Conscious Breathing for Vagus Stimulation 

For my future reference, exercise begins at 15:00

I’m BLOWN away!!! Instantly it worked…. My Diaphragm!!! Who knew??.?My problem is wanting to share my great news and then trying to explain it lol Forever Grateful for this video

Thank you Neal and Skip. As you both pointed out, “our bodies are an environment…you cannot change one part without affecting the whole.” I think this is sometimes why it’s so hard to put into words what PRI is-where do you begin? I thought Skip summarized the PRI approach so well-“An approach that says let’s become aware of your inherent tendencies and show you what the possibilities are for movement and function so you don’t have to rely on a limited position that over time creates wear and tear on your structures and pain.” When our bodies get reduced to a diagnosis, like TMJ or plantar fasciitis or hip osteoarthritis or rotator cuff tear, without consideration of the body as a whole, we miss the inter-connectedness of our system, and wisdom of the body for healing.

A few years ago I became aware that I was walking with my left leg while the right worked more like a crutch. That’s when I became aware of the taught Psoas muscles. Now, with your data, I’m understanding the neural-muscular connection

Spectacular discussion. This is such a good one to do from time to time while at a desk or something as well.

Great conversation here. I've spent two years improving my vision and these days I put glasses on again and felt exatcly what I have felt when I put them on for the first time when I was a kid: I could feel the inner world that both of you talked about. It felt like abs, tongue, arms, shoulder, neck and mechanism breathing are working together at the same time.. I start to believe that visual and mental disorder is a lack of Focus, internal and external most due to hypermobility and compensatory mechanism.

*You definitely have to look at the whole system.*

Again, I'll add my thanks to the list long list. I'm working with a PRI certified physical therapist and it's really helpful to be able to watch your videos to so that I can contribute to my rehab program. I find your story incredibly encouraging. I'm 63 and have had daily pain for the past 5 years and this is a long journey. Thanks to you, I no longer feel like giving up and giving in. Keep going. The work you're doing matters to many!

Bro, this information and you are a blessing. I've been looking for this information, without really knowing it, for almost 10 years. I've been over stressed because I couldn't breathe properly for years and years. I do think this cause a chronic inflammation dis ease, "autoimmune" that I do think is correlated with BAD breathing. Thank You, Neal! S2 You've validated years of intuitive arrangements that I have made, to get close to this kind of breathing. I have felt, for years, that my right side wasn't quite expanding, and I think as well, it could have been prejudicing my liver, making it BAD in detoxing and digesting food. BRO, great channel, keep doing what you do, because I think you are helping A LOT of people! God Bless you Neal.

I experienced exactly what you referred to as not being able to take a full breath at age 12/13, since then my body and breathing hasn't been the same

Omg, u have finally given me an answer after struggling for 5 years. Thank u

I’m not questioning anything here, your advice has helped so many of us. But I was told, when I was young, that it’s better to breath with your “stomach” because it draws air all the way through your lungs, rather than mostly the top area, if you’re using predominantly your chest. But I’m going to hazard a guess that we want to be using the WHOLE system, through the chest and expanding the bottom areas.

Absolutely true I couldn't breathe into my deadlfit and bench, very very bad dysfunction and I can't blow a balloon ever in my life it's making sense now

Hi Neal, I echo the thoughts already shared - this is so informative. I’m 53 and have been stressed for a very long time. Poor breathing has become a much more significant cause, and effect in the last 3 years (funnily enough tied in with us being locked in our homes for a good chunk of time). I now regularly feel I cannot breathe properly. I can manage if I am really careful but the darker months are much more difficult: I also realised how much worse I am when I’ve been sat with poor posture on an unsupportive chair - maybe a sofa. I obviously overdid it a few weeks ago and I now seem to be stuck in sympathetic mode - all the things I usually fall back on simply won’t work - buteyko breathing, NSDR, gentle walking and vagal stimulation exercises. Of course the ongoing nature of the elevated HR / exceptionally low HRV, are becoming extra stressors. Ive started doing exercises to expand my rib cage but think I need something extra and so will try this- sorry if I’ve missed it but how often do you recommend to do it?

I've had the frequent sensation of not being able to take a deep breath on/off since 2005...sometimes to the point of panic. Now I'm thinking about all the things that led up to it. Thanks for the great explanation!

