Video summary
The primary goal of mastering your vagus nerve is to enhance vagal tone and activate the parasympathetic nervous system through a process known as down-regulation breathing. While techniques like square breathing, which involves inhaling, holding, exhaling, and holding for four counts each, are effective, they may not suit everyone. Alternative methods such as "Vader breathing," where one forcefully inhales through the nose and makes a whooshing sound while exhaling, or guided imagery like smelling roses and blowing out candles, offer accessible ways to slow breathing without counting. These approaches utilize double focus by simultaneously slowing respiration and directing attention away from stressors toward a calming mental image, effectively shifting the body's state from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest.
To make these practices more tangible and effective, using biofeedback tools like a pulse oximeter is highly recommended. By taking short walks or climbing stairs to slightly elevate the heart rate and then sitting down to practice breathing exercises while monitoring the device, individuals can visually observe their heart rate dropping in a stairwise pattern rather than a straight line. This visual confirmation is crucial because it proves that one does not need to remain in a heightened state of stress indefinitely; even if the heart rate fluctuates slightly during inhalation, the overall trend should be downward. Taking mini-breaks throughout the day, such as during coffee breaks at work, allows people to empty their "stress bucket" before it overflows, preventing the sympathetic nervous system from becoming overly dominant and overpowering over time.
Beyond simple breathing exercises, direct stimulation of the vagus nerve can provide a powerful manual override for the brain's stress response. Since the vagus nerve exits near the tragus and concha of the ear, one can stimulate it by placing fingers on these areas and rubbing in circular motions while coordinating breath with the movement—four circles inhaling and four exhaling. For those seeking more advanced options, transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation devices, such as specific TENS units with adjustable frequencies or ear clips, offer a researched method to innervate the nerve. Although the sensation might feel unusual, like a constant tapping on the ear, this focus helps divert attention from the stressor to the present moment and the feeling of safety, reinforcing the body's ability to self-regulate.
Ultimately, consistent practice with these techniques strengthens the parasympathetic nervous system and builds a sense of empowerment in managing stress responses. Whether through yoga poses monitored by a heart rate device or daily micro-breaks for breathing exercises, the key is recognizing that the nervous system can be trained to return to calm more quickly. As individuals become more skilled at noticing when they are stressed and actively down-regulating their state, they gain confidence in their ability to handle challenges without feeling overwhelmed. This cumulative effect not only improves heart rate variability but also ensures that the body spends less time in a high-alert mode, leading to better overall health and emotional resilience.
Read the full video transcript
First thing, improve vagal tone and the
parasympathetic nervous system.
Down regulation breathing. This is a
core feature.
You can try with square breathing.
Breathe in for four, hold for four,
exhale for four, hold for four, and
repeat. [clears throat]
Not everybody likes doing that.
Vader breathing. One of you actually
suggested this and I thought it was
fabulous, so I stole it. Um
>> [laughter]
>> But my my husband used to do this all
the time to kind of mess with my son.
He would walk down the hall and breathe
like Darth Vader with the Darth Vader
helmet on.
And my son would like get all frustrated
and what have you. But
I digress.
Vader breathing, you breathe in really
strongly through your nose and you make
a whooshing sound as you exhale.
>> [snorts]
>> Slow breathing.
Or you can smell the roses and blow out
the candles. Again, you're not counting
there, you're using guided imagery to
imitate something, which has a double
focus. You're slowing your breathing
and you're focusing on something beside
the stressor. You're saying, "Smell the
roses,
blow out the candles."
I encourage people to train using
biofeedback.
Get a pulse ox monitor. They're really
cheap.
Periodically, a couple times a day or
once a day even, go on a walk around the
outside of your house or up and down the
stairs a few times. Get your heart rate
up a little bit.
