Latest / Adventures in Adversity: an inspirational podcast / Ep. 82: What happens in the vagus nerve - simple ways to calm your body in seasons of adversity

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Ep. 82: What happens in the vagus nerve - simple ways to calm your body in seasons of adversity · Adventures in Adversity: an inspirational podcast

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  What's up guys? Welcome back to Adventures and
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  Adversity, an inspirational podcast where we've got, let's
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  see, this will be episode 82. But before this, we had 81
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  stories from incredible people, 55 plus different people from
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  all over the world, from all walks of life, talking about how
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  they have turned adversity into an adventure.
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  They have turned their problems into their purpose.
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  They've turned trauma into triumph in so many ways.
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  So be sure to take a look at all the incredible stories that I'm
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  so grateful to just have on this podcast because each of them has
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  an amazing human being behind it.
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  All right, so episode 82, I want to get right into it.
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  If you clicked on this, you are interested in the vagus nerve,
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  OK, Vagus nerve now, not the Las Vegas nerve.
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  If you, I don't know where you're listening from in the
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  world, we got a lot of countries super stoked about that.
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  But if you are not from the United States and you're not
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  familiar with the Las Vegas, NV, we are not talking about the Las
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  Vegas nerve. We're talking about the Vegas
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  VAGUS nerve. Now, why am I talking about the
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  vagus nerve when we're talking about adventures in adversity
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  and many different stories from many different people?
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  Because the vagus nerve, when activated, write this part down,
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  can help you get through adversity.
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  Yeah, that's it. That's all I have to say.
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  End of episode, click. Just kidding.
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  Now I'm going to tell you how the vagus nerve can help you and
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  me because we all need it. I'm just learning as we go here,
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  get through adversity. OK, So if you've been listening
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  for a while, whether you're new, no, I just said that if you've
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  been listening for a while, you know that we I definitely don't
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  shy away from the topic with all of my guests and talking about
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  like what's going on in your body?
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  What's going on in your mind when you're going through a hard
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  time in life. Now, from what I've learned here
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  in my little research and in my talking to psychologists,
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  talking to people who've been through it, there's this thing
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  called the nervous system. You know, you learn about it in
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  school, but I don't know about you guys, but I didn't quite
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  understand the value of the value, the not value.
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  That's not the right word. The I didn't understand the
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  pivotal role that your nervous system played in pretty much
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  everything you do. And regulating it is literally
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  how you are able to get through adversity, right?
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  Otherwise you're in a constant state of panic.
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  So today we're actually going to talk about what happens to our
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  nervous system when we go through prolonged periods of
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  stress, pressure, all sorts of things.
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  And that pressure can come from all kinds of adverse situations,
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  adversity. Some of those we can control,
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  some we can't, right? So we are going to talk about
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  adversity. We're going to talk about
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  nervous system activation, what that means, what is the vagus
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  nerve, and some very practical tools that we, not just you, but
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  me can use if you're in a tough chapter right now.
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  All right, so looking at my notes here.
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  OK, so first of all, I'm pretty sure if you're listening, you've
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  been through adversity. Maybe you're going through it
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  right now, maybe it's on its way, who knows?
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  But we do know I am a deeply believing Christian and a
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  follower of Christ. And I do know that God does say
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  in the Bible that we definitely will have tribulations.
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  It's not a question of when or if, but it's when knowing that
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  what is actually happening in our body during adversity.
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  OK, so I want to give a shout out real quick to perplexity AI
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  Again, great tool to use if you're just interested in like
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  researching anything. I I love psychology.
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  It helps me prep show notes and it's just great.
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  So anyway, perplexity AI. So here's what's actually
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  happening according to research here, in high stress, high
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  conflict or overwhelming situations, the nervous system
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  is doing exactly what it was designed to do, protect us.
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  OK, so you might recognize some of these states.
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  This is when you're maybe in the midst of adversity, what this
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  might feel like in your body. Fight, flight, freeze or fawn.