I usually hear loud cracking when I bend sideways to the left, but not to the right. I also have an asymmetric spine (subclinical scoliosis) and I lean on my right side as I see from the photos of my back. It's interesting that after 10 or 12 breathing like you explain in this video, I don't hear that cracking while bending sideways to the left (I check it every time). Wow! I am planning to do this exercise 2 x day for a month and then take a picture of my back again and see if there is any difference. Hope I can get more symmetric! I will also check all the other exercises you recommend. Thank you very much, Neal! We don't have PRI specialists in Australia, so your videos are my only hope. :) From Australia with love.

Dear Neal, Your explanations are deep value for me. I born with right short SCM (congenital torticoli never fixed) and it takes me many many years (i am 46) to understand all consequences and compensation coming from this SCM. In few word, big compression of right side starting from the neck. First pain, 14 years old, in the right quadriceps after throwing javelin ! and after right knee, right shoulder kist with operation, L3, L5 compression left, gastric problem etc.i did not understand all these pain come from short SCM and among many therapist i saw during these years in France, no one had the good approach. It is very strange because when your right side is very and deeply compressed, you feel pain in... the left side ! so you try to strech the left side from the hip to the neck, but you only deal with the consequence. When i discover your channel and did the firt exercice (respiration on the ground on the side with lef on a chair), i feel immediately something delicious and warm happen : are my left and right side finally in peace after so many years of fight ? It could be. I practice a lot of QiGong and manage to be a teacher on my free time. All you say, especially the globality of the body is a taoist concept and the approach of the meridian links feet en throat. But, one thing seems not to be in the chinese method : the differential of the right and left diaphragm. The only reference to this observation is the Yang side of the boby is left and the right side of the boby is Yin. But, in the way of breathing (inspir right, expiration left), i did not see any reference of that. I first, would like to ask you if you can give me a good and complete book in PRI that explain concepts ? And second, i would like to have an appointment with you in the following monts after i have time to explor further more the PRI approach and concept. Best regards.

I realised my ribcage wasnt flexible when I tried the Wim Hoff breathing method. The day after, I had such intercostal pain I thought Id done some serious damage...but thankfully it got better. Your techniques look very interesting, cant wait to give them a go. Thanks! 🙏

Mind blown - after watching this video I realize I need to watch everything on this Channel and possibly come to study with you!

I’ve just found your channel and I’m shook. I deal with TMD & military neck with spurs. I honestly keep finding myself resisting any mouth appliances or invasive procedures and feel like it starts in the body, the spine, the pelvis… so finding your channel has felt more aligned. I’m blown away. Thank you for sharing this. I’m curious, have you seen improvements with someone who had tmj and has done your exercises? I have all these symptoms of leaning right and being stuck to one side. I’d love to take a course or study this as I’m a massage therapist & love everything that has to do with muscles/body

Thank you Neal.

This video was the answer to a question I've been searching for for a few years now. Thankyou

Im playing around with these exercises and others from your channel and they seem to be working to release a lot of pressure and nerve pain and blood flow issues (numbness) in my low back and left leg (sciatica). I look forward to doing a lot more of these and learning more. So glad I found your channel!

Neal, you can play 10 seconds or less of a song and not have a problem with RU-vid or the owner of the song. Just fyi. I’m so grateful I came across your channel!!

Love listening to you and Skip chat about this! Great work! Keep it up!