Pop that pulse ox monitor on, sit down,
and practice your down regulation
breathing. Notice
how the heart rate drops. Now, it's
important to recognize that especially
when your heart rate variability
increases, when your heart gets
healthier, when your nervous system gets
healthier,
it's not going to be a straight downward
motion. When I inhale, my heart rate
goes up a couple beats. When I exhale,
my heart rate goes down a few beats. So,
it's you know, kind of like this going
going down. It's a
stairwise, if you will.
But, that's okay. We want the general
trend to be down.
Why
do it this way? Because starting out
trying to down regulate when you're
experiencing distress
can be overwhelming. When you are doing
it this other way, it can be helpful.
For those of you who like yoga,
doing a yoga pose,
putting that uh pulse ox monitor on,
you'll see your heart rate go up as it
becomes more difficult to hold that
pose.
Breathing through it as to notice your
heart rate going down,
um
you can do that as well.
Taking mini breaks throughout the day.
This is super helpful for people who
have, you know, chronic tension and
stress.
Throughout the day, if you're at work,
whenever you take your coffee breaks,
whenever you're adding caffeine, um try
not to drink caffeinated, but whenever
you take your breaks,
take
1 minute, 2 minutes, whatever you can
afford,
and practice that down regulation
breathing. It can be helpful to have
your pulse ox monitor so you can just
see the effect, but
research has shown that
these little breaks throughout the day
help empty the stress bucket just a
little bit, just a little bit, and that
can keep it from overflowing. Um Um, it
also
means that your sympathetic nervous
system is spending less time exercising,
which means, you know, it's not getting
stronger and more overpowering.
And then finally, in response to
stressors, with or without biofeedback,
when people feel stressed, a lot of
times they can notice when they're
feeling stressed and when they're
feeling better.
But,
I like
data. So, I always like to have my pulse
ox monitor. But, when people start to
experience distress,
pop that pulse ox monitor on your
finger, start practicing that down
regulation breathing,
and noticing that
you do have the ability to down
regulate. You don't have to stay spun up
forever, for hours. You do have the
ability to down regulate. Now, it may
take some time, uh,
but
as people become more skilled, they
start to feel more efficacious. They
start to feel more
empowered to manage their stress
response.
Vagus nerve stimulation can also be
helpful.
Your vagus nerve, the one place it
actually comes out is on your tragus and
your concha, you know, right in your
ear.
You can put your middle finger on your
tragus, which is your little ear flap.
Put your index finger behind your ears,
and then rub in circular motions. You
only want to press hard enough to move
the skin. You don't want to be pressing
that thing down into your ear. But, rub
hard enough, just hard enough to move
the skin, which stimulates that vagus
nerve.
What I do is I do four circles as I
inhale,
>> [snorts]
>> and then four circles in the opposite
direction as I exhale.
Slowing the breathing, stimulating the
vagus nerve at the same time. What
you're doing is what I call a manual
override. You are actively telling
the brain, "No problem here.
Everything is okay. We've got this."
There are also handheld and
transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve
stimulation machines.
Um handheld, there's a little device
that's put out by HuList that you can
place right here.
Or um what is much more researched is
the transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve
stimulation.
Have people check this out with their
doctor before they do it. But what it
involves is getting
a relatively inexpensive TENS unit. You
can get them online.
Um but you want to get one um
I think it's like the 10 7000 or
something. Um but you want to get one
that you can alter the wavelength and
the frequency of the wave.
Um
Get an ear clip.
You clip the ear clip to that tragus,
to that ear flap. And
the stimulation can help activate or
innervate, trigger, whatever you want to
say, the vagus nerve. And they've shown
a lot of effectiveness with this. Again,
you have
two things going on here. You're
actively stimulating that vagus nerve.
And for most of us,
we notice, we focus on that sensation.
It feels a little weird. It feels like
somebody's kind of
tapping constantly on our on our ear.
That's okay.
Um both of those, again, turn your
attention away from the stressor and
toward what you're doing in the present
moment and your objective safety.
These things help strengthen the
parasympathetic nervous system or vagal
tone, improve empowerment, and reduce
the amount of time spent with an active
sympathetic nervous system.