The Center for Resilience Informed Therapy is excited to offer Vagal Toning Practice Groups. These are an opportunity for those looking to deepen their understanding of Vagal Toning to gather and enjoy the benefits of a group learning environment. These sessions run for an hour and fifteen minutes, allowing for a 30-minute practice and 30-minute Q&A.
While these groups are open to anyone, it is recommended that attendees have participated in a vagal toning course or training with Dr. Schwartz prior to joining.
November 19th
11:00am-12:15pm MST
Cost: $40 per group practice session
Please note that you will receive an automated email from Zoom with access information within 12 hours of completing payment.
To ensure that you are able to access the live session, registration must be completed a minimum of 24 hours prior to the event.
November 22nd
12:00-1:00pm MST
Cost: $25 suggested donation
For all questions regarding sessions with Dr. Rusk, please contact mail@bbcneuro.com directly for assistance.
Regulation of the nervous system relies upon the goldilocks principle. We recognize we are “too hot” when we feel keyed up, anxious, irritable, or panicky. We are “too cold” when we are shut down, depressed, or feeling hopeless. Sometimes we alternate between the two which is like driving with one foot on the gas and one on the brakes. Practices that regulate the vagus nerve are aimed towards either relaxing or re-energizing ourselves depending upon what is needed to feel “just right.”
Vagal tone is measured through the oscillations in heart rate variability that occur with the breath. This is referred to as Heart Rate Variability or HRV. Healthy tone of your vagus nerve involves a slight increase in heart rate on the inhalation and a decrease in heart rate when you exhale.
Healthy vagal tone can be thought of as an optimal balance of parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system actions. People with higher HRV can move more easily from excitement to relaxed and can recover more easily from stress.
Simply put, vagal toning means you are adding gentle stimulation to the vagus nerve pathway through breath, sound, eye-movements, self-applied touch, and gentle movements that help you come into balance.
Since most of us are sympathetic dominant, balance involves more down-regulation of the nervous system into the parasympathetic. However, some of us need up-regulating strategies to come out of fatigue or collapse. In that case, the same balancing vagal toning practices will still work, and you can also emphasize the inhalation and gentle expansive movements to up-regulate your system whereas you would emphasize the exhalation and inward awareness to down-regulate your system.
And what is happening as we tone the vagus nerve? We are strengthening the nerve pathway of the social engagement system through repeated practices within the context of connection and safety and we are resetting baseline HRV through conscious breathing, movement, and self-compassion.
The above practice guides through natural vagus nerve stimulation practices. Based upon my book, Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma Recovery, I share with you some key practices to help you regulate your nervous system.