PRO TIP: (Something you might want to make a video about, that works for me, to help me know when I've done it right) If I'm not fully engaging my right lung, I can only hold my breath for about 20 seconds at most (barely, and it's a huge struggle to get past 15 seconds). If I successfully engage my right lung, suddenly I can EASILY hold my breath for over 60 seconds, often holding it for 90 seconds without too much effort. A massive difference. I've had this 'pelvic tilt, right stance, SI joint lockup, diaphragm being used to stabilize posture' problem for about 20 years (since I was a teenager, likely due to an injury in wrestling), and when it became so painful that I lost my job when I was 28, about six years ago, I was initially rejected by a whopping four 'specialists' in the medical field, who all basically said they thought I was faking it because 'x-rays' and other tests didn't show anything, before eventually coming across a physical therapist who TRULY knew her stuff. The balloon thing is completely legit (though I was honestly skeptical when first told about it), and I honestly wished it hadn't taken so long to find someone who was competent enough to be able to say, "This is EXACTLY what is wrong with you, and this is what we are going to do to FIX IT." Just hearing that: "This is what is wrong with you, and this is how we are going to fix it," almost brought me to tears. Because at that point, I'd actually given up hope and gone almost 3 years without even trying to seek help. When I first started seeking help, I had all this pain and a bunch of doctors telling me there was no reason for it, and there was nothing they could do to help me. And I wasn't even asking them for pain medicine (since Tylenol and ibuprofen where generally enough to survive the day), but just asking them to 'fix the problem.' Their response? There is no problem. In the end, I stopped trying, and was just living with pain regularly and being unable to function normally. It took a doctor's appointment for my daughter, of all things, only for that 'nosy' doctor to finally direct me in the right direction (because he knew of a physical therapist who could fix people that others wrote-off). To be clear, I'd already seen a physical therapist, and after going through several weeks of sessions, he flat out told me he thought I was faking it, and even after I pointed out that I had no 'reason' to fake it (since I was in school at the time, didn't have to go back to work anytime soon, and since I wasn't asking for medicine, there thus being no reason for me to 'waste money' trying to fix a problem that didn't exist), he still emphasized that there was nothing wrong with me. Thank God for that woman who actually knew her stuff, and for the doctor who actually cared enough to refer me to her, even though it was an appointment for my kid. This physical therapist ended up setting me on a path to fixing my problem, though unfortunately, being like this so long has caused a 'muscle imbalance' that I'm still trying to fix. I'll do exercises to fix my posture and stance, only to slip right back into this issue after a short time (especially after exercising). But learning how the vestibular system plays a role, and how everything is connected, has helped me to realize I have to work on a lot of things, not just my hips and SI joint. Anyway, this amazing physical therapist pointed out to me everything you've pointed out in this video. And to illustrate the overuse of those muscles in the upper rib cage, she pressed her fingers on my left side (just below my clavicle) to show that there was no pain, only to press her fingers on my right side with the same pressure and for it to cause excruciating pain. The reason being because I was 'overusing' those muscles to help with breathing, due to my diaphragm being used to help stabilize my posture (another 'pro tip' for people to self-diagnose, if they aren't sure). I will press on my own ribs, right below my clavicle, to see if it hurts on one side (to determine if I'm overusing those muscles), and I'll do the 'breath hold' test to see if my exercises have successfully helped me engage my right lung. Because for the breath hold, without fail, the difference is 15-20 seconds vs 60-90 seconds. I have yet to 'permanently' fix my problem, but knowing what the problem is in the first place (and having an idea of what exercises to do in order to fix the resulting muscle imbalance) have been a massive blessing. EDIT: The exercise my physical therapist had me do, which was way more effective for me, is a 'laying down' version of this, with my feet on the wall. You dig your heels into the wall and tilt your pelvic up/inward (back flat to the ground while raising rear just slightly), while scrunching over to the left side. Then the rest is mostly the same, holding right arm out and across body, trying to 'reach up' with right arm/hand while blowing up the balloon held in left hand, touching tongue to roof of mouth, and trying to fill the right lung.

God bless you brother awesome job !

You should have a billion subs.

Thank you for showing the right form and giving background information!

What a brilliant and informative conversation, thanks for sharing

Wow! I'm blown away! Seriously! Thank you!

hey shout out to this video thank you so very much I just came across it and it is helping me incredibly with myself diagnosis of a terrible injury to the ql and iliopsoas that nobody recognized and this video explains the whole lot and will help me in some of the final very painful stages I have found especially in this horror I've lived through after an accident 22 years ago that with all the intelligent articulation in the medical industry somehow they don't understand the common sense of the difference between a thing that cannot be parted which is a living organism and a thing which can be parted and that is a much more inanimate existence I found it very frustrating it seems the living organism is just not really an existence because it can't make the money that a parted inanimate object can nothing is effective in of itself in the cosmos let alone our body thank you very much for this video I'm glad I came across it today it explains a whole lot and gives me directions on how I can simply painfully try to continue healing the right side that got damaged so bad and is now packed with twenty years of scar tissue thank you

Awesome conversation and clear demonstration. A million thanks Neil.

All of your videos are top quality. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for proper explanation, ❤🎉

I just love all Neal's videos so much. Since I got rid of my TV 5 years ago, this is one of my favourite ever contents on You Tube. Thank you very much SIR :). Another fantastic upload.

Thanks for this subtle technique❤🎉

I love your videos, always on point

I can’t be the only person distracted by the drawers ajar. 😅

Yall saved my life thank you

Нил, спасибо за канал и рекомендации))

Awesome work like always.

