The best well-kept secret to mental balance
With growing concern over the numbers affected by mental health, there is mounting evidence that a key to physical and mental balance may lie in the gut-brain connection. Find out why this ‘connection’ is incredibly important to your mental and general wellbeing and how to harness its power.
How it works (in a nutshell):
- The vagus nerve (VN) connects your brain to your stomach and intestines via the neck, face, throat, inner ear, heart, lungs, gut.
- The VN transmits messages back and forth from your gut to your brain and triggers beneficial ‘rest and digest’ or negative ‘fight or flight’ responses. These will then either switch off or on: inflammation, digestion, nutrient absorption, blood circulation and immunity among many other systems.
How to stimulate the VN and create the right ‘healing’ responses:
- Ujayi breathing (daily): This deep breathing method (search videos online) is one of the quickest ways to change your stress response and positively impact your gut and mental health. Used daily this kind of deep gut breathing can make all the difference to your stress levels.
- Relaxation techniques: From meditation to hugging, connecting with community and loved ones goes a long way to changing your stress response and creating a positive feedback loop with your brain.
- Humming: The stimulation of the throat, lungs, inner ear helps to switch off the ‘fight or flight response. Repeat a mantra or any sound when doing yoga or meditating, sing or hum your favourite song – every day.
And never underestimate the power of bathroom singing!
Nathalie 🙂
Do you want help to transform your gut or any other health issue?
If you’ve tried many things and want a more holistic, natural approach that combines body, mind, spirit, check the programs I offer in my ‘services’
