My New Favorite Vagus Nerve Exercise for Anxiety or Trauma Recovery - The Voo Breath or Foghorn
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- Опубликовано: 2 апр 2024
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I’d like to share with you my new favorite vagus nerve exercise for turning on the parasympathetic response.
This is an exercise Peter Levine teaches to help people who are struggling with Chronic Overwhelm, burnout, or high levels of stress. He tells the story of helping a nurse who was working in the trenches at the beginning of the pandemic, she was interacting with the very ill, their families during a time of great fear. After using this technique, the nurse came back and said “I’m teaching this to all the other nurses, our work is still hard, but it’s not so heavy anymore”
Let’s talk about the science before I teach you the exercise.
People have been using humming, chanting or singing for thousands of years to work through emotions and soothe themselves. Science now confirms that when we hum, the vibrations of our vocal cords stimulate the vagus nerve, which can help to regulate the heart rate, reduce stress, and promote relaxation. The vagus nerve is connected to many different organs in the body, including the heart, lungs, and digestive system. When it is stimulated by humming, it can help to slow down the heart rate and promote relaxation throughout the body. Studies have shown that humming can increase the production of nitric oxide in the body, which can improve blood flow and reduce inflammation.
So let’s try out the “Voo breath” or the foghorn breath.
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Great for when you're alone, but not workable in the moment. As a therapist, I am helping someone who has panic attacks. A double breath works really well, and it can be done immediately and in front of a room full of people, without them knowing what you're doing, giving the opportunity to calm down enough to leave a room and go to the bathroom where you can get yourself together. You take a big breath in, hold for a second, and squeeze another bit more breath in, then let it out. Through the vegal nerve system, the heart registers that the lungs have slowed down and messages that to the brain, which automatically signals everything else to slow down, by kicking in the parasympathetic system.
Thank you for this. I agree that the humming isn’t an option in the moment and in public. I will try this breathing technique instead of the voo
I wonder if a gentle muller manoeuvre might work - e.g. fry phonation on inhalation through nose. Requires a bit of skill to do it but with closed mouth it doesn't sound loud enough for anyone to notice in public.
Or maybe justi very low pitch extended mmmm hmms on exhalation (sounds like you are just being polite). The vibration with closed mouth should be more than with open.
That's said I'm skeptical, I am an opera singer and I feel nothing from any of these voice or normal breathing exercises. Maybe I'm just desensitised.
Thank you!
im going to start crying🥲 thank you so so much!!! It works well and its nice and sneaky
I do this breath while taking my shower--BTW-a cold shower too. I am going through a rough period of high anxiety, practicing anything I can to help me out.
This is called bhramari breath, bee breath in yoga. Yogis have done it forever. We recommend that you close your mouth on the exhale so you increase the vibrations in the nasal pharyngeal cavity which increases the production of nitric oxide. Do it three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening for 1-2 minutes.
The way I learned it was to slightly open my mouth while releasing the Om sound. It vibrates better and sounds good, too.
Om meditation is different... better not to mix things.
Thank you. Namasté.
Thank you for your comment. It quickly helped me know if this video was for me or not. 🙏🏼🇨🇦
I came to write this!
It works and reminds me of the ancient OM sound, or OMN sound that is chanted in the exact same way over and over again.
The "ooo" and "mmm" sounds are the most effective for making our vocal cords vibrate, aren't they? So it makes sense ppl would use those specific sounds, and not any other, for stress reduction/calm.
It's actually „aum" that sounds like om, but you have on point insight.
I thought of the same too! The 🕉 omm!
Thank you! This feels super helpful ❤
Exactly what I thought. If you move your lips into different shapes you can make the sound of a didgeridoo.
I can remember 2 times that I was experiencing unbearable pain; 11yrs old with appendicitis, and 18yrs old having child labor pains for 11.5 hours with no meds.
Both of those times, I started making a similar humming sound and for some reason, it comforted me and brought my pain level down. When I was 11 with appendicitis, it was the middle of the night and my mom told me to stop moaning because she couldn't sleep... I stopped but the pain got worse. So I started up again. It was the only thing that helped my pain and discomfort.
I also noticed that one of my kids, as a baby, she would hum a lot when she was falling asleep, and sometimes in her sleep. I always knew when she was ready for a nap bc she would hum.
Probably some sort of self-soothing that comes naturally to us, but we lose it as we age.
Don't listen to your mum, do what feels right to you.❤
What a beautiful share..❤
Your mother sounds quite harsh . Didn't she realise you had a life threatening problem? 😢
My son would hum or make sounds similar when he was getting sleepy.
Sounds like how cats purring can be healing and relaxing
I did this exercise along with the video. After 4 months of unbearable anxiety, I figured anything is worth trying. When I sat for a few minutes afterwards I felt my shoulders relax. I didn’t even know I was tensing my muscles. Thank you for the new tool.
