Thank you, that was informative. For those interested, other ways to stimulate your vagus nerve are: tongue depressors (use them to create a gag reflex), gargling, humming, singing, some forms of breathing (glottal breathing), simulating a yawn, massaging your upper palate with your tongue (gliding your tongue from front upper teeth backwards), washing your face with cold water.
Dila caspare ..... I think u know much about tongue exercise benefits. I heard that tongue exercise is also beneficial for *eye vision *body balance *ringing in ear *sleep apnea .... Please say something about it
I truly thought I was the only one that was blindly trying to put these pieces of a puzzle together, but it was frustrating because I wasn’t aware of how many pieces existed, but you so brilliantly confirmed this to me and this information is definitely a life changer for a large majority of humanity. I applaud you in your presentation and findings Clare absolutely incredible! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
The way you demonstrate the enervation of vagus nerve through the body is really beautiful to see! Looks like we are watching a ballet dance! =) Thanks!
Your technique was so helpful!!! I intuitively felt that my vagus nerve was irritated/causing breathing issues and after doing your technique for a few days, I can now get full deep breaths. Thank you so much!
Hey Christina! It's really just me trying to learn about my own nervous system, and exploring connections. It's all based in the Alexander Technique (which is definitely not mine :-) but my own explorations I've been calling Mobilignment for about 2 years now. Glad it is useful for you!
Very Helpful and I could feel a relief and change in my breath. As a prof. Dancer, have taken Alexander classes since 1992 and your explanation makes a lot of sense to me. Thank you for sharing.
This made me take a big deep involuntary breath and just feels good in general ... But I'll be most interested in seeing if it has any impact on the hyper-arousal symptoms of Complex PTSD, or on discharging unwanted fight/flight energy from the body. Thank you!
Hello Bad Butches - I do think that the Alexander Technique, especially the somatic way that I approach teaching it, can be a good addition to your toolkit for Complex PTSD; but my work is educational in nature, and is not intended as treatment or cure for ANYTHING, since it is not medical and I'm not trained to diagnose or treat illness or trauma. What's amazing is that the open space of an educational framework can empower my students to restore a creative and beneficial relationship with their own bodies so that they feel more in control - which is really about a kind of practical dialogue with self and not "imposed" or rigid control at all. More like riding a horse....:-)
Hi Bad Butches, I'm sorry it took me so long to see your comment. This is a simple practice of body mapping or self-mapping of the central nervous system. It's not designed to treat anything or cure anything. I would imagine that the skilled intervention of a therapist well versed in somatic practice might be much more helpful, and can recommend particularly Sensorimotor Psychotherapy as a practice that is well grounded in science.
There are breathing techniques that will stimulate the vagus nerve and calm mind/body. Any time you make your exhale longer than your inhale, you are stimulating the vagus nerve. In for 6, out 8 4x In 6, out 8, hold for 2 4x In 6, out 8, hold 4 6x In 6, out 8 4x
Thank you so much for your video...I have been able to shorten my most recent Afib events! Once they begin they can last 3-5 hours. I have been able to bring my heart back into rhythm within an hour to sometimes 20 mins...without any medication :) thank you so much!!!!!
Laura this is amazing! I'm assuming you are doing other practices as well? OR is this result from my video alone? I have been very surprised to see how many people have viewed it and how helpful it seems to be. It's only a tiny piece of the stuff I have discovered exploring dermatomes!
Laura, that is a remarkable result. I would love to find out more about how you did this. Feel free to contact me: clare@claremaxwell.com; Afib events are not something I know alot about and I would love to learn from your experience if there are more people that could be helped!
Thank you for that wonderful video. Just also wanted to mention that in South of India, in my state of Tamil Nadu, there is a very ancient practice done while worshipping Lord Ganesha, lord of knowledge/memory. The practice called "Thoppukaranam" is done facing Shri Ganesha. Thoppu means hands and Karanam means ears. The object is to move energy and oxygen up into the brain. Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth (the palate) to open the Eustachian tubes in the ears. Cross your arms in front of your chest with the right arm over the left. *Raise your hands towards your ears and grab the opposite earlobe. Place your thumb on the front of the earlobe and your index finger on the back. Squeeze gently.* Bend your knees and lower your torso into a squat position while inhaling while going down. Keep your knees over the heels to avoid injury. Rise into standing position while exhaling. Repeat for 15 squats. Ensure the tongue remains on the roof of the mouth. This position also stimulates the hypothalamus. This is also an exercise/ punishment given to students regularly in schools who are lethargic or lazy or absent minded..😁 We can see it done by elders in front of Ganesha shrines every day albeit in a very very hurried up mechanical way... There is a whole lot of Google pages calling it super yoga.. search for Thoppukaranam... If only we knew that our teachers and parents were teaching us a good health exercise..
Wow - that's amazing! I think doing exercises like this by rote probably doesn't have much effect - it's the conscious engagement with ones way of moving and with ones own body that enhances benefits...just my two cents. Thanks for describing this in such detail! I found a paper on it here - seems like scientists think it's good for absent minded people too :-): www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4097921/
I had an aspiration pneumonia with an elevated hemidiaphragm. They found it with a chest Xray and not knowing what type of pneumonia, prescribed a Zpack which basically killed off my gut biome and nearly me for that matter. I had am endoscopy at the same time as my colonoscopy and was further diagnosed with diverticulosis and a couple of benign pullups they removed. They told me that my dyspnea was due to damage of the Phrenic nerve and then did further breathing tests, sleep disorder tests, and checked the gas level in my blood. I am still not breathing right and this has been since December. I just did your exercise of pinching my inner ear and I can tell there is a difference in my breathing! I'm definitely following you! Thankyou!!!!!!!
That sounds very challenging. Embodiment practices that put you in conversation with your own body, just for the fun and pleasure of it, can have surprising effects. It's such a different way to learn about your body than diagnosis and treatment...just to learn how it all works. Stay tuned!
