Vagus Nerve Exercises: Six Slow Ones That Press Your Body’s Brake, And How To Do Them
Vagus nerve exercises: the short answer
The best vagus nerve exercises are slow, quiet and built around a long out-breath. Each breath out presses the body’s brake through the vagus nerve (the long nerve from the brain to the heart, lungs and gut), and that slows the heart. Six practices do it well: a long out-breath, breathing at about six breaths a minute, the stepped “cyclic sigh”, humming, lying back over a bolster, and a supported forward bend. Here is the article in short form:
- The out-breath is the brake.
- Six breaths a minute is the pace the research keeps finding.
- Five minutes a day of long out-breaths beat mindfulness in a Stanford trial.
- Humming raised nose nitric oxide 15 times.
- Lying over a bolster lets the breath move without effort.
- Supported forward bends quieten a busy head.
- Learn them in class in Darwin, or live online.
Last updated: 25 October 2026.
A quick word on Iyengar yoga. Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching. He pioneered the use of props such as chairs, belts and bolsters (firm, long cushions). It is the style we teach at Flametree, in Darwin and live online.
Lying back over a bolster is where vagus nerve exercises begin in the Iyengar way. The body is held, so the breath can move.
What does the vagus nerve do, and why does a breath reach it?
Your nervous system has an accelerator and a brake. The accelerator (the sympathetic nervous system) gets you ready for action. The brake (the parasympathetic nervous system) lets you rest, digest and repair. The vagus nerve is the main cable of the brake.
Left alone, a resting heart would beat about 90 to 100 times a minute. The vagus nerve holds it back to about 60 to 75. The yoga teacher Eddie Stern calls this the vagal brake in his book One Simple Thing. It eases off a little each time you breathe in, and presses again each time you breathe out.
You can feel it. Put two fingers on your pulse and breathe slowly. The beat quickens a little as you breathe in and slows as you breathe out. You cannot steer the heart directly, but you can steer the breath, and the heart follows (see how to improve HRV). That is why every one of the vagus nerve exercises below is a breathing or resting practice. For the bigger picture of why a calm nervous system matters, see our guide to how to calm your nervous system. This page is the how-to.
The out-breath is the brake. Every breath in speeds the heart a little; a long breath out slows it.
Which vagus nerve exercises work best?
These six are the ones with the most behind them, in trials, in the Iyengar tradition, or both. Start with the first two. Add the others as they feel easy.
1. The long out-breath
Sit or lie comfortably. Breathe in through your nose, and let the out-breath run longer than the in-breath, slow and smooth, as if fogging a mirror without the sound. About 4 counts in and 6 counts out suits most people. If you feel strained, shorten both. Mr Iyengar’s rule was soft and fine: “A beginner may reach perfection if his cycle is very short but soft and fine.”
One slow breath: the diaphragm drops, the ribs widen, and the heart slows on the way out.
2. Slow breathing, about six breaths a minute
At rest most adults breathe 12 to 20 times a minute. Slowing to around six is the pace the research keeps finding. A 2022 review of 223 studies in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (Laborde and colleagues) found that slow breathing raised the vagus-driven part of heart rate variability (how flexibly the heart rate changes from beat to beat). The rise showed up during practice, straight after one session, and after weeks of practice.
An earlier 2018 review of 15 studies in healthy people (Zaccaro and colleagues, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience) found slow breathing, under 10 breaths a minute, went with more comfort, relaxation and alertness, and less anxiety, low mood and anger.
Slow breathing steadies the heart, across 223 studies.
3. The cyclic sigh, or stepped breath
Take two sips of air in through the nose, one after the other, then a long, slow breath out. In a 2023 Stanford trial in Cell Reports Medicine (Balban and colleagues), adults spent five minutes a day for a month on one of four practices. All groups felt better, but the breathing groups lifted mood more than mindfulness meditation. Cyclic sighing, the long out-breath, was the one that clearly beat mindfulness, and it also slowed resting breathing over the month. The more days people practised, the bigger the lift.
The trial was not big enough to rank the three breathing methods against each other, so it does not show the sigh beats every other breath. It is very close to the first stage of viloma, the staircase breath that Iyengar students have practised for generations.
Cyclic sighing stood out in the Stanford trial. A stepped breath in and a long breath out.
4. Humming
Breathe in normally through the nose, then hum softly all the way out, like a bee. This is bhramari (the humming bee breath). The sound fills the head, and the out-breath lengthens without any effort. In a 2002 study of ten healthy adults from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden (Weitzberg and Lundberg, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine). The result: nitric oxide (a gas that relaxes blood vessels and helps defend the airways) in the nose was 15 times higher while humming than during quiet breathing out.
That study measured nitric oxide, not the vagus nerve, so we do not claim the hum works through the nerve. What teachers see every week is that humming settles the body and quietens the mind quickly, and many students do it in bed. If you have an ear infection, hum very gently or wait.
The humming bee breath raised nose nitric oxide about 15 times in a Swedish study of ten people.
5. Lie back over a bolster
Lie with a firm bolster lengthways under your spine, head and neck supported on a folded blanket, so the chest lifts and the ribs are free. Let your arms rest out to the sides and watch the normal breath for a few minutes. Lying over a bolster opens the chest without effort, so the lower ribs can move and the out-breath can lengthen by itself. This is how pranayama (breath practice) is first learnt in the Iyengar way: lying down, with the back held.
