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clear search termsThe Parasympathetic Nervous System and the Vagus Nerve: For Practitioners
Hi!
Although you may already be a savvy practitioner, I am certain you will learn something new in this video about The Parasympathetic Nervous System and the Vagus Nerve: For Practitioners. You’ll walk away with pages of notes and practical pearls you can use in your practice right away.
Here are some of the things we’ll be discussing:
- The X-factor for sympathetic/parasympathetic balance – and why it’s unfortunately almost always overlooked!
- Why the PNS and Vagus are even More important for practitioners embrace during the pandemic (and its aftermath). This one is key.
- The What and Why of Vagal Tone. Any why you Really need to Know! Plus the fun, simple hacks anyone can do to improve it.
- Parasympathetic good; Sympathetic bad. Right? Not really. You need to remember this important devil-in-the-detail.
- Surprising measures that can shed light on autonomic nervous system health.
- Easy but oh-so effective hacks for improving autonomic balance.
- How and why this area of physiology is intimately tied to digestion, detoxification, and immunity. Do You know the mechanisms?
- The Biggest practitioner mistakes when talking to patients about stress.
Done-for-you patient handouts that can be helpful in encouraging your patients to explore the effects of stress and making tangible steps in reducing its impact can be found here and here.
Thank you very much for joining in the fun and learning! Please share your thoughts (please be thorough) in the “Ask a Question” area below about what inspired you in this presentation! Include what type of practitioner you are, so that we can all see your unique perspective.
P.S. If you are passionate about transforming healthcare through the power of functional medicine, we encourage you to learn more about SAFM’s practitioner training programs. Enrollment for our next cohort is now open!
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196 Questions for “The Parasympathetic Nervous System and the Vagus Nerve: For Practitioners”
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Daniela Lafond says:
This talk is so on point for our times! I especially loved the concrete ways we can activate the vagal nerve and those actions that we can easily do. In the daily rush, it is easy to forget to focus on the good, to be grateful, to breathe and to notice the beauty around us.
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Monique Johnson says:
Thank you Tracy for your education, inspiration & empowerment.
One of the precious pearls I learned today is the various ways to activate the vagus nerve to be in parasympathetic mode-deep diaphragm breathing with pause in between breaths, journaling, humming, gargling, & singing. Will pass this learning on.
Thank you again,
Monique -
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Jessica Verwys says:
Thank you for all you share, Tracy! I am currently a SAFM student and am so grateful for everything I am learning! It has been life changing for not only me but everyone I help in my practice. This Facebook Live is just one more eye opening pearl that everyone can use right this moment. Thank you!
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Carey Harlan says:
Fantastic presentation. Gives a lot of the physiology behind what I have been studying intensely the past couple weeks. Explains a lot of the cycle that happens with trauma. My favorite part was the explanation of how stress causes us to lose parasympathetic function.
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Emma says:
Sympathetic over stimulation long term – and the link to weight gain and water retention?
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Dauntrica Wallstrum says:
Thank you for providing information on how to adequately practice gratitude as well as education on the benefits of activating the vagus nerve. It was a very insightful talk!
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Lisa Lamanna says:
Aha moment when Tracy said low level toxins are actually good for the body as they stimulate activation of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification. The lowly toxins are not always evil haha
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Krista Calvino says:
I’m learning so much about the vagus nerve these past 2 weeks. Today it was good to hear a little more detail on the types of breathing. to do
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Leslie Allen says:
Thanks Tracy! I love that you always pull things back to the lifestyle and foundations. The reminder on stimulating the vagus nerve through breathing, singing, gargling, humming, nature, beauty, massage etc was helpful. It is easy to get caught up in the “fancy’ things to help clients and forget about some of the basics.
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Mandy Buker says:
Thanks for such a critical reminder! We can tell oursleves whatever we want about how well we are managing stress but our nervous and immune systems are constantly exposed to our thoughts and ruminations which is where the body gets its cues and clues from as to the safety of our world.
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Lindsey N Law says:
I LOVED being reminder that the most insidious root cause of stress and dis-ease is our THOUGHTS. Of course, that feels to me like the most massively under-recognized root that is addressed not nearly enough (if at all!) with our clients and patients. That concept blew my mind. Also, I loved the distinction in gratitude journaling – that just saying I’m thankful for my family, or my job, etc does not yield any emotional response or change in nervous system behavior, but to get very specific about what we are grateful for is SO powerful. Thank you for another amazing talk!
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Tawna Barck says:
Mindset is something I am working on and employing in my life right now. The sympathetic response is REAL and I love the tips to engage them parasympathetic system. The works is so full of fear right now and it’s showing in our health! Thank you so much!!
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Michelle says:
I loved the whole thing but most favorite was stimulus through thing’s that can be often taken for granted like snuggling a child or pet and breathing!!
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Connie says:
Appreciate the ‘done for you’ helps. 🙂
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Daniel Ricciardi says:
I particularly liked the bit about how to gratitude journal properly. It is much more parasympathetic evoking to describe a situation you’re grateful for in detail, including how it made you feel, rather than just say “I’m thankful for my family..etc.”
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I learned about how to truly practice gratitude journaling. Tracy’s example made much more sense than just jotting down 5 things. I will definitely use this plus the breathing with my clients.
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stefanie Aring says:
The thing that resonated with me the most today was the reminder that stress makes our immune system on alert, constantly on alert, so it goes into over drive for things it should tolerate. And this wrought immune system does not have any anti-inflammatory signals being sent out, so the body continues to harm itself, creating more stress, thus creating more inflammation/a stronger immune response, etc., creating a viscous circle.
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Heidi Hackler says:
LOVED the reminder about Box-breathing and how that instantly puts us back into parasympathetic nervous system breathing. One question I had is about the vagus nerve being 80% afferent, I had heard it was 90% afferent, is there new research about this? Thanks!
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Bobbi Clark says:
Loved, loved, loved this! Your mention of ANTs and how we can flip the script was great!
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Loved all the suggestions for stimulating the parasympathetic system. Things I would have thought off like flowers, humming, moisturizing the skin w clean oils, looking at the sun rise, writing out in a few words why we are grateful for something.