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems I have never heard of the Alexander technique and I'm a big fan of trying something and it immediately has a positive result so definitely staying tuned and learning more. I'm only 55 so I'm not giving up without a fight here lol. Thankyou for making these videos and sharing!
@@daydreambeliever2964 The Alexander Technique can be life-changing! check out my playlist for fundamental Alexander Technique practices: ua-cam.com/play/PLis_Kr0eYqwANijsMAbZKhSidtgBPLd82.html. I teach private lessons online, but if you prefer to work with someone in person I can help guide you to someone in your area.
You are welcome Kenned! I have continued to work with all the cranial nerve, including the vagus, and it is still as powerful as it was when I made this six years ago! I encourage you to look into some of the other video and explore all 12 - the vagus gets all the glory, but all other 11 are amazing as well. Here is a link to the playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLis_Kr0eYqwDESoz90j1OhyinAJ7-zgpf.html
Thanks so much for this aspect of treating the vagus nerve. I have porphyria. It's a genetic blood disorder. Trauma triggers it to become active. At that time, anything controlled by the autonomic nervous system can fail. People often die of respiratory paralysis. I had this happen and was able to survive, barely. I will add this technique to what I use. Wish you were in our area. Thanks again.
I am glad you found it calming and helpful! Understanding one's body can be empowering, even when there are very complicated realities. I wish you success as you learn more about the role that self-care has in managing. Be well!
Hi Clare! - In support of what you’ve discovered and explained ..I would even more boldly say to your viewers that *freeing the neck* (in the Alexander sense) necessarily involve freeing the pathway for the vagus nerve.
Yes Giora, I agree! Let's have a conversation about it and share it with people in the community. The vagus nerve is still such a hot topic, and finding some sense of balance and calm is so needed. More soon!
You should check out the Polyvagal Model for therapy. I’m going through it now for my Complex PTSD. It’s probably why this video popped up in my feed. Splendid suggestions! Both from you and your viewers.
Thank you William! Polyvagal Theory is still just a theory, but it seems to help so many people heal. Personally I think it's because any experiential engagement with your vagus nerve is a good thing. Continue exploring and the marvels will continue to unfold!
There can be surprising and varied results from practicing simple somatic explorations Shelley! Learning and exploration are so much more fun than treatment, and can be a very empowering complement to it if you are curious about it. Happy do do a free minute consult if you are curious: calendly.com/clare-mobilignment/15min-free-consult
Thank you so much I am 100% interested and will take a look at the link. I have declined anti depressants and beta blockers as I feel it would mask what I could potentially heal energetically or similar from.
@@shelleymichelle9215 As long as that decision is made in consultation with qualified professionals, I am always happy to work in collaboration with them. I'd never give advice on such topics though - I've worked with clients who do take beta blockers and anti-depressants and still get much benefit from the work. One important benefit of the Alexander Technique is actually increased sensitivity to ones felt, kinesthetic experience. When our bodies want to get our attention, sometimes they have to scream :-), but with this work we learn to pay attention to more subtle cues and respond positively to them. That said, depression is a serious illness and AT teachers do not diagnose or treat any conditions, we are educators. Just wanted to be super clear.
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems yes that's super clear. Thankfully I don't suffer with depression and these were suggestions only. I believe my body tried to wake me for sure yes! Accidents.. to my head and feet. I will be in touch thank you.
Thanks for a great way to work with that particular location - it's also a very active acupressure area, and this is a way that clients can help themselves. I'm a bodyworker and Ortho-Bionomy®practitioner working with clients who need recuperative techniques.and self-care (or somatic education) and this approach to that point is one I'm eager to share with them as well. Many of them are currently experiencing issues that involved lung & heart issues - not Covid-related, so this will help them a great deal! Again, many thanks for sharing this!
Yes - the ear canal is grand central station for cranial nerves, having dermatomes for cranial nerve 10 (the vagus)as well as two branches of the great auricular nerve (roots from cervical nerves 2 & 3), so it makes sense to me that there are so many acupuncture points there. For AT teachers, we work with the head neck relationship as governing our whole body coordination in a profound way. I'm not familiar with ortho-bionomy, but for us, anything that eases overall coordination also eases breathing and therefor heart and lungs :-).
EXCELLENT VIDEO.... Question... What are you looking at OFF Camera? Please Look into your LENS so we can (feel) like you're talking to US... Thank you so much for sharing this great video... YOU do know what you're doing... Thank you.
Thank you for the pointer Judi, I appreciate anything that helps me be better and reach more folks! I've gotten better at making videos since this was made 5 years ago, but still have trouble looking at the little green dot!
WOW....when I lifted my earlobes back and up like you did my hearing became very accute but it did not happen when I used my finger and thumb in the ears although my breathing did become clearer.
Hi Stacy! There are two videos that deal with the relationship of your jaw to the rest of you. TMJ can have many causes so I highly recommend seeing a dentist as well, but often overwork between jaw, head, and the rest of your body are a big factor Here are links to the videos: ua-cam.com/video/C-jr2jlZOQU/v-deo.html; and ua-cam.com/video/26om9_9WU14/v-deo.html :-)
5:30 `I don't know if... but that's what they say'. I tend to trust people who are clear about what they say more than the ones who pretend they know it all. Thank you!
That's good, thank you! Stay tuned because I am now making 2 videos per month, working my way through the 12 cranial nerves (this video series on dermatomes included a few cranial nerves that have dermatomes) and have just arrived at cranial nerve 10, the vagus, again!
That's amazing Timothy! Glad you liked the video. I never met her, but some of my most influential AT teachers worked with her extensively, so I feel connected to her intelligence and wit :-).
@@EmbodiedLearningSystemsIt's wonderful that you have this connection with her! I was 18 when she came to our university and she had to have been in her 80's or more. The most miraculous change occurred in my body when she touched the back of my neck. As I mentioned, I was young and did not realize what she was doing , but I knew something significant was taking place. As there were about 20 of us and just one of her it was difficult to have an in depth, one on one session, but I feel so grateful to have had even a brief encounter with Ms Barstow.
