Vagus Nerve #5: PTSD & Trauma Recovery | 10 Minute Daily Routine

Hello, Earth citizens. My name is Britney and you're watching Brain Education TV. Today, I'm going to guide you through a 10-minute routine that supports PTSD and trauma recovery by working with one of the most powerful parts of your nervous system, the Vegas nerve. If you've ever felt stuck in your body, like no matter how much time passes, you're still bracing for something bad to happen, there's a reason. The vagus nerve is the part of your nervous system that tells your body when it's okay to relax and when it needs to be on high alert. A study from the National Center for PTSD found that people who've experienced trauma often have a lower veagal tone. This basically means that your body has a harder time calming down after something really stressful happens. When you've been through trauma, especially the kind that's totally unpredictable, that part of the nervous system gets stuck in survival mode. So, when you feel anxious for no reason or extremely exhausted but unable to rest or disconnected from everyone around you, it's not because there's something wrong with you. It's because your body has learned to protect you and it's just been stuck in survival mode for too long. So today I'm going to guide you through a 10-minute practice that speaks directly to your nervous system. Let's begin. And we're going to start with lying on your back. You can have your knees bent and your feet on the ground. Breathe in. Breathe out. And you're going to go ahead and push your feet into the ground and lift your hips. Tuck your tailbone. And then bring your hips back down to the ground. You should feel a less arch in your back. Your back should be a little bit flatter to the ground. Then you can lift up your right leg and then your left leg. And what we're going to do is just shake our legs here. And as you shake your legs, you can also shake your ankles. Kind of like you're kicking something away from you. Naturally, your torso will start to shake and maybe even your head will start to shake. Different parts of your body will start to shake. I'm going to count just 50 times. As I count, you can continue that breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Let's begin. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 50. Keep your legs up, but stop shaking. Relax your shoulders. Relax your chest. Relax your abdomen. Relax your hips. Relax your knees. Relax your ankles. Relax your feet. Relax your toes. You will feel many things from your body. You will feel where your body is holding tension. You will feel where your body is tight. Let's begin again. Shaking your legs, shaking your feet, shaking your ankles. Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 To that trauma. 30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 50. Slowly stop. Keep your legs in the air. Feel energy moving throughout your legs. You can feel as you breathe in your chest expand, your lungs expand, and as you exhale, everything that your body is holding on to is melting into the earth beneath you. And this time, let's repeat my body. I am here. My body. I am here. My body. I am here. My body. I am here. My body. I am here. My body. I am here. My body. I am here. My body. I am here. Now, one more round. This time, you can place your hands by the sides of your body, palms facing down, and spread your fingers nice and wide. And this time, I invite you to shake as fast as you can. Use as much energy as you can. You can think about how when an animal gets stuck to move that trauma out of its body, naturally, innately, that animal will just start to shake. You are doing the same thing here. Move faster than you're thinking, faster than your thoughts. And if you'd like a little bit more stimulation, you can lift your arms and shake your wrist. Shake your fingers. Shake your elbows. Shake your arms completely while shaking your legs. Shake your body. Shake your body. Shake your body. And let's repeat together. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. I let go. Keep going. Respecting your body's condition. But as fast as you can go for 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 and one. Slowly stop. Feel tingly sensation throughout your whole body. And slowly bring your legs down to the ground and your arms down to the ground. You can feel the support from the earth holding your body, relaxing all of the muscles on your face. relaxing your shoulders, your arms, and all of your fingers. Relaxing your chest and abdomen, lower back and hips. Relaxing your knees and ankles and all of your toes. Let's repeat together as we lay here. Thank you, my body. Thank you, my body. Thank you, my body. When you're ready, slowly make your way up to a seated posture. And remember, even if your mind still feels busy or your body still feels tense, you showed up and your nervous system noticed the Vegas nerve responds to consistency. So, every time you practice, you're helping your body feel a little bit more safe and a little bit more free. Thank you for practicing with me today. If you enjoyed this video, subscribe to our channel and hit the bell icon to get notified every time we upload a new practice and check out the description below to explore our online workshops and take your practice even deeper. Until next time,