Discover practical vagal nerve techniques—from breathing exercises to cold exposure and vocal toning—that can help calm your hypervigilant nervous system and reduce physical symptoms like TMJ after trauma and PTSD.

The vagus nerve is the primary pathway of your parasympathetic nervous system. When it's working well, it sends signals that slow your heart rate, improve digestion, and basically tell your body, 'you're safe, you can relax now.'
I want a handful of strategies, exercises such as EFT tapping or whichever, to tone the vagal nerve and calm the nervous system after years of trauma and ptsd. My nervous system feels heightened all the time and my TMJ is so bad


Creato da alumni della Columbia University a San Francisco
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Creato da alumni della Columbia University a San Francisco

Lena: Hey Miles, I've been noticing something interesting lately. So many people in my life are talking about feeling constantly on edge—like their nervous system is just... stuck in high alert. One friend described it as feeling like she's "always waiting for the other shoe to drop." Sound familiar?
Miles: Absolutely. What you're describing is incredibly common, especially for people who've experienced trauma or chronic stress. Their nervous system gets locked in that fight-or-flight mode, and it's exhausting! You know what's fascinating though? There's this incredible built-in reset button we all have—the vagus nerve.
Lena: The vagus nerve! I've heard about that. It's the longest cranial nerve in our body, right? But I'm curious—how exactly does it help with calming our nervous system?
Miles: Right, it's like the superhighway connecting your brain to all your major organs. When it's functioning well, it helps shift you out of that anxious, hypervigilant state into a calmer "rest and digest" mode. The cool thing is we can actually stimulate it ourselves with simple exercises.
Lena: Wait, seriously? So there are actual physical techniques people can use to calm their nervous system when they're feeling overwhelmed or anxious?
Miles: Exactly! From breathing techniques to cold water splashes, even humming or singing—there are so many practical ways to "tone" the vagus nerve. And the research shows these aren't just feel-good practices—they create measurable changes in how your body responds to stress.
Lena: That sounds incredibly empowering. Let's explore some specific vagal nerve exercises people can start using today to help calm their nervous system after trauma or during anxiety.