@@TimothyJonSarris What a wonderful story. You are lucky! Her touch must have expressed the clarity of her intention in that moment - our nervous systems are so amazing in how they attune to each other without us trying.
Wow - yes two of the first teachers of the Alexander Technique in the USA had polio as children and got great help from it as well - Judith Liebowitz and Lulie Westfeld.
Beautiful. And you are cute and refreshing. Thank you. A Russian doctor I saw 10-15 years ago, explained it's important to massage the ears IN and OUT each morning. Funny enough, in previous generations that was the way to make children aware they did a mistake, without any offensive talk or brutality. Maybe it was better than the fashion of parenting through guilt tripping and emotional manipulations that makes generations of people in need of psichotherapy from 14 years old. We should get wise fast and stop following any new stupid trends. It seems we didn't invent anything good in last 20 years, just manipulations technics to make others weak and then sell magic pills. May your message reach more people dear Clare!
Thank you. This is so interesting. I find massaging my ears helps alleviate migraines that, I now know, seem to develop in the skull areas of the vagal and cranial nerves. Any thoughts?
Hi Barbara, well, the cranial nerves, including the vagus, are linking all areas of the brain to the brain stem and then, in the case of the vagus, deep into your body...other than your brain, thats pretty much all of whats in your skull, so it's a bit too vague to be useful I think. There is a wonderful article about the dermatomes of the ear you can read here: www.autonomicneuroscience.com/article/S1566-0702(16)30072-8/fulltext, that shows what I was talking about in this video very clearly. My thoughts are basically that a little bit of anatomical self-knowledge goes a long way! You can start your own conversation with your body, and let the scientists try to figure out how it works later. If you get relief, fantastic! Migraines are complex, I'm no expert, but I would imagine that Chinese medicine might have some explanations as well.
That's an interesting and good point Liberty - thing is, I wasn't directly trying to improve breathing in this video, but simply exploring the vagus dermatome. I can say that when I have done this with students (gently lifting ear canals for them, so their arms are not engaged or lifted :-) I have noticed it often, but not always, seems to reset breathing to a more relaxed state.
Very well presented, not sure why this seems so logical yet rarely is it done using self as model. Judging by comment section, my opinion is shared by others
Thank you Jeff :-), this is the way I teach. Experiential exploration is the best way to work with "anatomy" in my view, it's the only way I really remember and use information.
This is perfect thank you! Just what I needed. I’m wondering if one ear starts tingling there, for whatever reason whether you’re doing something or not, is it a good thing?
Hi Elina! I think we are often tempted, when we tune into the never ending flow of sensory information from our body, to label what we feel as "good" or "bad." I encourage you to just enjoy the experience and not worry too much about what you feel. Over time, if you use Mobilignment practices, you start to discern whether anything that you are doing is better or worse for you in that moment. In my experience there are few absolutes, but if you have a curious and open relationship to your physicality you will know better where the real problems are and what to do about them :-)
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems nice reply to a foolish question. Never knew there was a somatic representation in the ear..of the 10th cranial nerve..I did Grays anatomy in the 70s .. What a revelation? ALSO LEARNT OFTHE hyoid bone ..etc be blessed
That was easy, do you think that will help with parkinson's, I"ve had PD for 5 years now and find little tips help me more than the allopathic dr and meds!
Hello Mark I'm so glad you found this easy to follow and use! I have never done this particular practice with someone who has PD so I don't know if it helps with symptoms; but I do know that there is a growing body of research and anecdotal evidence that the Alexander Technique can greatly improve quality of life for people with PD. Here is a link to an initiative from the AT community on Parkinsons, there is a ton of useful information here: www.thepoiseproject.org/alexander-technique-for-parkinsons/ !!!! all best, Clare
I’ve had tremendous difficulty with my trigeminal nerve and excruciating pain going from my ear to my chin and down the front of my neck that started suddenly around Dec 15th. I’ve been to many specialists with no relief. I’ve started doing lymphatic massage on my neck, hot soak’s & acupressure. The pain has lessened but has not gone away yet. Do not know if it is the nerve , vagus nerve or a lymph node that was blocked that is causing this. Any insights is appreciated
Hello Denise, you have my heart felt sympathies for what you are going through. The work I do is educational, rather than diagnostic. Pain is often deeply mysterious - to those suffering, and to the medical professionals that those suffering seek help from. One thing I can say is that if the pain is lessening, that is good, and perhaps you can trust that process will continue. No one ought to be diagnosing you or giving you advice in a forum like this, but I hope that my educational videos help you cultivate a state of curiousity and wonder about your own body, which is a powerful antidote to the health anxiety many of us suffer when something goes wrong.
I don't know about earphones, but yes, sound vibration in the throat affects the vagus. Science is still out on exactly how or what affects this might have. There is much more research on electrical stimulation, but in my experience touch and sound affect my breathing. health.clevelandclinic.org/vagus-nerve-stimulation/
Very interesting. Since your into this i thought id share real quick. I am sensitive. Listening to subliminal for face lift..well besides the positive result...i KNOW it worked as my ears ITCH. For several days out of the blue I get waves about a minute in length the deepest part of my ear itches so onvious eventually to me that i took pics to see if i could capture what was happening. Strange i know. Anyways i have no idea if frequencies activate the vagus nerve but im going to be playing w my ears as well next time. Maybe work twice as fast. Blessings. Terri in Tx.
I think sound and vibration has been proven to stimulate the vagus for sure. Found this, which is more about pairing vibration with electrical stimulation: www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17750-y
Hi Miguel - it depends on precisely what you mean by head being "centered" on the neck, and what you mean by "head forward." I find that what people are actually doing when they say these phrases can be quite different from what I might mean by the same words. This is exactly the kind of question I help people sort out in my work, and happy to do a free 15 minute consult if you are sincerely interested! calendly.com/clare-mobilignment/15min-free-consult
Sensations are difficult to interpret - they could be referred from elsewhere. These explorations of the dermatomes, which are on the surface of the body, can't begin to cover the complexity of innervation on the inside!
