In his book, Activate Your Vagus Nerve: Unleash Your Body’s Natural Ability to Heal, Dr. Navaz Habib shares how exercising your vagus nerve, which regulates automatic functions in the body, can help you take control of your health.

The vagus nerve, a single nerve beginning in the brainstem, is the longest cranial nerve in our body, running from the brain stem to the colon. This nerve connects to so many different organs, it naturally raises questions as to the impact on the healthy function of this nerve on our body system.  Its functions are divided into two categories: Somatic (sensations felt on the skin or in the muscles) and  Visceral (sensations felt in the organs of the body).

Sensory functions of the vagus nerve include:

• providing somatic sensation information for the skin behind the ear, the external part of the ear canal, and certain parts of the throat
• supplying visceral sensation information for the larynx, esophagus, lungs, trachea, heart, and most of the digestive tract
• playing a small role in the sensation of taste near the root of the tongue

Motor functions of the vagus nerve include:

• stimulating muscles in the pharynx, larynx, and the soft palate, which is the fleshy area near the back of the roof of the mouth
• stimulating muscles in the heart, where it helps to lower resting heart rate
• stimulating involuntary contractions in the digestive tract, including the esophagus, stomach, and most of the intestines, which allow food to move through the trac

Dr. Habib’s book provides all the tools you need to understand and heal your vagus nerve, the rest, digest, and recovery system. You’ll learn simple yet powerful techniques to address a variety of ailments health challenges, like inflammation, gut sensitivity, and brain fog, from their root causes originating with the vagus nerve. Author Dr. Navaz Habib lays out easy-to-follow daily and weekly routines to help on the path to healing, including:

• Breathing Techniques
• Exercises for Mindfulness
• Tools to Improve Your Digestion
• Functional Medicine Testing
• Acupuncture and Massage
• and more

For more info, we highly recommend his book and using tools we share in the PRTL program to increase your HRV, since one of the main ways that the Vagus nerve’s influence in life can be measured is through Heart Rate Variability (HRV).