I just wanna hop on here and say thank you. I suffer from severe health anxiety, agoraphobia, and panic attacks. I have watched your videos so many times, and tonight, i was particularly stressed about a new job. Guess where i came? Thank you so much! 😊
Getting through a job change is always stressful even without any mental problems. You are doing fantastic! What are you working btw?
Please see my exercise above!
I have similar issues and she's helped me SOOO much as well!!
Ugh changing jobs is sooo stressful 😢 especially if the new job doesn't turn out to be what you expected. The hardest few months I've recently gone through were when I decided to switch jobs, then worked really hard to get one job which had hundreds of applicants, and it took them 4 interviews over a whole month to decide to hire me. I was stressed but excited, because it was a bigger role and had more benefits. The first week was hard but I thought "well the first week is always like this because it's an adjustment and you wanna make a good impression bla bla bla"... two months pass I'm still feeling so horrible in that job, I hated the job itself, I hated my boss and she was doing everything in her power to make me quit. I was depressed I SOBBED several times daily. Until I decided to quit and that relief was amazing. Now I work in a less prestigious job with lower pay but at least I'm not mentally depilated. Anyways good luck on your new job and I hope your experience won't be like mine!
@@EmanDeMoan thank you for sharing this. Unfortunately there are people out there who are not made to be a good boss. Thank god this is not the case for my boss 🙈
I often sing and chant to regulate. I also do body shanking and dance. Music in general is a great tool for regulation. Music and the forest is what saved my life 🎶🧡💃🧡🎶
This is amazing. Unfortunately my dog thinks I’m in distress and starts jumping all over me😂😂😂😂
Maybe try lowly sing do-ra-me-ohmmm to train him that it is just a type of singing?
I can envision this poor puppy gettin' all confused of mom making strange sounds. 🤭
😂
Lol! I suppose that could have a similarly desirable effect
Yeah, my cats are confused, but they will get used to it like they do all the weird stuff I do. 🤣😂
😂😂😂 I just looked up and saw my cats head peeking out looking at me like I’ve lost my mind 😂
Thank you so much. I have had it with my health, just been diagnosed with Addisons disease on top of autoimmune heart failure. I am doing this exercise right now and will continue! I am 56 and ready to fight. 😊
You're the best provider of mental health / anxiety tips and knowledge I know. Thanks so much for your hard work
This actually made my head feel lighter, like it was floating and I felt relaxed almost to the point of a slump. I've been dealing with overwhelming anxious thoughts for about a month and a half and have been trying to figure out what to do about it. This definitely helped.
My therapist taught us Voo Breath years ago & it Is AMAZING!! Our son taught it to his gr. 2 class 😊 I still use it. The only downside is I can't really start doing it in the middle of a Stressful meeting😂 I am so happy you are sharing it.Emma. Thank you for all your amazing videos !
try it in a stressful meeting, tell others you need a moment and invite them to join in. be the change.
Emma also taught a great vagus nerve exercise where you hold your breath and tense your gut and you can do it anywhere. I find this one very helpful.
My kids and I hold hands in a circle every night before bed and do om chanting a couple minutes. We all sleep much better after doing that and it's a cute little family moment.
Does om work like voo?
A guy recommended I do hmmm for 15 mins before bed to help sleep. I have ADHD and 15 mins is too long.
How long do you do it for? T.I.A
@@HumbleBee123 I have ADHD as well, and my kids aren't diagnosed yet but I believe they do as well. We only do the om chanting a couple minutes usually and even just that much helps us all feel more relaxed. I think it must also stimulate the vagus nerve pretty well.
@@HumbleBee123 another thing I do when I can't fall asleep (I have terrible insomnia) is quietly hum a song to myself in bed with my eyes closed. That helps in a similar way.
What a nice way to connect with each other too before going to sleep. ❤🙏
I love your nightly ritual with your children. What a wonderful way to connect and relax just before bedtime. I will let my daughter know this and she can start a healthy ritual with her little ones. Thanks for sharing!
Thx a lot.. i am struggling so much to relax in this moment, feeling hypersensitive, was dead tired yesterday, had insomnia.. i am a 3am again with insomnia the next "day".. feeling very grateful for finding this at this moment 🙏🙏
I hope you're doing ok? I know the feelings all too well.
Sit with it, and it will eventually pass.
Sending positive vibes your way. 🙏🏻
@@Matt-B11374 thx a lot for ur kind words! In the middle of it is always very difficult, but, as i saw somewhere, as with everything "this too shall pass", right?
@@samuelrodrigues2939 Definitely! Keep strong and keep the faith. Best wishes to you.