I practiced the breathing 4 in 16 hold and 8 out, after a month I got light headed. And I checked the blood pressure, it was 170/85 and my usual pressure was 130/70. I stoped the breathing technique, and I was wondering what might have happened. May be this is related to this Vegas nerve or Cranial nerve. Right after the breathing I go into meditation on the Pineal gland and pituitary. Now I slowed it down.
Hi, on your picture where it says c3 It is enlarged under my chin, somedays are worse than others. I also have strange brain zaps daily. I have been to the doctors several times and I have managed to get an appointment with a neurologist next week. I have many more symptoms muscle twitching being one of them.. do you think I could have a trapped nerve in my neck? So worried about it. Thanks.
Lucy - thanks for reaching out and saying hi! I hope you get some clarity from checking in with western medicine, I'm a big fan of diagnosis and clarity around treatment with the kind of symptoms you describe here. My work is entirely educational, so my goal is to empower folks like yourself to feel a strong, positive connection to their body and to know how to move it in a way that promotes healing and prevents injury. So I'm a great complement to diagnosis & treatment, but not a substitute for it for sure. Please say connected and let me know how it goes!!!
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems Thankyou for your reply, I really do hope to get some answers to my health issues as they are getting me down... Unfortunately I'm having to fight for appointments and answers as so many others most probably are. Thanks again.
My vagus nerve flares up whenever i need to engage my neck muscles or when anyone uses cleaning chemicals. I cant swallow or usecmy vocal chords. The nerve actually swells! Any suggestions
Hi flowers 3036! Your vagus nerve is pretty sensitive to neck tension, to the extent that, for instance, throwing up strongly can cause a vasovagal response. It is possible to use your conscious mind to intervene in "neck tension" which is muscular activity directly connected to conscious intention, but it is very difficult to directly effect your vagus. I'm am an psycho-physical educator and do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. If you came to work with me as a student I would probably suggest separating your sensations and your interpretation of them (it's very easy to think we know why certain sensations are happening, and our CNS loves to try and figure it out, which can be very stressful), and I'd suggest seeing a neurologist or other medical doctor who could help you sort out allergies and an inability to swallow and speak, which could be something else entirely.
There is no formula. It is just for self exploration and discovery, not an exercise to be done a certain number of times a day that brings about a particular result. Do it as much as you like!
Not sure! They would certainly stimulate the skin of your ear canal, which would normally be open to the air and to sound from the environment. So they would close you off from the information that that sense organ is designed to process.
Interesting thanks for the reply. Also they add tactile pressure, I’m not using my earbuds for a while to see if my recently acquired chest flutters improve in their absence. Thanks for posting
When I stress and it feel my cortisol levels rise sometimes my right ear top part gets a scab from no where and left bottom ear lobe get a scab... prior to these light scabs entire ear is warm to hot and itchy and sensitive
Brilliant..
What a fun way to self nurture. I YAWNED the second I played with the ear flap. Subscribed for more. Thank you
Thank you, that was informative. For those interested, other ways to stimulate your vagus nerve are: tongue depressors (use them to create a gag reflex), gargling, humming, singing, some forms of breathing (glottal breathing), simulating a yawn, massaging your upper palate with your tongue (gliding your tongue from front upper teeth backwards), washing your face with cold water.
Dila caspare ..... I think u know much about tongue exercise benefits. I heard that tongue exercise is also beneficial for *eye vision *body balance *ringing in ear *sleep apnea .... Please say something about it
Thank you so much
Thank you!
Useful, thx fr ur tips
I truly thought I was the only one that was blindly trying to put these pieces of a puzzle together, but it was frustrating because I wasn’t aware of how many pieces existed, but you so brilliantly confirmed this to me and this information is definitely a life changer for a large majority of humanity. I applaud you in your presentation and findings Clare absolutely incredible! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
The way you demonstrate the enervation of vagus nerve through the body is really beautiful to see! Looks like we are watching a ballet dance! =) Thanks!
Wonderful that you see it that way Lua! That is pretty much how I live my life....:-)
Your technique was so helpful!!! I intuitively felt that my vagus nerve was irritated/causing breathing issues and after doing your technique for a few days, I can now get full deep breaths. Thank you so much!
Hey Christina! It's really just me trying to learn about my own nervous system, and exploring connections. It's all based in the Alexander Technique (which is definitely not mine :-) but my own explorations I've been calling Mobilignment for about 2 years now. Glad it is useful for you!
Began a deeper study of the Vagus nerve and really appreciate what you have brought forward in this video. Thank you!
You are welcome Jean!
Very Helpful and I could feel a relief and change in my breath. As a prof. Dancer, have taken Alexander classes since 1992 and your explanation makes a lot of sense to me. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you IM Z! Glad it was useful!
As a young child I use to rub the back of my ears to soothe myself. Seeing the diagram in the thumbnail and wow... makes so much sense!
How interesting! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge 💖❣️
Fantastic and interesting information about Vagus nerve. Thank you so much.
I'm glad you found it useful!!
Thanx;beautifully explained. God bless you. Best wishes.
Thank you Clare. Very well done. Many blessings.
This made me take a big deep involuntary breath and just feels good in general ... But I'll be most interested in seeing if it has any impact on the hyper-arousal symptoms of Complex PTSD, or on discharging unwanted fight/flight energy from the body. Thank you!
Hello Bad Butches - I do think that the Alexander Technique, especially the somatic way that I approach teaching it, can be a good addition to your toolkit for Complex PTSD; but my work is educational in nature, and is not intended as treatment or cure for ANYTHING, since it is not medical and I'm not trained to diagnose or treat illness or trauma. What's amazing is that the open space of an educational framework can empower my students to restore a creative and beneficial relationship with their own bodies so that they feel more in control - which is really about a kind of practical dialogue with self and not "imposed" or rigid control at all. More like riding a horse....:-)
Hi Bad Butches, I'm sorry it took me so long to see your comment. This is a simple practice of body mapping or self-mapping of the central nervous system. It's not designed to treat anything or cure anything. I would imagine that the skilled intervention of a therapist well versed in somatic practice might be much more helpful, and can recommend particularly Sensorimotor Psychotherapy as a practice that is well grounded in science.
