen (08:57.856)
Certainly if you're a student of yoga, you know that gentle yoga movements, stretching, rocking can help calm the nervous system, especially if it's paired with breath. You know, just taking that rocking back and forth, maybe on your back, hugging the knees into the chest, while taking some nice deep breaths, slowly letting the breath out is very, calming. 

And then finally, doing a loving kindness meditation, sending compassion to yourself really helps also to provide calm and build up your emotional resilience. So that's something that you can think about that might help you in this self-regulation, right? So something that we're trying to do in activating that parasympathetic nervous system and, you know, stimulating the vagus nerve with breath.


Susan Andersen (10:24.864)
So I invite you to join me right now with a short guided breath practice, just a couple of minutes. So if you're listening to this while you're driving, you could still do the breath work but not closing your eyes. And if you're walking, maybe you just pause, find a nice seat, or just take a pause for a couple of minutes and maybe close your eyes or have a soft gaze or if you're in nature, direct your gaze to something that's soothing, a brook. Maybe looking at flowers or the trees.

So let's begin by finding a comfortable position. So again, if you are not in a stationary place like a chair or a bed, couch, find a comfortable position. Maybe just relaxing your shoulders will help if you're driving.

Susan Andersen (11:37.134)
We're going to gently inhale through the nose for a count of four. So it's like this. And we're going to exhale through the nose and mouth for a count of six.

Susan Andersen (11:57.454)
So I'm going to do the count for you. So start your inhale, one, two, three, four, and your exhale through the nose or the mouth, six, five, four, three, two, one. 

Let's do it one more time.

One two three four;  six five four three two one.  If you'd like to take another round at your own pace you're welcome to do that

Susan Andersen (12:49.708)
Now let your breath return to normal.

Maybe notice how you're feeling.

Think about even just a few breaths like this can shift your state, your state of mind, your state of your body, your nervous system.

Susan Andersen (13:16.898)
Let's just conclude this episode with some final thoughts.

Think about your body wants you to heal.

We understand when our nervous system, especially the vagus nerve comes into relaxation that we can trust this process, right? So if we can begin to understand more about the nervous system we can begin to understand a little bit more about how deep breathing helps calm that vagus nerve. Then maybe we begin to trust this process more fully, realizing that we have this power. We have this power that we can incorporate any time of the day, any time that we need it.

Susan Andersen (14:37.004)
I have a number of breath practices that are available on my YouTube channel.

I'll post that information in the show notes, but know that you have the power to calm yourself.

VOO Sound Practice

Loving Kindness Meditation

Calm Stress and Anxiety with This Breath Technique

Susan Andersen (15:01.198)
For other information, please check out my website, sueandersenyoga.com, where I have some healing practices. 

Check out episode 43 and episode 41 of this podcast. In episode 41, I talk about my experience with Claire, Mary Claire O'Brien's breathwork class. And then in episode 43, I interview her so we can find a little bit more about the science behind this. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who could use a little extra support. And don't forget to subscribe. And I would really appreciate it if you left a review.

Until the next time, take gentle care.