I have experienced the same thing recently and it is horrible! Sending you lot's of love, light and healing! 🙏🏻💕✨
There are singing/chanting traditions that cover this. In the East, the Tibetan Buddhism (om prayer sound from Himalayas or South Asia). In the West, the Ison (drone) of Byzantine chants (e.g. Greek Orthodox).
This is interesting about humming! I have done that automatically when in particularly uncomfortable job stress situations where the actual work I was doing was mindless-hence, the humming of a good worship song while I worked! I never knew that it was working on my Vagus nerve to keep me emotionally regulated! Love how God made our bodies to work together for our greater good!
🙌HalleluYaH!🙌
This so cool.... can i say MOOOOO and picture a cow in a field of green grass 😂 .... i kid i kid .... thank you Emma - i have learned so much from you... I'm grateful of your work
Mooooary makes the sun shine bright🎶🐮
😂 brilliant, nice to know there are other moooovers and shakers out there 😂❤
It’s voooo
But I guess do what works for you.
It’s called the voo breathe work..
At Halloween it's booooooooooooooooooooooooo
Someone should start a voovement 😉
It's interesting that we kind of naturally do this during intense pain, such as childbirth. I wonder if that's our bodies way of calming us during stress.
If it's a natural thing then prbly, similarly to how we feel an urge to take a deeper breath when stressed.
The trauma and anxiety I had after leaving a toxic relationship was really bad.
🙏🙏🙏🙏💕💕💕💕
It does work, I love it and been doing the Voo since I heard it from Peter Levine.
Me also and I will be doing it again.
Thank you Emma! I love love LOVE that you give us practical applications so we can feel our emotions, you’re just amazing
Wow. Even just in the example that you give of the sound my energy is moving. Clearing. Releasing. I simply adore the way you infuse the eastern practices with the practical western scientific perspective and you do it so seamlessly and matter-of-fact ly. There’s so much validation & confirmation. Follow my feminine intuition. I’m just so grateful for this video right now because I followed you for years, but I needed something specific to use with five-year-olds and a coaching class. I tried to explain it to the children if you had 12 minions, who wouldn’t listen to you and you’re not allowed to yell at them or get mad at them how would you get them to listen? 😂I’m gonna make this sound when I get frustrated. 😊 I can’t blow the whistle because that means go in the Run club. Lol. Today I’m going straight to voo. My iPhone does not like that word. Unrelated but kind of similar. I also like how it can replace for me the word “woo” that I have been recently replacing because it is actually an insult to natural and innate practices that many of us feeling in our DNA but are made to feel like we are so odd for wanting to connect with sound healing sound therapy when it’s exactly what is calling us home And that’s what made my heart smile today It’s Voo. So Voo. 😂🫠🌊🔥❤🪷🌺🌸💕💫
I've been doing this exercise for a couple of years now, I started following an injury and it helps very much with physical pain as well as anxiety. I'm so glad you are sharing this with everyone. I think your content is amazing, thank you for everything ❤.
This channel is just LOADED with the best information. Love it!
Thank you for everything you do
Thanks for reminding me of this beautiful practis , it just came in the right moment 😊
How cool!! I’m excited to try this out regularly!
Oooooh I needed this! Thank you! 😊❤
I’m calmer just listening to you do this. 😁
Thank You 🌹🌹🌹.
I have been humming since last year. It’s been very helpful.
The trauma and anxiety
This exercise saved my life! I can work right now❤
Thank you a million times.
All your content on this channel is so informative and helpful!
Thank you for all you do😊
I need to show this to my health class:) thank you!
The perfect message to hear at this moment! thank you so much!
Wonderful!!! Thank you so much for this amazing strategy!
Love this exercise. I actually learned this from my amazing therapist! She’s the best.
Thank you God bless your channel. Your voice is full of compassion and love. Thank for sharing technique.
Thank you for sharing this - and then allowoing me to 'do' the sound with you. I could feel the vibration. Can't wait to try this some more.
Very relaxing! Thank you!❤
I just tried this and I can already feel a difference in my level of anxiety I think this is really going to help me and I'm going to share it. Thank you!
Very very helpful , thankyou!!!
This works! Thank you for introducing this helpful exercise to us.
Thank you so much. i will be sharing it.
thank you for what you do!!
Hola, encontré este canal y es lo mejor que he visto en mi vida. Me inscribí en tu página web, pero lamentablemente, los videos no tienen traductor al español.
Wow. I actually felt light-headed. Calming
Thank you for this reminder😊 the deep base that I feel inside my body instantly reminds me that I am connected to something so much more than what I make up with my humans senses.
You are amazing emma
Thanks for this!
Thank you very much Emma.
Fabulous thank you fir sharing.
Thank you for this helpful exercise. I can definitely feel more ease in my breathing already after a couple of minutes of doing it.
Thank you for this! ❤
I like this a lot.Thanks Emma. Give us the research.