There are breathing techniques that will stimulate the vagus nerve and calm mind/body. Any time you make your exhale longer than your inhale, you are stimulating the vagus nerve.
In for 6, out 8 4x
In 6, out 8, hold for 2 4x
In 6, out 8, hold 4 6x
In 6, out 8 4x
Recently I'm getting pain all over the place shown in yellow color
Me too😀
The sensation of liftin the “lid” of my head off. Wonderful opening.
Such amazing & healing info 👂🧠 Thank you Clare! Subscribed 🤍
Welcome to my world, Quinn :-)
Awesome thanks Quinn!
amazing! thank you for this beautiful share❣️❣️❣️
Thank you so much for your video...I have been able to shorten my most recent Afib events! Once they begin they can last 3-5 hours. I have been able to bring my heart back into rhythm within an hour to sometimes 20 mins...without any medication :) thank you so much!!!!!
Laura this is amazing! I'm assuming you are doing other practices as well? OR is this result from my video alone? I have been very surprised to see how many people have viewed it and how helpful it seems to be. It's only a tiny piece of the stuff I have discovered exploring dermatomes!
I have done this with just the video techniques....I will look into the practice....thank you soooo much! :)
Laura, that is a remarkable result. I would love to find out more about how you did this. Feel free to contact me: clare@claremaxwell.com; Afib events are not something I know alot about and I would love to learn from your experience if there are more people that could be helped!
So good information! Glad to hear good news
Thank you for that wonderful video.
Just also wanted to mention that in South of India, in my state of Tamil Nadu, there is a very ancient practice done while worshipping Lord Ganesha, lord of knowledge/memory.
The practice called "Thoppukaranam" is done facing Shri Ganesha. Thoppu means hands and Karanam means ears.
The object is to move energy and oxygen up into the brain.
Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth (the palate) to open the Eustachian tubes in the ears.
Cross your arms in front of your chest with the right arm over the left.
*Raise your hands towards your ears and grab the opposite earlobe. Place your thumb on the front of the earlobe and your index finger on the back. Squeeze gently.*
Bend your knees and lower your torso into a squat position while inhaling while going down. Keep your knees over the heels to avoid injury.
Rise into standing position while exhaling.
Repeat for 15 squats.
Ensure the tongue remains on the roof of the mouth. This position also stimulates the hypothalamus.
This is also an exercise/ punishment given to students regularly in schools who are lethargic or lazy or absent minded..😁
We can see it done by elders in front of Ganesha shrines every day albeit in a very very hurried up mechanical way...
There is a whole lot of Google pages calling it super yoga.. search for Thoppukaranam...
If only we knew that our teachers and parents were teaching us a good health exercise..
Wow - that's amazing! I think doing exercises like this by rote probably doesn't have much effect - it's the conscious engagement with ones way of moving and with ones own body that enhances benefits...just my two cents. Thanks for describing this in such detail! I found a paper on it here - seems like scientists think it's good for absent minded people too :-): www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4097921/
Thank you for this reminder to a practice I learned many years ago as a yoga teacher. A wonderful brain replenished. Omm🙏🙏🙏
I am grateful to Stephen Porges for his discovery of the power of the vagus nerve and bringing this forth for our healing.
ฝ
I had an aspiration pneumonia with an elevated hemidiaphragm. They found it with a chest Xray and not knowing what type of pneumonia, prescribed a Zpack which basically killed off my gut biome and nearly me for that matter. I had am endoscopy at the same time as my colonoscopy and was further diagnosed with diverticulosis and a couple of benign pullups they removed. They told me that my dyspnea was due to damage of the Phrenic nerve and then did further breathing tests, sleep disorder tests, and checked the gas level in my blood. I am still not breathing right and this has been since December. I just did your exercise of pinching my inner ear and I can tell there is a difference in my breathing! I'm definitely following you! Thankyou!!!!!!!
That sounds very challenging. Embodiment practices that put you in conversation with your own body, just for the fun and pleasure of it, can have surprising effects. It's such a different way to learn about your body than diagnosis and treatment...just to learn how it all works. Stay tuned!
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems I have never heard of the Alexander technique and I'm a big fan of trying something and it immediately has a positive result so definitely staying tuned and learning more. I'm only 55 so I'm not giving up without a fight here lol. Thankyou for making these videos and sharing!
@@daydreambeliever2964 The Alexander Technique can be life-changing! check out my playlist for fundamental Alexander Technique practices: ua-cam.com/play/PLis_Kr0eYqwANijsMAbZKhSidtgBPLd82.html. I teach private lessons online, but if you prefer to work with someone in person I can help guide you to someone in your area.
Thank you for your fantastic, brilliant and interesting video i will start with this today
You are welcome Kenned! I have continued to work with all the cranial nerve, including the vagus, and it is still as powerful as it was when I made this six years ago! I encourage you to look into some of the other video and explore all 12 - the vagus gets all the glory, but all other 11 are amazing as well. Here is a link to the playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLis_Kr0eYqwDESoz90j1OhyinAJ7-zgpf.html
Thanks so much for this aspect of treating the vagus nerve. I have porphyria. It's a genetic blood disorder. Trauma triggers it to become active. At that time, anything controlled by the autonomic nervous system can fail. People often die of respiratory paralysis. I had this happen and was able to survive, barely. I will add this technique to what I use. Wish you were in our area. Thanks again.
I am glad you found it calming and helpful! Understanding one's body can be empowering, even when there are very complicated realities. I wish you success as you learn more about the role that self-care has in managing. Be well!
thank you, Clare that was really helpful. Love and light
Hi Clare! -
In support of what you’ve discovered and explained ..I would even more boldly say to your viewers that
*freeing the neck* (in the Alexander sense) necessarily involve freeing the pathway for the vagus nerve.
