Soothing Vagus Nerve exercise to settle the nervous system and reduce anxiety 

This method gently soothes your nervous system out of fight-or-flight from within your biology, by directly influencing the vagus nerve, activating the parasympathetic nervous system and coaxing ourselves out of an anxious "danger" state.
This practice follows the teachings of the Polyvagal Theory (I highly recommend the book "Accessing the Power of the Vagus Nerve" for more info on this) and getting right to the root of trauma stored in our bodies by accessing the autonomic nervous system directly. It can literally drag me out of an anxiety flare in a matter of a couple of minutes, and often times make me sleepy enough to head straight into a nap to help me shake it off!
If you find journaling, positive affirmations or other mental exercises ineffective for your anxiety, or even breathing techniques hard to follow if your chest is tight and your diaphragm is chronically contracted, you might find this type of exercise useful to calm yourself.
Take your time, do around 15-30 seconds each side. Relax your shoulders and soften your body, slow down your breathing and give it a go! Let me know what you think, I find this one makes me quite sleepy, so try it before bed if you struggle to get to sleep.
I hope this helps you, let me know in the comments if you felt the calming effects creeping in it can happen quite fast!
For more information on how I became completely chronic pain free, using mindbody methods check out my website mytmsjourney.com/
Have a lovely day, Namaste friends xx
Note: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, or as a substitute for the advice of a medical professional.