Breathing Exercises & The Vagus Nerve

Simple Techniques to Quickly Self-Soothe and Combat Stress

B reathing exercises are one of the most effective ways to stimulate your vagus
nerve, upregulate your parasympathetic nervous system response, and combat
stress and anxiety. But with so many exercises to choose from, how do you know
which are best for you? Let’s take a closer look.

Exaggerated Diaphragmatic Breathing

Your diaphragm is your body’s primary breathing muscle, positioned at the base of
your ribcage, separating your upper and lower thoracic cavities. All breathing practices
utilize your diaphragm to some extent, but there are specific techniques that encourage
a rest and digest response.
In its relaxed position, your diaphragm has a dome shape and snuggles up
against your heart. When you inhale deeply, the muscle flattens down and creates extra
space for your heart, resulting in an increase in stroke volume and increased heart rate.

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When you exhale, the muscle domes back up to increase intrathoracic pressure, slowing
the heart and reducing stroke volume. These changes in pressure in the heart are
sensed by baroreceptors that communicate to your brain via the vagus nerve. In this
way, deep breathing increases vagus nerve activity, the heart-to-brain communication,
and by exaggerating the exhale, the brain’s response is to slow the heart, promote
relaxation, and upregulate the parasympathetic response.
Large diaphragmatic movements combined with a prolonged exhale are key, and
when choosing breathing exercises for self-soothing, we choose practices that mimic
this profile. To further amplify the rest and digestion response, we can also include two
other techniques that stimulate the vagus nerve as well.

Ocean Breathing
Ujjayi breathing in yoga, also known as Ocean Breathing, sounds like Darth Vader or a

whisper that originates in the back of your throat. This practice oscillates your throat

and by proxy, your vagus nerve that runs down either side of your neck.

• Hold your hand in front of your face as if it were a mirror

• Open your mouth, fog up the imagined mirror by exhaling with a “ha ha” sound
• Now inhale with the same “ha ha” whisper sound
• Finally, close your mouth, breathe through your nose only, but continue to make
that “ha ha” whisper sound both on the inhale and the exhale
• You’ll find the exhale easy, but the inhale takes some practice to learn

Chin Lock (Jalandhara Bandha)

This is a classic yoga technique is largely forgotten but is very easy to learn and
extremely effective for vagus nerve stimulation. At the top of each inhale, close your
nose firmly, and drop your chin to your chest. This chin lock gently compresses and
stimulates your vagus nerve further amplifying the rest and digest response.

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Extended Exhale
As we’ve learned, when you exhale, your diaphragm snuggles up to the heart reducing
stroke volume and heart rate. During breathing exercises, if we exhale more than we
inhale, we amplify this response. This simple practice has an almost immediate relaxing
effect, and when combine with the other techniques covered, the result is profound.

Stress Less Breathing

During this practice you’ll combine the three techniques above: ocean breath, chin lock,
and extended exhale.

• Sit comfortably, chin parallel to the floor

• Inhale through both nostrils for 1-2-3-4
• Close your nose, lock your chin, and hold for 1-2-3-4
• Lift your chin and exhale to the count of 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
• Repeat for 10 rounds in total

SAFETY DISCLAIMER - if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, glaucoma, or a
pulmonary condition, check with your doctor before starting any breathing practices.

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