Healing Touch For Vagal Toning

- Eyes And Face

This exercise involves eye tracking as well as gentle neck

stretches and upper body movement. This exercise helps to
orientate ourselves in an attempt to bring ourselves back into
a settled, calming space.

Why this exercise helps

• The eyes are very important in polyvagal theory. We need to
remember that the eyes are not connected to the brain, they are
the brain, making them a part of the central nervous system
(Wapner, 2020).
• When we get triggered, our eyes become very focused, and they
can feel very tight and strained.
• Stress controls our visual field more than we think (Wapner, 2020).
When we experience stress, one of the physical changes occurs in
our vision. Our pupils dilate, and our vision narrows- which is what
we call ‘tunnel vision, setting your focus on a specific spot or
location (Wapner, 2020).
• This tunnel vision activates the body’s stress response, that being
the sympathetic nervous system (Wapner, 2020).
• We can turn off the body’s stress response by altering the way we
view our environment. Using the following eye tracking exercise can
help to calm your nervous system.
• Our eyes are controlled by 12 extraocular muscles that go all the
way down into the suboccipital muscles which encompass the
upper cervical vertebrae. The extraocular nerve endings have direct
contact with the vagus nerve. Thus, eye movements help to
stimulate the vagus nerve, which has the effect of calming the body
(Schwartz, 2020).
• The breath, slow body movements, and self-touch in this exercise
add to the calming of the nervous system by activating the
parasympathetic nervous system (Schwartz, 2020).
• This exercise also involves subtle stretching of the neck. Your vagus
nerve passes through the neck, thus gentle stretching of the neck
muscles results in feelings of relaxation through stimulation of the 21
vagus nerve (Schwartz, 2020).
Exercise
• Take a deep breath.
• As you inhale, bring your arms to the side, and as you exhale,
bring your arms back in towards each other. Let both arms rest on
top of each other.
• Simply bring them side to side. As you bring the arms side to side
just let your gaze be soft. Soften your eyes a little bit more.
• Now that the body is getting used to this movement, take the
head and eyes in one direction. The arms will be in the opposite
direction.
• Stay breathing.
• Every time you come back to the center, just come back to the
spot that you've chosen.
• Taking the hands down. Inhaling once again and stretching the
arms out wide. Then, exhaling and bringing them back in to meet
in the center.
• This time, take the arms in one direction and the head in another
direction, and you are going to stay looking straight ahead.
• It's a little bit of a challenge. Just take it slow.
• Come back to the center and let your arms down.
• Take a breath and shake out the shoulders.
• Then on the next breath, take your arms out long and take them
back into the center.
• Eyes looking straight ahead, move the head in one direction and
arms in the other.
• Slow and stay breathing.

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• Come back to the center once again and a little bit of shuffling
through the arms.
• Inhale, arms out to the side
• Exhale, hands back in.
• Now, the head and eyes gaze to the center as the arms go to the
left.
• Now, let's start to bring in the head and eyes going in the opposite
direction.
• Letting the eyes track the horizon. Eyes moving along with the
head.

• Back to the center and let the arms come down for a moment
and breathe.
• Inhale, arms coming out to the side.
• Exhale, hands coming back in.
• This time, arms to the left and head to the right. Eyes gaze straight
ahead.
• Come back to the center
and bring your hands
down.
• Taking the palms of the
hands together and
rubbing them briskly. You
want to create heat
through the palms of the
hand.
• Simply taking the hands
over the eyes, making sure
all the light is blocked out
and feeling the warmth of
the hands. Hold this for 30 23
seconds.
• Then very simply, just letting the hands open, keeping the eyes
closed for the moment, bring the hands down onto your thighs
and let the eyes open when you are ready.
• Now, we are going to orient the eyes in a different direction.
• Bringing both thumbs in front of us (pointing upwards) - we're
gazing at our thumbs as we stretch our arms straight ahead.
• Then, take the hands to the right but follow just with the right eye
and then back to the center. If it feels very strange for you, go
ahead and close your left eye.
• Stay breathing

• Now, bring your hands downwards. Down towards your knees.

Keep the head upright as you follow your hands down with your
eyes.
• Slowly bring your hands back up to the center. Stay with your
breath.
• Moving your hands to the right again with your right eye following,
and back to the center.
• Move the hands downwards and all the way back up to the
center- to the original place and softening that.
• Rubbing the palms again, creating a sense of heat and, once
again, palming the eyes. You can let the head drop down into the
hands now blocking out the light.
• Slowly once again, inhale and take the hands away from the eyes
as your head comes back up, and letting the hands come all the
way down, just orientating back to the center.
• Take a breath. Remind yourself to breathe.
• Now let’s do the opposite side, where the right eye is closing, and24
the left eye is following your hands to the left.
 • Downwards and all the way back up to the center- to the original
place and softening that.
• Now rubbing the palms again, creating a sense of heat and, once
again, palming the eyes. You can let the head drop down into the
hands again, blocking out the light. Let the eyes soften.
• Are there any colors that flash through your eyes?
• And then very slowly, as you lift the head up, hands come away
from your eyes. Softly open your eyes.
• Repeat the exercise on each side.
• After the last repetition, let the head drop down into the palms
again. Let the back of your neck stretch and let your eyes relax in
this position. Stay here for about 1 minute.
• Let your head come back up and move your hands away, softly
opening the gaze.
• Now fold your arms (with each hand touching the opposite
elbow) bringing them up straight in front of your chest and keep
the head straight ahead.
• Move the arms over to the left- as the arms come over to the left,
keep the eyes forward. Move the arms back to the center.
• Move the arms over to the right- as the arms come over to the
right, keep the eyes forward.
• Bring your arms down slowly. Slowly release your shoulders and
shake them out a little.
• Let your eyes gaze around the room, taking in the colors in the
room.
• Inhale and exhale very slowly as your awareness shifts back into
the room.

References
Schwartz, A. (2020, July 1). The vagus nerve and your health. Center for
Resilience Informed Therapy.
https://drarielleschwartz.com/the-vagus-nerve-and-your-health-dr-
arielle-schwartz/#.YgUiO99Bw2w

Wapner, J. (2020, November 16). Vision and breathing may be the

secrets to surviving 2020. Scientific American.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/vision-and-breathing-
may-be-the-secrets-to-surviving-2020/

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