Aimie Apigian suggests a cleansing breath between voos… I found it very helpful
Bit like Tibetan throat singing.... Interesting 😊
Yes I was wondering if it would have the same effect. Kaargyra is so much fun to learn and do
Very interesting thank you 🙏🏾
this feels so good. i love how it feels to touch my tongue to my teeth and contain the vibration in my mouth and down my chest
Thank you Emma
Very useful. Thanks for sharing
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much ❤it’s very helpful
Thank you! I have found all your exercises to help with anxiety so helpful.🤗🇨🇦
¡Maravilloso, gracias!
Thank you. It's surreal..❤
Great video! Thanks for the tips😊
Thank you for sharing this with us! It works we just have to keep trying. We get more relaxed with practicing this! 🤟
This is definitely calming after
Thank you!
Needed this at this very moment! Amen!
Live rock concerts help. Went to John Mellencamp last week. The strong thumping of the bass and drums pounding your chest and throat does wonders to calm you down. No joke.
Thx for the reminder!!
Ah yes, the voo. So simple, yet so helpful!
Been using this for a couple of months and it really helps. I can make my chest vibrate pretty well, haha.
Thank you for sharing this exercise!!
Thanks, i love this news i can use so badly 😊
This sounds so interesting. Novel, & innovative. I love the way you explore the leading edge & put it out there for us to try. Looking forward to lots of "voo" this week 😏
I think it would be great to talk about being careful not to overstimulate the vagus nerve! And also, if you have recommendations of courses for Regulating the nervous system! :) Gracias, Emma!
Thank you❣️
You are very good person for doing this. Your strategies and techniques might be unconventional but they are effective. You are helpful. YOU ARE A , KICK ASS THERAPIST! Thank you so much!! I can’t even begin to tell you how much you have helped me. You’ve helped me lower my stress and anxiety levels from a 9.5 to a 7.9, I would state. Still have to do some work but it’s lowering. It has opened more opportunities for me to heal . Thanks.
After I heard your fog horn, I laughed hysterically for a minute. Then, I replayed the video from the start. Then again.
It works.
Thanks
😂 I didn’t expect it to be so hilarious. Immediately I thought, “That’s why she had to introduce it seriously before just jumping right in!”
And after she described it, I knew it would work. It did, but so well that I drooled a little. 😅
Grateful. This is lovely. ❤
Emma, thank youooooooo🎶
I do this instinctively to clear my sinuses and throat in the morning, but I've never taken the vibration down to my abdomen. Incredible! I learned this from "The Dark Crystal". 😊
Thank you.
Another PNS tool ! So appreciated.
I do something similar but I use the word "OM" . Works for me! Great video!
I discovered this last year while doing breathing exercises!
How interesting. I discovered it by accident some time ago when I was working in a very stressful environment.
I have always hummed whenever I'm having dental work done, especially when they need to use a numbing shot. It really helps for staying calm and for reducing pain! My dentist is pretty amused by it, but I don't care, it works for me. 😂
I've never thought about *why* I do it, it's always just been instinctive, but this was interesting to think about. It's more scientific than I imagined!
You had me at nurse, because not only are we often overwhelmed, but our patients are too. I’m pretty good at reducing patient anxiety, but was excited to add a new tool… but I know people won’t be doing this in the hospital.
I’ll still add it to the toolbox though. I can at least give it to people for their overall anxiety
I often feel much better after choir practice. We do something very similar to this in the warm up.
Thanks 💖
Wonderful! Thank you, Emma. I suffer from Trigeminal neuralgia with acute pain on the left side of the head. I've noticed that the pain (between 50 and 400 volts) comes on when I'm stressed. And when I am calm it goes away! So I am going to try this humming voo sound, and I want to see if it maybe will fade away with the help of the vagal nerve 😅❤
Thank you
#AWESOME!!!
TY FOR WHAT YOU DO…
YOU ARE A HUMAN ANGEL.
Thank you! 💜
Great! Science confirmed that "OHM" chanting works ❤❤
It's also important, and probably the reason for choosing this low tone, that it goes via the back of the throat as the Vagal Nerve runs through there. In TCM you also do this when the Governing & Central Meridians have disconnected (which also leads to all kinds of stuff).
Exhaling via the back of the throat helps to incorporate the Vagal Nerve and reconnect those meridians.
Wow! Thats great 😮
A collaboration series with skilled yogis would be wonderful. Short simple practices to help introduce folks to mantras and breathwork techniques.
The next time one sits down and tries to chant ‘Om’ try to take a deep belly breath and hum the ‘O’ part and try feeling it deep in your belly and move the vibration up your vocal chord and continue with the ‘Um’ part by vibrating it in your vocal chords and your mouth.
When done properly you can almost feel the vibration originating from the belly and moving up to the chest , the neck and coming to an end at the lips.
Thanks.