Yes Giora, I agree! Let's have a conversation about it and share it with people in the community. The vagus nerve is still such a hot topic, and finding some sense of balance and calm is so needed. More soon!
You should check out the Polyvagal Model for therapy. I’m going through it now for my Complex PTSD. It’s probably why this video popped up in my feed. Splendid suggestions! Both from you and your viewers.
Thank you William! Polyvagal Theory is still just a theory, but it seems to help so many people heal. Personally I think it's because any experiential engagement with your vagus nerve is a good thing. Continue exploring and the marvels will continue to unfold!
Stephen Porges
Excellent video. I’m finding out a healthy vagus nerve is key to reducing stress on your body.
True
That is outstanding 👏Thank you for sharing!!!!
great info,it did help ...Thanks a lot madam...God Bless u 🙏
Excellent information. Thank you!!
Thank you thank you so much ,please don’t stop making these videos 🙏💖
I make one per month :-)
I'm reminded of the bee exercise from Pranayama I feel the vibration in the inner ear area while doing it.
Really helpful thank you, especially as I live with pulsatile tinnitus. I noticed the intake of breath straight away and it felt very good 💯
There can be surprising and varied results from practicing simple somatic explorations Shelley! Learning and exploration are so much more fun than treatment, and can be a very empowering complement to it if you are curious about it. Happy do do a free minute consult if you are curious: calendly.com/clare-mobilignment/15min-free-consult
Thank you so much I am 100% interested and will take a look at the link. I have declined anti depressants and beta blockers as I feel it would mask what I could potentially heal energetically or similar from.
@@shelleymichelle9215 As long as that decision is made in consultation with qualified professionals, I am always happy to work in collaboration with them. I'd never give advice on such topics though - I've worked with clients who do take beta blockers and anti-depressants and still get much benefit from the work. One important benefit of the Alexander Technique is actually increased sensitivity to ones felt, kinesthetic experience. When our bodies want to get our attention, sometimes they have to scream :-), but with this work we learn to pay attention to more subtle cues and respond positively to them. That said, depression is a serious illness and AT teachers do not diagnose or treat any conditions, we are educators. Just wanted to be super clear.
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems yes that's super clear. Thankfully I don't suffer with depression and these were suggestions only. I believe my body tried to wake me for sure yes! Accidents.. to my head and feet. I will be in touch thank you.
Vagus nerve has a dermatome… well thank you!!! My hubby is going crazy how much he scratches his ears.
Thanks for a great way to work with that particular location - it's also a very active acupressure area, and this is a way that clients can help themselves. I'm a bodyworker and Ortho-Bionomy®practitioner working with clients who need recuperative techniques.and self-care (or somatic education) and this approach to that point is one I'm eager to share with them as well. Many of them are currently experiencing issues that involved lung & heart issues - not Covid-related, so this will help them a great deal! Again, many thanks for sharing this!
Yes - the ear canal is grand central station for cranial nerves, having dermatomes for cranial nerve 10 (the vagus)as well as two branches of the great auricular nerve (roots from cervical nerves 2 & 3), so it makes sense to me that there are so many acupuncture points there. For AT teachers, we work with the head neck relationship as governing our whole body coordination in a profound way. I'm not familiar with ortho-bionomy, but for us, anything that eases overall coordination also eases breathing and therefor heart and lungs :-).
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems0
EXCELLENT VIDEO....
Question... What are you looking at OFF Camera?
Please Look into your LENS so we can (feel) like you're talking to US...
Thank you so much for sharing this great video...
YOU do know what you're doing... Thank you.
Thank you for the pointer Judi, I appreciate anything that helps me be better and reach more folks! I've gotten better at making videos since this was made 5 years ago, but still have trouble looking at the little green dot!
*Peace & Love* to _you,_ Clare ❤️
Thank you for your clarity & generosity!
Thanks lot. This is very important for health. God bless you. 🙏
Thank you, I feel like this is true and helpful. Thank you very much
I'm so glad it was helpful for you!
Excellent. Thank you!
Glad it was a useful exploration, Laura!
Terrific video. Thank you.
This makes so much sense to me.
AWeSoMe information! Peace & Love & Light to ALL 🥰 I Loved your charts ‼️🤨🤓💪😏
WOW....when I lifted my earlobes back and up like you did my hearing became very accute but it did not happen when I used my finger and thumb in the ears although my breathing did become clearer.
Gonna try it
Thank you! Im trying to learn how to calm my nervous system.
There are many many ways. I think this exploration is a good one! Good luck.
Great info. Thank you!
Thank you. I'm going to try this for my TMJ. If you have any other advice for TMJ please share it with everyone.
Hi Stacy! There are two videos that deal with the relationship of your jaw to the rest of you. TMJ can have many causes so I highly recommend seeing a dentist as well, but often overwork between jaw, head, and the rest of your body are a big factor Here are links to the videos: ua-cam.com/video/C-jr2jlZOQU/v-deo.html; and ua-cam.com/video/26om9_9WU14/v-deo.html :-)
If you pray like I do you will come out of it soon
Thank you very helpful love & light
Thank you so much. Answer to prayer.
5:30 `I don't know if... but that's what they say'. I tend to trust people who are clear about what they say more than the ones who pretend they know it all.
Thank you!
very helpful. thx for sharing.
Good video , subscribed
That's good, thank you! Stay tuned because I am now making 2 videos per month, working my way through the 12 cranial nerves (this video series on dermatomes included a few cranial nerves that have dermatomes) and have just arrived at cranial nerve 10, the vagus, again!
Thank you!
Peace and love and thank you. Very cool!
Clever explanation!
