Interoception & Connection with the Vagus Nerve
Download this image to better identify where the Vagus Nerve is in the body. Seeing it helps with connecting with it. Look at it while practicing the tools below if it helps you to feel it more.
Learn more about the Vagus Nerve and the Nervous System. Study the nervous system activation chart and the Polyvagal Theory Nervous System Arousal Chart. Reflect on and track how you experience activation and what you notice in the body when you are out of the zone of safety.
Practice these to increase your interoception and your connection with your Vagus Nerve and nervous system state:
practice the Anchoring Bi-Lateral:
practice Attuning to the Body
Notice what you feel in the body when in different states, including calm and safety. Begin to notice early indicators of moving into hyper or hypo arousal.
Practice Mindfulness to build awareness of these sensations, to increase flexibility, to strengthen ability to remain or return to feeling anchored, grounded through/after activation
Resorative practices return us to the ventral vagal.
Ppractice Connecting with AWE
Practice Breathing with the Tree of Life
Practice the Anchoring Bi-Lateral (#3 above) as a restorative practice. It moves us into the ventral vagal.
Honor Yourself! Work WITH your system.
Remember: No Force! You can't force your system to be in different state, but you CAN learn to gently shift it by working WITH it and honoring yourself.