The only way to achieve lasting peace and calm

With all the stress and anxiety going around these days, for obvious reasons, increasing our vagal tone has never been more important.

If you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about, hang in there because it just might be the most important thing you ever learn to bring the body and mind back to a state of calm and peace.

To explain vagal tone allow me to touch on a tiny bit of the science behind how our bodies function, particularly the vagus nerve. The longest nerve in our body, the vagus nerve is really a pair of nerves that come from the right and left sides of the brain stem. They directly connect into our parasympathetic nervous system which influences how our bodies respond to stress and anxiety through our lungs, digestive and urinary systems.

All of us have personal experience when our parasympathetic nervous system cannot easily get us back to a state of calm. Things like breathing problems, hyperventilating when extremely anxious, difficulty eating because of overwhelming stress, or frequent washroom breaks due to an upset stomach sometimes caused by fear, stress, and anxiety.

Somatic movement can help improve vagal tone — an internal biological process that refers to the activity of the vagus nerve — which means our bodies, our parasympathetic nervous system, can relax faster during times of high stress and anxiety. Somatic movement pandiculates (contracts an already tight muscle just a bit more) and releases those muscles that directly connect into the vagus nerve.

Stress and anxiety are a part of life. None of us can ever escape those conditions completely. But what we can do is learn self-care tools, like somatic movements, that improve our vagal tone, and help us recognize when stress and anxiety are overloading our bodies and take action to prevent it from happening.

Anyone new to somatic movement can register for my online beginner classes starting at 9 am (MST) on Wednesday, April 14. If classes during the weekday don’t work for you, contact me and we can discuss some other options. Experienced somatic movers are welcome to join my online Thursday 6 pm (MST) or Sunday 12 noon (MST) classes.

To register or for further information, contact me at balancesomatics@gmail.com.