The vagas nerve is a fun place to bring sensation to and that is why a city was named Las Vegas after it.
ha ha
Thank you - this is great information! I will definitely practice these ear therapy exercises & see if it helps. 👍
Just to be clear - these explorations are not therapy or treatment. They are educational explorations that can have varied and interesting effects.
excellent teaching!!! ty
Nicely done. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Thank you so much-I thoroughly enjoyed your video🌷👂
Thank you Margareta, glad you enjoyed it! The Alexander Technique has been such a wonderful support in my exploration of self.
Thank you!😍🙏
so cool! Thanks!
Glad that you like it RP!
Thank you!
(was once privileged enough to have had a session with Marjorie Barstow.... amazing lady. )
🕊️❤️
That's amazing Timothy! Glad you liked the video. I never met her, but some of my most influential AT teachers worked with her extensively, so I feel connected to her intelligence and wit :-).
@@EmbodiedLearningSystemsIt's wonderful that you have this connection with her!
I was 18 when she came to our university and she had to have been in her 80's or more.
The most miraculous change occurred in my body when she touched the back of my neck. As I mentioned, I was young and did not realize what she was doing , but I knew something significant was taking place. As there were about 20 of us and just one of her it was difficult to have an in depth, one on one session, but I feel so grateful to have had even a brief encounter with Ms Barstow.
@@TimothyJonSarris What a wonderful story. You are lucky! Her touch must have expressed the clarity of her intention in that moment - our nervous systems are so amazing in how they attune to each other without us trying.
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems indeed
Thank you so very much
Peace and love to you too x
very good
Always looking for ways to stimulate my vagus nerve to help reduce effect polio had on it as a small child.
Wow - yes two of the first teachers of the Alexander Technique in the USA had polio as children and got great help from it as well - Judith Liebowitz and Lulie Westfeld.
Fascinating thanks
Thanks Lisa! If you'd like to get more content from me, I send out an email 5 days a week. You can subscribe at www.claremaxwell.com.
Beautiful. And you are cute and refreshing. Thank you. A Russian doctor I saw 10-15 years ago, explained it's important to massage the ears IN and OUT each morning. Funny enough, in previous generations that was the way to make children aware they did a mistake, without any offensive talk or brutality. Maybe it was better than the fashion of parenting through guilt tripping and emotional manipulations that makes generations of people in need of psichotherapy from 14 years old. We should get wise fast and stop following any new stupid trends. It seems we didn't invent anything good in last 20 years, just manipulations technics to make others weak and then sell magic pills. May your message reach more people dear Clare!
Thank you Liz! No magic pills here, just the amazing body...xo
Thank you. This is so interesting. I find massaging my ears helps alleviate migraines that, I now know, seem to develop in the skull areas of the vagal and cranial nerves. Any thoughts?
Hi Barbara, well, the cranial nerves, including the vagus, are linking all areas of the brain to the brain stem and then, in the case of the vagus, deep into your body...other than your brain, thats pretty much all of whats in your skull, so it's a bit too vague to be useful I think. There is a wonderful article about the dermatomes of the ear you can read here: www.autonomicneuroscience.com/article/S1566-0702(16)30072-8/fulltext, that shows what I was talking about in this video very clearly. My thoughts are basically that a little bit of anatomical self-knowledge goes a long way! You can start your own conversation with your body, and let the scientists try to figure out how it works later. If you get relief, fantastic! Migraines are complex, I'm no expert, but I would imagine that Chinese medicine might have some explanations as well.
Thankyou for sharing your knowledge.
Hi Sarah! I'm glad it is useful, it's often surprising!
So interesting!. Thank you!
Thank you so much!
This exercise help me to realize my left nostril is stopped up and then that everything on my left side is having issues right now🤔ok Google 🙄
Interesting! Thank you!
Thing is you are lifting your arms which opens up your chest, so that could be what's improving breathing.
That's an interesting and good point Liberty - thing is, I wasn't directly trying to improve breathing in this video, but simply exploring the vagus dermatome. I can say that when I have done this with students (gently lifting ear canals for them, so their arms are not engaged or lifted :-) I have noticed it often, but not always, seems to reset breathing to a more relaxed state.
Thank you, very informative
Very well presented, not sure why this seems so logical yet rarely is it done using self as model. Judging by comment section, my opinion is shared by others
Thank you Jeff :-), this is the way I teach. Experiential exploration is the best way to work with "anatomy" in my view, it's the only way I really remember and use information.
Mam very informative ,also want to share that shunya mudra heals the ear related balancing issue.
Hope you know that already.
and beautifully explained
Thank you Sally - education is my jam!
Thank you...
This is perfect thank you! Just what I needed. I’m wondering if one ear starts tingling there, for whatever reason whether you’re doing something or not, is it a good thing?
Hi Elina! I think we are often tempted, when we tune into the never ending flow of sensory information from our body, to label what we feel as "good" or "bad." I encourage you to just enjoy the experience and not worry too much about what you feel. Over time, if you use Mobilignment practices, you start to discern whether anything that you are doing is better or worse for you in that moment. In my experience there are few absolutes, but if you have a curious and open relationship to your physicality you will know better where the real problems are and what to do about them :-)
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems nice reply to a foolish question.
Never knew there was a somatic representation in the ear..of the 10th cranial nerve..I did Grays anatomy in the 70s ..
What a revelation?
ALSO LEARNT OFTHE hyoid bone ..etc be blessed
That was easy, do you think that will help with parkinson's, I"ve had PD for 5 years now and find little tips help me more than the allopathic dr and meds!
Hello Mark I'm so glad you found this easy to follow and use! I have never done this particular practice with someone who has PD so I don't know if it helps with symptoms; but I do know that there is a growing body of research and anecdotal evidence that the Alexander Technique can greatly improve quality of life for people with PD. Here is a link to an initiative from the AT community on Parkinsons, there is a ton of useful information here: www.thepoiseproject.org/alexander-technique-for-parkinsons/
!!!! all best, Clare
Simple prayer will clear you of it
Thank you.
Thanks...