Calcium! I went into Carnivore like I do most things head first. Went cold turkey and felt amazing. So many strides made on my health front that 40-50 days into it my first set back.. energy was starting to diminish slightly still far better then anything I’ve ever maintained but it was enough to notice. Next Sore I mean painfully Sore I could barley even chew eggs. So I went camping decided to cheat a bit and had some ice cream. Gums healed a bit when I woke up the next morning.. thought it was the freezing cold cause I chew my ice cream.. next week or so gums we’re getting bad once again so I tried the ice cream trick.. didn’t help at this point I got a little nervous.. anyways on to the next. So next I tried milk 1 cup had about 200 mg of calcium (20% dv) next morning all the pain was gone. Tonight is my second night bringing milk back and I’ll touch base if the calcium or milk was the solution. So far I believe it is. Also I salt my steaks, ground beef any meat I have for food a lot. I’m going to back that down a little because I’m thinking the heavy salt and the chewing combination has something to do with it.

very brilliant , I still wonder why you don't have millions of subscribers.

Always appreciate your videos. Thank you

Sir you are great your content help me lot but I have request please make more vedios on TMCC pattern and also brain related problems as this one .thank you soooooo much love you

Neal would you consider an interview / talk with Simon Borg Olivier? He's a mindblowing expert on breath / movement / posture, through the lens of yoga & physiotherapy.

Hi Neal, in older videos you're talking about the importance to breath with the left diaphragm. Why is this the opposite? Is it needed to use a balloon? What if we just do the steps you're doing with blocking the air way with the tongue, but without balloon?

Excellent info. Thank you

Magician hearing eye vision+ from lower back all the way up to my shoulder impingement

I just started your videos due to having a straight neck which I learned about after having some x-rays done of my cervical spine. I was looking specifically at some of your videos about PEC and while I feel like I have some of the symptoms of PEC, it seems like I don't have all of them. For example I have the straight neck, the tight hip flexors, large calves, my feet tend to be turned externally, and I feel like my chest is flared, and my lower back is in lordosis. My chiropractor has even said that my hips are twisted which is causing one of my legs to be shorter than the other one. I have even been told that I talk in a strange beat. However, this is the weird part, all of the tests come up negative, I have rarely been able to touch the floor while standing, my Adduction Drop Test is good, I can squat without butt winking (although there are balance issues there), and my Shoulder Flexion test is fine. What I'm curious about is how can someone test negative but share the symptoms of PEC? Thanks for your videos! They have really given me some great insight into this issue.

Fantastic video with great explanation ❤

Great discussion

Thanks for this video!

Sir please make a video on left hyperextend knee and ankle.

Great exercise, thanks! I wonder if just start using your left hand for things you would normally use your right hand for would also help in the long term..I noticed, that if I’m using my left hand, I almost automatically stand on my left leg with left rib cage down…

with people walking and living with cell phones, it is really doing gross damage into the future

Will this help my ingrown toenails?

❤could you explain the tongue position in more details. Thanks a lot 😂seems very hard to keep the air with the tongue

Skip is an OG

This is greatly explained Neal, thanks ! How many times would you recommend performing this technique to see some improvement?

Hello Mister Hallinan, can you make a video about infrasternal angle(wide,narrow)?

❤will give this ago thanks for the video

4:00 i called that, "monkey on the back swinging " after seeing donkey kong jr in an arcade in the 80s

I have watched all your videos...i loved it ..it works and feeling better...but not able permanent proper walking... Also i found that sir we are same type of people...like quite , not good at small talks

Left side of pelvis came forward, it traveled all the way up to atlas and brainstem and now in chronic pain all over ;( How does this all happen from not breathing properly?!

thank you!

Thanks

Thank you!

Love your videos but the amount of ads are obnoxious.

Have I little question , how many times a day can i do this found it realy helpfull?? Ps. I wached almost have of all youre videos the last 2 weeks and i learned so much. Thq for that

I've already watched like 20 of your videos, and I feel that I have this pattern but with the left side beign the tight side. Furthermore I feel my spine twisting in the direction of the tight side. Trying to work on it!

Sir 🙋🏼‍♀️ ... u don't do yoga? Or breathing exercises like free divers? 🤔 that'll help.

How does Pri look at yoga?

