The Vagus Nerve Reset

I gave a quick run-down of the Vagus Nerve Reset from Stanley Rosenberg’s book Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve in a post about staying out of emergency mode. I’ve gotten questions about how to get the most out of it, so I thought I’d give the vagus nerve reset its own post.

This simple exercise activates the branch of your vagus nerve that activates the relaxation response.  With each activation of this branch of the vagus nerve, the body wraps it in more myelin, a substance that acts as insulation around the nerve.  As a nerve is wrapped in myelin, it fires more reliably.  Fire it enough and it becomes your go-to response, the thing you do first.

But how do you activate a nerve responsible for relaxation?

It really does seem like a contradiction in terms, doesn’t it?  That’s why Rosenberg’s method is so genius:  It’s simple, subtle and indirect.

You aren’t trying to relax. You are not performing relaxation. You’re simply moving your eyes to one side without moving your head, a simple concrete task.  Doing this causes the branch of the vagus nerve that produces relaxation to fire and that causes myelination. It’s automatic.  

Bypassing those thoughts in your head is easy too:  Just count.  If your thoughts are racing quickly, count fast enough so there isn’t space enough for the thoughts to get a toehold in your mind.  Your mind can only do one thing at a time.  Don’t worry or obsess.  Count.

Vagus Nerve Reset Instructions

You can do this seated or lying down.  I recommend lying down in a comfortable position, head level and interlaced fingers behind your head.  Your legs can be straight or bent at the knees, whichever is most comfortable.

Look to one side with only your eyes, that is without moving your head, and count.  You can stop after a minute or after you sigh* or yawn, whichever comes first.

Then look to the other side with only your eyes, that is without moving your head, and count for up to a minute or until you sigh* or yawn.

(*By sigh, I mean naturally and effortlessly inhale a little deeper and exhale a little more fully.)

Do this at least once a day.  I do it first thing in the morning and again if I wake up at 3:00am; my partner does it at night, just before going to sleep.

The effects are cumulative.  After two weeks, I realized that I hadn’t been relaxed in years.  It was a delicious feeling.  After three months, I’m calmer.  I wonder what will happen for you?

You can let me know by writing a comment or dropping me a line.