I’ve had tremendous difficulty with my trigeminal nerve and excruciating pain going from my ear to my chin and down the front of my neck that started suddenly around Dec 15th. I’ve been to many specialists with no relief. I’ve started doing lymphatic massage on my neck, hot soak’s & acupressure. The pain has lessened but has not gone away yet. Do not know if it is the nerve , vagus nerve or a lymph node that was blocked that is causing this. Any insights is appreciated
Hello Denise, you have my heart felt sympathies for what you are going through. The work I do is educational, rather than diagnostic. Pain is often deeply mysterious - to those suffering, and to the medical professionals that those suffering seek help from. One thing I can say is that if the pain is lessening, that is good, and perhaps you can trust that process will continue. No one ought to be diagnosing you or giving you advice in a forum like this, but I hope that my educational videos help you cultivate a state of curiousity and wonder about your own body, which is a powerful antidote to the health anxiety many of us suffer when something goes wrong.
Thanks indeed!
Gratidão!
Thanks
The sound and earphones affect vagus nerve?
I don't know about earphones, but yes, sound vibration in the throat affects the vagus. Science is still out on exactly how or what affects this might have. There is much more research on electrical stimulation, but in my experience touch and sound affect my breathing. health.clevelandclinic.org/vagus-nerve-stimulation/
I Can take deeper breaths doing that exercise
Very interesting. Since your into this i thought id share real quick. I am sensitive. Listening to subliminal for face lift..well besides the positive result...i KNOW it worked as my ears ITCH. For several days out of the blue I get waves about a minute in length the deepest part of my ear itches so onvious eventually to me that i took pics to see if i could capture what was happening. Strange i know. Anyways i have no idea if frequencies activate the vagus nerve but im going to be playing w my ears as well next time. Maybe work twice as fast. Blessings. Terri in Tx.
I think sound and vibration has been proven to stimulate the vagus for sure. Found this, which is more about pairing vibration with electrical stimulation: www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17750-y
Does having the head centered in the neck help the vagus nerve? I have my head forward!😢
Hi Miguel - it depends on precisely what you mean by head being "centered" on the neck, and what you mean by "head forward." I find that what people are actually doing when they say these phrases can be quite different from what I might mean by the same words. This is exactly the kind of question I help people sort out in my work, and happy to do a free 15 minute consult if you are sincerely interested! calendly.com/clare-mobilignment/15min-free-consult
Is like to know more about c2.. I get strange sensations in that area above my ears.
Sensations are difficult to interpret - they could be referred from elsewhere. These explorations of the dermatomes, which are on the surface of the body, can't begin to cover the complexity of innervation on the inside!
I practiced the breathing 4 in 16 hold and 8 out, after a month I got light headed. And I checked the blood pressure, it was 170/85 and my usual pressure was 130/70. I stoped the breathing technique, and I was wondering what might have happened. May be this is related to this Vegas nerve or Cranial nerve. Right after the breathing I go into meditation on the Pineal gland and pituitary. Now I slowed it down.
Yes - I don't personally recommend breath holding, though I know some do. All my videos are exploratory and educational, not rote exercise.
Hi, on your picture where it says c3 It is enlarged under my chin, somedays are worse than others. I also have strange brain zaps daily. I have been to the doctors several times and I have managed to get an appointment with a neurologist next week. I have many more symptoms muscle twitching being one of them.. do you think I could have a trapped nerve in my neck? So worried about it.
Thanks.
Lucy - thanks for reaching out and saying hi! I hope you get some clarity from checking in with western medicine, I'm a big fan of diagnosis and clarity around treatment with the kind of symptoms you describe here. My work is entirely educational, so my goal is to empower folks like yourself to feel a strong, positive connection to their body and to know how to move it in a way that promotes healing and prevents injury. So I'm a great complement to diagnosis & treatment, but not a substitute for it for sure. Please say connected and let me know how it goes!!!
@@EmbodiedLearningSystems Thankyou for your reply,
I really do hope to get some answers to my health issues as they are getting me down...
Unfortunately I'm having to fight for appointments and answers as so many others most probably are.
Thanks again.
My vagus nerve flares up whenever i need to engage my neck muscles or when anyone uses cleaning chemicals. I cant swallow or usecmy vocal chords. The nerve actually swells! Any suggestions
Hi flowers 3036! Your vagus nerve is pretty sensitive to neck tension, to the extent that, for instance, throwing up strongly can cause a vasovagal response. It is possible to use your conscious mind to intervene in "neck tension" which is muscular activity directly connected to conscious intention, but it is very difficult to directly effect your vagus. I'm am an psycho-physical educator and do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. If you came to work with me as a student I would probably suggest separating your sensations and your interpretation of them (it's very easy to think we know why certain sensations are happening, and our CNS loves to try and figure it out, which can be very stressful), and I'd suggest seeing a neurologist or other medical doctor who could help you sort out allergies and an inability to swallow and speak, which could be something else entirely.
Hello. How many times or minutes do we have to practice the 2 method/ massages??? Thks
There is no formula. It is just for self exploration and discovery, not an exercise to be done a certain number of times a day that brings about a particular result. Do it as much as you like!
Alexander Technique Madison Square Park NYC ok. Thks:)
So could electronic ear buds interfere with Vagal nerve?
Not sure! They would certainly stimulate the skin of your ear canal, which would normally be open to the air and to sound from the environment. So they would close you off from the information that that sense organ is designed to process.
Interesting thanks for the reply. Also they add tactile pressure, I’m not using my earbuds for a while to see if my recently acquired chest flutters improve in their absence. Thanks for posting
how clear
When I stress and it feel my cortisol levels rise sometimes my right ear top part gets a scab from no where and left bottom ear lobe get a scab... prior to these light scabs entire ear is warm to hot and itchy and sensitive
This is very strange..I have random scabs behind my ears as well 🤔
Wow! So this why cartoons steam from the ears when they are riled up! Lol!
Very interesting. My father and nephew have the same thing. The person who made the "steam from the ears" comment may not be too far off!
The body tells it's truth in any way it can including cartoons :-)