Have you heard of the “voo” method?
Of the many, many different “stress relief” techniques floating around the internet, which ones are actually effective? Everyone is different, but if you can understand how to stimulate relaxation from a physiological standpoint, then your halfway there. According to osteopath, Nadia Alibhai, one of the key secrets to feeling calm each day is to work on your vagus nerve.
“The vagus nerve starts at the brain and runs through the face and thorax (which holds the heart, major blood vessels and lungs) to the abdomen,” she says. “It’s a major part of our parasympathetic nervous system, which is associated with the ‘rest and digest’ response, plus it also helps counteract the sympathetic nervous system’s ‘fight or flight’ – or stress – response.” In addition, it controls several muscles in the throat, which are involved in speech and various aspects of digestion.
One of the easiest ways to stimulate the vagus nerve? By humming. “It’s like going to the gym for the vagus nerve – the more often you hum, the more you strengthen it and increase vagal tone,” Alibhai says. “This activates the parasympathetic nervous system and helps the body to relax faster after stress, while allowing your body to rest, recharge and recover.”
She recommends trying the “voo” method: a powerful technique that can feel deeply relaxing for some, but stimulating for others – if you feel a calming effect while trying the below, repeat. But if you feel activated, stop doing it and try it another time.
Practise the following in a place where you feel comfortable and safe.
Inhale for six seconds. As you exhale, make a rumbling, low “voo” sound – like a foghorn.
You may feel the vibration through your stomach and diaphragm.
Continue the “voo” sound until your natural exhalation ends.
Inhale normally.
Super easy (and free!) to do, the “voo” method can also be alternated with gargling or singing. “As the vagus nerve innervates parts of the throat, gargling can also help increase vagal tone,” says Nadia. “Try 10 to 30 seconds of loud gargling with water, two to three times a day.”
They may not be the most social of anti-stress hacks (should your colleagues be irked by you bursting into song), but they work. So next time you feel your cortisol rocketing, take some time to gargle or rumble the word “voo” in the interests of chilling out.
Original article appeared on British Vogue