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  OK, so feeling angry, this is fight, heat up, ready to argue,
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  all that stuff. Flight, wanting to run, move
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  over, work scroll or avoid. Freeze going blank,
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  dissociating, staring in a space, losing words or fawning
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  over explaining, apologizing people pleasing to stay safe.
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  So I've had like 55 plus maybe even 60 now guests.
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  I think it was a couple months ago.
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  I counted it was 55. The rest are episodes like this
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  where I'm kind of just filling in and I've noticed a lot of the
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  guests and anytime I've shared they describe living in these
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  states. These these states their where
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  their nervous system is on like fight, flight, freeze, fawn and
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  going back and forth for a long time, right?
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  It's almost like no, it's almost like it is.
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  If you've ever been in that situation where you're going
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  through something that's like traumatic, your nervous system,
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  you're in like a freeze response, right?
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  So it's difficult to navigate when you're in it.
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  And one of the things I've learned is you really got to
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  breathe right. And then we're going to get to
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  that with with with the vagus nerve thing.
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  But I drink rest for a second. All right, so here we go.
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  According to research here, I'm going to put in the show notes
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  where this is coming from, what researchers have discovered and
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  what many people find is when you're in that state of like,
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  it's not stay, stay on high alert.
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  You're trying to think your way out of it, right?
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  Like telling yourself it's going to be fine.
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  Apparently you can't can't actually do that, right?
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  So scientists, psychologists have this discovered when you
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  start with the body, breath sensation and movement, they
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  found that they found just enough calm to speak and live
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  from a more grounded place. All right, so what's the lesson
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  there? You actually can't think
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  yourself out of like a fight or flight state when your nervous
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  system is dysregulated. And I actually listened to
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  something yesterday when I was at the gym.
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  And if someone's like, what is your nervous system?
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  Actually, before we get in all this vagus nerve and stuff, we
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  all know we have a nervous system.
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  Well, if you didn't, you know now I didn't.
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  I mean, I knew we had one, but I didn't understand the importance
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  of it until this podcast. Your nervous system is
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  essentially, and I'll link to the book.
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  It's like the vagus nerve reset. I'm listening to this audio book
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  right now. Your nervous system is like your
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  electrical wiring in your body. I heard that yesterday and I was
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  like, I get it. OK, that makes sense.
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  So it's the wiring, right? OK, so now what is the vagus
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  nerve? VAGUS again?
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  Show notes, sources for all of this stuff.
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  I'm saying the vagus nerve is like a highway connecting the
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  brain to many internal organs. Heart, lungs, gut.
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  That's like a big one. Now gut, it plays a major role
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  in the stress response and in helping the body come back down
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  after being activated. So that's from the Cleveland
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  Clinic. I'll link to the source.
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  So when a person or when anyone sees danger, your sympathetic
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  nervous system turns on. That's the fight or flight
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  automatic. Like Bengal, like Saber toothed
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  tiger coming at you, bear coming at you.
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  So parasim, Parasim shoot. Pathetic nervous system turns
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  on. I'm learning here.
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  The fight or flight, when the danger passes, The
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  parasympathetic system, heavily influenced by the vagus nerve,
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  is supposed to help the body rest, digest, and feel connected
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  again. OK, So what does that mean?
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  It means when like things appear in our environment, you have
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  that automatic response. And again, that's the
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  sympathetic nervous system. This is a fight or flight
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  response automatically trying to keep you alive.
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  Like you jump before you even consciously know it because
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  like, your body's keeping you safe, right?
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  It when the danger passes, the vagus nerve is supposed to help
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  the body rest, digest, and feel connected again.
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  OK, so it's that it's the one that connects to all the organs.
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  So you want to calm that vagus nerve in reaction to a stress.
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  What's it called? A stimulus in your environment?
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  You're going to have that parasympathetic, no sympathetic
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  automatic response. Then once you chill, your vagus
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  nerve comes to kind of chill the body out.
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  All right here. According to Chiron clinics, no
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  one is broken for reacting this way.
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  The fight or flight, the body is doing its best with the
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  information it has. So you might notice you could be
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  when you're when you're super stressed, difficulty sleeping,
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  waking up in panic, replaying conversations, feeling numb or
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  feeling completely like cognitive overload.
