In the dorsal vagal state, the body shuts down to conserve resourses as an attempt to protect you from being overwhelmed by both physical and psychological pain. You might experience a sense of overwhelm, fatigue, hopeless/depressed feelings, or lack of interest in social connection. Physical indicators include decreased heartrate, slowed breathing, decreased blood pressure, and numbness.

It is also harder to tune into human speech and read facial cues when you’re in dorsal vagal mode, making communication with others more difficult.

If the dorsal vagal system is constantly activated, you are likely to experience symptoms of chronic stress including inflammation, illness, impaired mental/emotional functioning, and interpersonal issues.

Because our nervous system state is controlled automatically, below our conscious awareness, it’s important to send cues of safety directly to your body.

3-minute exercises to come out of the dorsal vagal state:

• Body Tapping - sit or stand up if possible. Ball your fists and tap solidly up and down your arms and legs, increasing or decreasing the pressure as it feels good.

• Humming or toning - make prolonged "mmm" or “ooo” sounds to activate the ventral branch of the vagus nerve. Experiment with different sounds and see what feels supportive to you. You can also put on music and hum or sing along.

• ENS* massage - sit or lie down and place your hands on your belly. Gently massage around your belly using small, circular movements and playing with pressure and speed. Start at your lower left abdomen, moving across your lower abdomen, up your right side, across your upper abdomen, down your left side, and repeat. Notice any spots that want more or less attention. Even simply resting your hands on your belly sends signals of safety and allows for tension to release.

*Your enteric nervous system (ENS) is your “gut brain.” It regulates mood and immune response, as well as your capacity to be in the blended polyvagal state of safe stillness where we experience intimacy and meditative awareness.

The next time you notice dorsal vagal shutdown in your system, take a break and try one of these exercises. Note how you feel before and after the exercise. With experimentation, you can see which tools are the most efficient for your unique system.

I can also support you with curated exercises and personalized guidance. Click here for more information, and book a free exploratory call here.

In the ventral vagal state, your body able to relax, repair, and thrive. You might experience safety, warmth, openness, confidence, creativity, and a sense of connection to yourself and others. Physical indicators include relaxed muscles, smooth/deep breathing, and normal heartrate variability (HRV).

In the ventral vagal state, our social engagement system is fully online. We are more compassionate and caring towards others, we can more easily tune into people’s words, tone of voice, and facial expressions, and we can better soothe and support others from this state.

The more time we spend in ventral vagal, the more we can improve our resilience and our capacity to remain steady during challenging situations. This state is also highly beneficial for your wellness because it promotes lower inflammation, balanced metabolism and glucose levels, and healthy gut activity.

Anchoring into your ventral vagal state can help you deepen your sense of peace, clarity, creativity, and compassion for yourself and others.

3-minute exercises to anchor the ventral vagal state:

• Heart resonance breathing - sit comfortably with an upright posture and close your eyes. Breathing through your nose, breathe IN for a count of 5 and OUT for a count of 6. Imagine you are breathing in and out of your heart, or the center of your chest (heart chakra). You can place your hand on your heart if you’d like, and imagine a white or golden light glowing in your chest. This exercise is designed for HRV training (scientific measure of vagal tone).

• Tonglen - sit comfortably with an upright posture and close your eyes. Send loving-kindness and compassion to three people: first to your inner child, then someone you love, and finally someone it’s difficult to feel compassion for. You can imagine they are standing in front of you, and on the in-breath, breathe in their suffering. On the out-breath, send them kindness, compasion, and forgiveness.

• Ecstatic Dance - put on an upbeat song that lights you up inside. Let your body move freely to the beat—shake, twist, and bounce around. As you do, keep a smile on your face to enhance the ventral vagal effects.

I can also support you with curated exercises and personalized guidance. Click here for more information, and book a free exploratory call here.