Meditation Drip with Julie Skon
Your Daily Dose of Mindfulness.
Meditation Drip with Julie Skon
Two Minutes To Calm | Vagus Nerve Stimulation Breathing Practice
This episode is a two-minute breath practice that uses gentle pauses and longer exhales to calm the nervous system fast. This gentle breathing rhythm supports rest, digestion, focus and stress relief, and much more.
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Welcome to the Meditation Drip, your daily dose of mindfulness. I am Julie Skon, and we are going to get right into this practice today so you can experience the calming results right away. So science shows that just two minutes of the breathing rhythm, that I will tell you about in just a couple of moments is enough to hack your nervous system. I will be explaining after we do this practice together exactly what you just did. So for now, all you need to worry about is getting yourself in a comfortable place. The beauty of this practice is you can do it walking, moving, sitting up, lying down at a desk or wherever you are exactly in this moment is great. Just be mindful that we will be doing a gentle breathing exercise. And of course, at any time during this practice, if you feel dizzy or like it's too much, just come back to your natural breathing rhythm. For this practice, you'll be taking nice slow breaths in through your nose, pausing and holding your breath for a second or two at the top of your breath, then taking longer, slower exhales through your mouth and pausing once again for a second or two at the bottom. I don't typically like to throw out numbers of how long an inhale and an exhale should be because it really varies for everyone. The important thing is that it's comfortable and feels good for you. But if you're someone who likes to count, I typically go for about a count of four in my inhales a second or two as I hold my breath. Exhales for about six seconds and another pause for a second or two at the bottom. Okay, so whatever feels good for you. Two minutes will begin when the music starts, and I will give you space for your soothing inhales and exhales with those gentle pauses at the top and bottom of each breath. So let's go in. So feel free to, of course, continue breathing with this rhythm if you would like. But wherever you are at, just check in with how you feel right now, noticing if there is a difference between this moment and how you felt when you press play to begin this practice. I also like to take a short pause to just notice if there's anything your body is telling you that it needs more rest, more of this practice, more movement, more water. Whatever it is for you, this is an opportunity to just listen to what your body is saying to you. All right, so what you just did. You hacked your nervous system by activating your vagus nerve. Why is this important? Because your vagus nerve runs from your brain stem and touches and communicates with almost all of your internal organs. So when you mindfully slow your breathing as you just did, taking slightly longer exhales and inhales, you are signaling to your vagus nerve that it is all right, it is safe to release your rest and relaxation response. What does it do? It calms your body, reduces stress, improves inflammation healing, helps us focus with clarity, it aids in digestion. I could keep going, but I think you hear what I'm saying is that this practice, this veggal nerve stimulation breathing is such a beautiful tool to access anytime you need it. And I find that the more that I do this practice, the more my body naturally kind of shifts to that rhythm, especially when I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Thank you for being here today and listening to the meditation trip. Come back tomorrow for another daily dose of mindfulness. And if you would like to comment, share your experience or ask me any questions. I would love to hear from you. I hope you have a beautiful day and I will see you next time.