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  That is like a nervous system stress response.
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  OK, All right. So what I want to talk about in
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  this episode is how do we send our bodies those different
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  signals? Meaning how do we connect and
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  activate the vagus nerve to create a sense of calm in our
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  body that could then help us get through adversity?
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  Cool. All right.
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  So here are a few practices that have been game changers for many
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  people. This is according to Clinical
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  counseling associates link in the show notes, including a few
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  of my guests. I will say this doesn't doesn't
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  replace medical care or anything like that, but it is something
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  you, you should definitely see a therapist, talk to your doctor,
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  but they're things you can do in the moment to calm your nervous
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  system, which is activating your vagus nerve, which then calms
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  your nervous system, which then brings you down from a fight or
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  flight state to chillin. All right, four to six breathing
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  4:00 to 6:00. Second breathing with a gentle
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  exhale. So they say inhale gently
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  through your nose for a count of four.
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  Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 6.
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  Repeat that for two to three minutes.
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  Oh, that's good. The slightly longer exhale, this
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  is from oxygenadvantage.com can help activate the calming side
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  of the nervous system and support vagal tone.
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  I'm going to get into vagal tone in a second.
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  Actually, I'll just tell you now, vagal tone, I heard in this
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  book, that book that I'm linking linked to below on the the vagus
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  nerve reset. Vagal tone is like how quickly
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  your body can go from a stress state to a calm state.
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  So if you have like a high vagal tone, you can like regulate
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  yourself vagal tone. That is like life goals, right?
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  All right, so the the slightly longer, longer exhale activates
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  the calming side of your nervous system.
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  And again, nervous system. What is that?
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  It's the wiring everywhere. My guests have shared that, you
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  know, before big conversations, before, you know, big events,
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  big meetings, that taking the time to really breathe like
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  this, that helps them prepare. What they're actually doing is
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  they're activating their vagus nerve.
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  So they're getting that sense of calm before something.
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  OK, another thing you can do to calm your vagus nerve and
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  activate it is Orient to the room.
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  So if you start to feel yourself going into fight or flight mode,
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  look around the the room and name 5 things that you can see
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  or touch or hear. So for example, if I was going
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  into fight or flight mode, sitting here right now all of a
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  sudden sort of having a panic, I would say I would start the
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  breathing. Say Gray microphone, white
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  bedspread, bright light bulb, chicken cooking, clean window,
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  dirty window. Like I'm just bringing my body
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  back into this moment instead of like anything you're creating in
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  your head. Vocal and facial exercises can
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  stimulate the vagus nerve. OK, It's the vagus nerve
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  actually runs through your whole like up and down through your
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  body and then it touches all of the organs.
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  So in now it's a part of the wiring that is maybe the central
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  wiring that's connected. So when it's activated, it then
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  sends calm into all your organs. All right, so it's the vagus
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  nerve is like, amazing because the vagus nerve, this is from
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  UVA Health, reaches the vocal cords and muscles in the face
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  and throat. Simple vocal practices can
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  stimulate it. Hum a song you love for a minute
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  or two. Wow.
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  OK, so that one read something out loud in a calm, steady
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  voice. That's what I'm doing right now
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  with this research. So I'm activating my vagus
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  nerve. Soften your jaw, unclench your
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  teeth and drop your shoulders. OK, what else here?
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  Setting micro bound boundaries with yourself.
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  So in high stress seasons it's tempting to binge watch shows.
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  Refresh your notifications 400 times a day, right, A nervous
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  system boundary for you to kind of act like activate the vagus
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  nerve and keep it calm. Maybe not scrolling about like
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  devastating topics right before you go to bed, maybe going for a
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  walk and doing for the the four to six second breathing, right.
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  It's really amazing how you, when you like prioritize calming
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  your body down and like actually doing these things that your
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  whole life changes. OK, all right, so I, I'm
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  rambling here. Vagus nerve goes up and down
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  through your whole body, connects to your brain, your
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  different organs. It's the central wiring when you
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  do things like exercising, breathing.