If lying flat is uncomfortable, a rolled blanket works as a bolster. Our guide to the yoga bolster explains the options.
6. A supported forward bend
Sit on a chair or a folded blanket and rest your forearms and forehead on a bolster in front of you. Forward bends with the head resting quieten a busy head, in the Iyengar tradition. Breathe out slowly and let the head get heavy. Stay for a few minutes. It is a favourite last pose in the evening.
A forward bend with the head supported. Iyengar teaching uses poses like this to quieten the nervous system.
How long and how often should you do them?
Short and regular beats long and rare. The Stanford trial used five minutes a day. The 2022 review found gains after one session and after weeks of practice. Pick a time you will keep, such as after dinner or before bed, and start with five minutes.
Some practical points. Breathe through the nose. Keep the breath soft, and if it sounds rough or you feel dizzy or panicky, do less. Breath holds are not for people with high blood pressure or heart problems, and fast, forceful breathing is not where to start. Tell your teacher about anything that worries you, and they will set you up.
Do vagus nerve exercises help anxiety and stress?
Breathing practice has been tested for exactly this. A 2023 meta-analysis from the University of Sussex in Scientific Reports (Fincham and colleagues) pooled 12 randomised trials (trials where people are put into groups by chance) with 785 adults. Breathwork lowered stress more than no breathwork, and it also eased anxiety (20 trials) and low mood (18 trials). The effect was small to medium, and the authors said better trials are still needed. For most people, a few weeks of a simple practice is worth trying.
Kindness may press the brake too. In a 2013 University of North Carolina trial in Psychological Science (Kok and colleagues), adults who did a six-week loving-kindness meditation course felt more positive emotions. Their vagal tone (how strongly the vagus nerve calms the body) rose, compared with a waiting list. It was a modest-sized study.
What about cold water, gargling and tapping?
Lists of vagus nerve tips online often include these. Flametree teaches the practices above, which have trial support behind them and a long record in the Iyengar tradition, so those are what we recommend.
Get the free ebook Breathwork’s Original Toolkit. New to Flametree, or away for 3 months or more? You get 2 free classes + 2 ebooks, only available via this offer. Already coming to class? You can still get the book.
Where can I learn vagus nerve exercises in Darwin?
For vagus nerve exercises in Darwin, come to a beginner class at Flametree’s Woolner or Coolalinga studios, or join live online from anywhere in Australia. Every class uses chairs, blocks, belts, blankets and bolsters, and the teacher sets you up for the breath. Our guide to breathwork covers the full set of breathing practices, and how to improve lung capacity shows what slow breathing did in the trials for the lungs.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best vagus nerve exercises?
A long out-breath, slow breathing at about six breaths a minute, the cyclic sigh (two sips in, one long breath out), humming, lying over a bolster and a supported forward bend. All work through slow, quiet breathing and rest.
How do I stimulate my vagus nerve naturally?
Make your out-breath longer than your in-breath, through the nose, and keep it slow and smooth. Each breath out presses the vagal brake and slows the heart. Five minutes a day is a good start.
How long do vagus nerve exercises take to work?
Some effects show in one session. A 2022 review of 223 studies found slow breathing raised vagus-driven heart rate variability during practice, straight after one session and after weeks. The Stanford mood trial ran for a month.
Can I do vagus nerve exercises in bed?
Yes. Long out-breaths and humming both work lying down, and many students use them at bedtime. Keep them soft. Humming is a favourite for settling at night.
Are vagus nerve exercises safe?
Slow, soft breathing is gentle for most people. Do not hold your breath if you have high blood pressure or heart problems, and avoid fast, forceful breathing when you are starting. Stop if you feel dizzy or panicky and do less.
Do vagus nerve exercises help with anxiety?
A 2023 Sussex meta-analysis of 12 trials with 785 adults found breathwork lowered stress, and 20 trials found it eased anxiety. The effect was small to medium. Many people find a few weeks of a simple practice worth trying.
Do I need a bolster?
It helps, because it lets the chest open without effort, but a rolled blanket works too. Start with what you have, and a teacher can show you the set-up.
Where can I learn vagus nerve exercises in Darwin?
Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga at Woolner and Coolalinga in Darwin, and live online. Beginner classes teach the breath step by step with props.
Where to next
- New to yoga, or coming back? Start with our half price 10 class pass with 2 classes free, in Darwin or live online.
- For a workplace, team or group: book private yoga classes for groups, online, at a Flametree studio or at your venue.
- Want to see class times first? Look at the beginner timetable.
Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin and live online. This article is general information, not medical advice.
Sources (via PubMed): Laborde S and colleagues, Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 2022; Zaccaro A and colleagues, How breath-control can change your life, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2018; Balban MY and colleagues, Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal, Cell Reports Medicine, 2023; Weitzberg E and Lundberg JON, Humming greatly increases nasal nitric oxide, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2002; Fincham GW and colleagues, Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health, Scientific Reports, 2023; Kok BE and colleagues, Psychological Science, 2013; Eddie Stern, One Simple Thing, North Point Press, 2019; BKS Iyengar, Light on Pranayama. Full references are in the Breathwork’s Original Toolkit ebook.