Finally got rid of sore right arm by lower left rib breathing..hopes this fixes lower back...cool

Hello sir, I would really appreciate an answer, so I have a Leg lengt discrepancy by almost 2cm on x-ray. So my right hip is much lower than my left. I have all this pelvis problems, anterior pelvic tilt, tight psoas, hip flexors, Magnus adductors are weak/overused. But it really helped the video where u show that listening to song and walk to it I felt my body come together for a while. But my body goes back to having lot of discomfort, specially my adductors are so tight/heavy I’m not sure how to describe it. Just bringing my knees to chest while standing everything is tight/stuck in adductors and flexors. So my question is can it be left AIC pattern even tho my right leg is shorter and my right hips is lower because of that?. Please can you tell me if this ring any bells or where I Should start trying to fix this Thankyou

A few months ago I started with the exact same breathing pattern you described at age 12... I feel like I'm suffocating constantly. Only about 1 in 10 respirations is actually a full breath! Only difference is that I NEED to bend instead of extend in order to breath ???

neal...through this whoe thing you were sitting with head forward and scrunched chest...take care.

Dear Neal, i have L5 disc pain....which exercise should i do. thanks

What to do if the T11 vertebrae is stuck forward and has become wedge shaped and that is affecting diaphragm? I have tried so many things. My whole spine is jammed so tight I can’t lie in my back because it is stuck in hyper-extension & can’t release. A few times over 20 years the mid back clunked and everything else from head to feet let go including jaw and hips. Since I came off diazepam in 2017 it has never released even a second. I can’t do much exercise because I have ME/cfs and Mast Cell Activation that can be triggered by exercise. I also have EDS. I can’t use a ballon because I react to them. Also any slight stretch along spine causes heat through whole body and profuse sweating which nobody can explain. Any advice gratefully received. I am in the UK and can’t travel because I react to car fumes & all the chemicals ppl use on their bodies. The reaction is a sudden loss of muscle tone throughout whole body. Do you do online consults?

Question: how many breaths/sets of this would you recommend doing and how often? Thank you very much for all of this content.

Do you always do this for the right ribs to expand or do you ever recommend doing this for the opposite side (left rib expansion)? Reason I'm asking is because I don't know if in my case it is the left ribs that need to expand. I have a very pronounced right rib flare that has led to terrible right romboid pain (mid, upper back). So how do I know what side needs to be expanded? Always thanks.

WOW. i stared my pri journey so i knew i wouldn’t be good at this but maan i could barley blow it up… i got work to do

Feldenkrais, You're welcome

Hi Neil great to hear from you, have you ever heard of neck/cranium torsion causing intracranial hypertension?

Are there any benefits with rebounders (trampolines?

Hello Neal, I’m certain I know the answer but would you recommend this technique for someone who’s physical orientation is a PEC, and if not, do you have any alternatives?

Who is your guest?

Wish I could find a PRT in Gibraltar!!!

Can I ask sir, what is PRI's take on IAP and the core? Thank you for taking time to make your videos.

hii neil i dont know how i came across your channel but you are like god in my life i just want to know your thoughts on kyphosis cause i think i have extension in lower thorasic and lumbar but extension in upper thorasic but i want to know your views on kyphosis as we are told to avoid flexion there again thank you for everything love and respect from india

Does everyone need to open the right and close up the left? I played violin as a kid and have always felt that holding the violin closed down my left side to the point where I was off center. So I'm hesitant to try this exercise. Maybe I can determine my lop-sidedness from standing before a mirror? I'm so confused! lol

Should Your back lean into the back of the chair for back support?

Hi Neal great stuff as always, thanks. I have a question. Can I do this for 1 hour every day, to see a faster improvement?

Neal. What do you think about Gurdjieff and Ouspensky? I am very interested to discuss it with you. You may know nothing about them. I have some parallels between spiritual teachings and PRI.

Can we use a 3ball spirometers flipped instead of the balloon for resistance? Or is there something important about the balloon? Thank you for your work!

Hi, I have a dropped left shoulder and a twisted body to the left and I tilt to left whilst standing still or sitting. Does that mean the opposite for me and that I’m not breathing to my left diaphragm and should I do the balloon exercise with my left hand up? I have vision sensory issues for over 10 years with dizziness/ anxiety. I hope you read this and can advise me , much appreciated thank you.

Hi Neil I live in London and there are none PRI Trainer can you please tell who should I see instead who can help me?

I have the tendency/bad habit of leaning on my left shoulder when I'm sitting at my computer or driving in my car which I feel could be the reason for my left back muscle becoming tight and sore. I used to think there was something wrong with my bed (needed a new bed?) until I realized what I tend to do when I'm sitting as I stated! Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hi Neal I was wondering what influence shape of the palate and could we influence it without surgery by correcting our body posture? And also you said in one of your videos that you unlocked you cranium, what did you meant by that and how did you did it?