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  Actually, let's see what the top ten ways, top ten ways to
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  activate vagus nerve and you guys get to just hear me talk
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  about it. If you don't want to, you know,
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  look it up yourself, but if you do perplexity AI go for it.
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  All right, I'm going to talk about this and put this
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  information I'm learning in the context of what I've learned in,
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  you know, 81 episodes. So I'll kind of talk about these
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  top 10 vagus nerve activators and then any episodes that come
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  to mind where that maybe that's been mentioned.
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  All right, so the number one top 10 vagus nerve activators,
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  remember the central wiring that then calms your organs.
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  Deep, slow breathing from cedarssinaihospital.com down in
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  LA, Diaphragmatic, diaphragmatic breathing with a slightly longer
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  exhale. So shorter inhale, longer exhale
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  can increase parasympathetic activity and vagal tone.
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  What's a vagal tone? Your ability to go from a
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  dysregulated state to a regulated state.
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  Cold exposure. I did a episode oop, my
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  daughter's calling. Hold on.
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  Hi, how's it going? Are you invited or is she
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  invited? OK, Only if you say please and
• 17:06
  thank you and be the very good manners.
• 17:13
  No, Reese. How if you've been invited for
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  dinner, you may stay. Is that authorized by parents?
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  No. How about 7:00?
• 17:38
  They're negotiating 740. All right, I'm recording a
• 17:43
  podcast episode literally right now.
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  Wait, Hold on. OK.
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  Love you. Bye.
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  Well, welcome to life. OK.
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  That was my daughter. She's staying in a friend's
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  house for dinner and till a little bit.
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  OK, cold exposure. I did an episode on like life is
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  like an ice, a cold plunge. So apparently brief cold
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  showers, splashing cold water on your face or holding a cold pack
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  to your neck or face can stimulate the Las Vegas nerve.
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  Just kidding. Vegas via the dive reflex slows
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  your heart rate. Cool.
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  We talked about the humming and the chanting or the singing.
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  So literally, if you're like having an anxiety attack, just
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  like start humming. Who knew?
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  That's why you do ohm like ohm, you know, gargling.
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  Vigorous gargling with water, according to charliehealth.com,
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  creates throat vibration that can engage vagal pathways and is
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  suggested as a simple daily exercise.
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  This is amazing moderate exercise and yoga support vagal
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  tone, help rebalance stress and rest responses.
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  So it's like it's almost like yoga and prayer.
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  Can't prayer. That is the ultimate vagus nerve
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  activator. I'll probably end with that.
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  It's almost like you're like just caring for your vagus nerve
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  and like activating it to remind it that you're safe.
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  Massage gentle massagers. Neck, shoulders, feet or
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  reflexology can support vagus nerve activity and lower blood
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  pressure. Huh.
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  This is a good one. Activate the vagus nerve.
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  Laughter and social connection. Positive social engagement, eye
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  contact, genuine laughter are linked with healthier vagal tone
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  and related research on social engagement systems.
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  Body shaking shout Short bouts of body shaking or bouncing can
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  help discharge tension and are used in vagus nerve exercise
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  protocols for chronic stress and pain, according to
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  soundsurrey.com. Listen, that's all I got guys.
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  Daughter called. We got to pick her up soon.
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  I'm getting this published tonight.
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  Sending this over to Julio, my amazing producer Jack London.
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  And again, guys, we all got a vagus nerve.
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  Let's just you know what happens in the vagus nerve doesn't have
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  to stay in Vegas. No, I, I don't understand
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  anyway, the, the vagus nerve is important and you should
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  activate it. And the best way you know, I'm
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  going to come in with this adventures in adversity is very,
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  very honored and empowered by my faith in Jesus.
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  And he is. I think anytime you pray, Jesus
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  can definitely work on your nervous system.
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  I mean, come on. That's just like he can rewire
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  everything and that's what he's doing for me.
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  All right, I'm going to wrap this up.
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  It's Sunday, episode 82 and take care of yourself.
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  Tell your authentic stories, use your voice, and activate the
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  vagus nerve. Peace.