#23 - Wandering Around Vagus (WAV) - December 2024

Vagal Maneuvers

Welcome to Month 23 of Wandering Around Vagus, a paid monthly subscription series exploring the Vagus Nerve + Polyvagal Theory.

I’m Tina Foster of Foster & Flourish, the creator and guide of Wandering Around Vagus.

First, a few quick notes to help you orient within our pages:

• If you’re new, or need a review, here’s the link to the START page.

• You can find last month’s post (our 22nd) introducing vagal massage here.

• Monthly & Supplementary Posts + Recordings can be accessed by topic from the navigation bar atop the Wandering Around Vagus Homepage.

• All past posts are listed in reverse chronological order on the archive page.​

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THIS MONTH’S WORK

This post is the second installment in a two part exploration of physical ways to work with the vagus nerve. Last month, we introduced vagal massage and practiced simple techniques that can be done by anyone, anytime, anywhere to promote calm, boost energy and support a return to regulation from a stressed state.

This month we shift focus to VAGAL MANEUVERS—targeted physical actions that bring calm in a very specific way—by signaling the vagus nerve to slow down heart rate to help regulate the nervous system.

By the end of this post you’ll have a better sense of:

• what vagal maneuvers are and why they’re significant

• the role heart rate plays in many aspects of life beyond basic cardiac health

• specific vagal maneuvers you can try

• why vagal maneuvers work

• the most common medical use of vagal maneuvers

The Significance of Learning Vagal Maneuvers

Vagal maneuvers are a more targeted way of activating the vagus nerve to help us stay regulated, return to regulation after stress and trauma or work with any medical condition that accelerates the speed of our heart beat.

Even those with a healthy, naturally active vagus nerve can benefit from learning vagal maneuvers. The advantages of learning about vagal maneuvers extend beyond the practical need of using them. Here are several of those advantages: