Yoga, the Nervous System, and the Vagus Nerve: A Yogic Perspective on Stress and Healing
Sara Villamil | JAN 4
First, I would like to note that I am writing from a yogic perspective. I am not a medical professional and do not claim to be. I deeply respect the depth of study and dedication required to understand the nervous system at that level.
I am a person who has lived in a body and, like all of us, has experienced stress and tension firsthand. I have also spent many years working with yoga practices that support the nervous system. I am deeply curious about why these practices are effective and why movement, breath, sound, and stillness can help soften tension, regulate stress, and support healing.
Yoga is a practice of self-study and inquiry. In the Yoga Sūtras, this is known as svādhyāya, the ongoing process of observing, reflecting, and learning through direct experience.
Over the years, the effects of yoga have become increasingly apparent to me, not only in myself but in how those I have the privilege of working with begin to breathe, move, respond to stress, and relate to their bodies.
What I share comes from what I continue to observe, practice, and study, a combination of lived experience, tradition, and curiosity.
Stress is often spoken about as something purely mental, something we “think ourselves into.” But stress is very much physiological.
When the nervous system perceives a threat, whether real or perceived, the sympathetic nervous system is activated.
This is our fight, flight, or freeze response. Heart rate increases, breathing becomes shallow or rapid, digestion slows, muscles brace, and the body prepares to protect itself.
This response is intelligent and necessary, but issues arise when we remain in this state for long periods of time.
Yoga offers us tools to shift out of chronic stress responses and possibly into a state of greater balance. With practice, the tools can be so very effective and a go-to when we feel this stress in our bodies. This is one of the main reasons I teach my kids about yoga. It's a life skill!
Yoga practices such as asana (postural yoga), pranayama (breathwork), mudra (hand gestures), mantra (chanting), and meditation help guide the body toward the parasympathetic nervous system, the branch associated with rest, digestion, repair, and restoration.
We obviously cannot force relaxation, trust me, I have tried. It’s about creating the conditions in which the body feels safe enough to surrender.
One of the key players in this process is a nerve you may have heard of.
The word vagus comes from Latin and means wandering. A perfect name.
The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the body, originating in the brainstem and extending down through the face, throat, heart, lungs, and digestive organs. It acts like a major communication pathway between the brain and many of the body’s vital systems.
The vagus nerve plays a central role in the parasympathetic nervous system. Through this pathway, calming signals travel through the body that can:
Slow the heart rate
Deepen and regulate breathing
Support digestion
Help regulate inflammation
Promote a sense of calm and safety
Rather than thinking of the nervous system as something we control, yoga invites us to work with it and deepen our understanding of our relationship with it.
One simple and powerful way we influence the vagus nerve is through the breath. And not just by breath techniques, but just, like breathing. In and out, and especially through the nose, long and full.
Lengthening the exhale has been shown to support parasympathetic activity. Practices such as Bhramari breathing (humming bee breath) add another layer through sound and vibration.
In Bhramari, the gentle humming creates vibration in the throat, face, and head — areas closely associated with vagal pathways. This vibration, combined with inward attention and a slower breath rhythm, can support a calming response in the nervous system.
And it's kinda fun.
Yoga asana is not just about stretching muscles, building stability, or strengthening the body. From a nervous system perspective, movement sends information.
Gentle, mindful movement coordinated with breath helps communicate safety through the vagus nerve and other neural pathways.
All yoga asana does this, but some specific examples include:
Gentle neck movements, which explore areas near vagal pathways and help release habitual holding.
Shoulder movements, where tension often accumulates around the chest and upper back.
Rib cage and spinal movements allow for fuller, more spacious breathing.
Sun salutations and their variations, when practiced mindfully, synchronizing movement and breath to support a relaxation response, not just a way to build heat.
When movement is slow, intentional, and connected to the breath, the body often responds with a sense of ease rather than effort, even when the action is challenging.
From a yogic lens, yoga is not something we do to the body; it is something we do with it in relationship with it, just like with the nervous system.
Breath, movement, sound, and stillness become ways of listening. Over time, these practices help the nervous system remember that it has more than one setting. That safety, rest, and regulation are available, even in intensity.
This is not a promise of cure or a replacement for medical care. It is an invitation into awareness, curiosity, and relationship with the body; a conversation that unfolds breath by breath.
If you’d like to explore these practices for yourself, I invite you to join one of my regular yoga classes or specialty workshops designed to support relaxation, nervous system regulation, and body awareness.
To deepen your relationship with rest, breath, and nervous system regulation, join me and Jenn Gardner at the Magic of Rest Retreat on January 25, a gentle afternoon dedicated to restoration.
Sara Villamil | JAN 4
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