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Vagus School

410 members • Free

8 contributions to Vagus School
Update and questions
Hey Sterling, been doing the ultrasound on the vagus nerve (10 mins before bed) for a month. My ANS is pretty fucked up, so I am not able to immediately relax or pass out, but i was able to observe that I was sleeping a bit longer than before. This week I had an intense couple of days at work with a lot of mental activity, and that caused my ANS to spiral to the point of needing to visit my chiro (who said my heartrate and BP seemed high and my neck and sacrum tight during the visit, which she was able to get back down). I've decided to started doing the ultrasound + breathwork protocol to see if that provides a better/stronger solution, but I did want to ask some questions and get any tips/advice from you (or anyone else here) to speed things up (because I gotta work more, can't just keep relaxing). 1) The US-1000 has 3 settings; you recommend doing doing it at low/medium during the opening and closing box breathing sections + the breathholds and moving up to high during the 3 sets of tummo? 2) Do you have another video of the whole protocol? The emily voiceover version is a little distracting, and I'm not a 100% sure but it feels like the video speeds up at points (or the breath count during the tummo is way too fast for me, not sure). 3) I have a lot of diaphragm and lower core (transverse abdominis, obliques, pelvic floor etc) issues. Those muscles have basically switch off, and when I am stressed, I start breathing from my chest, and that causes too much energy to go up to my head and i feel super overstimulated). I am working on this with my trainer in the gym, my chiro, TCM etc but wondering if you have any ultrasound-centric advice on getting my brain to connect to and start using my core fully again, especially under mental activity or stress. (I have started the sacrum ultrasound on alternate days too btw). 4) In this protocol, you put the ultrasound lower down on the front side of the SCM correct? And no movement needed? Any other thoughts or advice welcome. Appreciate you for all of this!
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Sleep, PSOAS and Co2 Tolerance
Hi all, I’m new here and really appreciating what this community is about. I’m just starting to piece together my health puzzle and was hoping someone might have insights—especially around sleep. I’m a man in my mid-40s with an autonomic nervous system that’s been stuck in sympathetic overdrive since my 20s. Over the last five years, it’s intensified—likely from the usual mix of work, life, and parenting. I self-medicated with cannabis for 20 years and was later prescribed antidepressants for chronic insomnia. I’ve now been off both for about three months, but I’m still only getting 3–4 hours of sleep a night. As a father of two and someone running multiple businesses, it’s a real challenge. Here’s what I’ve noticed: - Good sleep hygiene doesn’t seem to help. - Most supplements (glycine, inositol, magnesium, etc.) do little or nothing. - Any exercise—even light—makes sleep significantly worse. - There’s an intense restlessness that comes on at night. It feels like I have to move or I’ll go crazy. - The sensation is similar to air hunger—like when you’re holding your breath on empty lungs. - My right psoas is insanely tight. Massaging it (painfully) with a hard ball seems to calm my system a bit. Last night was a typical example: I did all the right things—breathwork, light stretching, no screens, reading. I felt relaxed and lights were off by 9 p.m. But by 9:20, the restlessness kicked in. I stayed in bed until 3 a.m., wide awake. Eventually I tried 8 rounds of breath holds on empty lungs. The air hunger was intense. Then I massaged into my psoas. After that, I finally fell asleep—either from the routine or sheer exhaustion. I’m trying to make sense of it all. Has anyone experienced something similar? Could this be CO₂-related? Could psoas tightness be affecting my breathing? Has anyone tried using ultrasound on the psoas? Or experimented with CO₂ gas for relaxation? Appreciate all the shared wisdom here—and grateful for any thoughts you might have.
2 likes • May 8
On the supplements, have you tried ultra high doses of magnesium - theanine - inositol etc?
0 likes • May 11
@Chris H Tunie has a good list. I have similar problems as you with my autonomic nervous system getting blown out and my psoas and glutes becoming really tight as a result of severe physical and emotional trauma, and stress over 6 years, restricting blood flow to my legs, to the point of not having sensation in them 2 years ago, with glute and leg nerves switching off due to the pain levels, and blood circulation getting restricted, preventing me from being able to walk properly. I found getting initiated into reiki 1 and reiki 2 helpful and it switched on some nerves in my legs and reduced some of the tightness, as well as let go of some of the emotional and mental issues which reduced my overall stress levels. Reiki 2 especially is very good for clearing out some of the detritus in what is referred to as the energy and astral bodies (where the psycho-emotional imprints are stored). After that chinese medicine was helpful; there's a particularly type called 'extraordinary vessels', which are the deeper meridians of the body, which help release deep trauma, and helped me. I also took herbs for 6 months as prescribed. I also learned to give myself acupuncture in the legs (liver + spleen + ren mai meridians which help relax and improve the flow of qi into the legs) 2-3 times a week at home to reduce stress (I just asked my tcm practitioner to give me some needles). Find yourself a great chinese doctor; they can change your life. Qi gong and tai chi are excellent if you learn from a good practitioner; unfortunately I've been too lazy to do them, but if you can, you should. With a busy lifestyle, they can be a lifesavers. I am also currently working with a chiropractor who is actually more of an energy healer in that she can sense the flow of energy through the body and directly intervene, which has helped reduce the tension in my psoas and legs too, and I am finally walking more and longer distances. Other stuff worth trying are structural integration (rolfing or heller work, a type of massage aimed at the fascia), TRE, cranio-sacral (CST), network chiropractic (its more of an energy technique, no physical adjustments). There's a fellow Doyen Fraser who is trying some interesting new distance healing energy techniques to heal the nervous system too.
US
I used the ultrasound on my sacrum area for the first time! Wow! Talk about opening up some blocked energy. That survival chakra is in a whole new place. TY @Sterling Cooley
6 likes • May 8
Are you doing it over the left glute or in the middle above the tailbone? @Sterling Cooley i saw your video but I am still a bit unsure if i am hitting the right spot. I tried to give it to the left side upper glute, right around the butt crack Attached image of roughly where I was aiming:
Experience or recommendations on hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)?
For my remaining dysautonomia and leg circulation and neuro-vascular tightness issues, someone has told me to try out hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Wondering if folks here have any experiences or recommendations? I'm in nyc and doing a full set (40+) is reasonably expensive so I am wondering if it is worth it.
1 like • May 5
@Lars Martin Gjeraker yeah its like $300 a session near where I am in NYC so I'm trying to find something cheaper if I need to do 30-40 sessions.
1 like • May 5
@Sterling Cooley yeah his tweet about this is what finally got me to take it a bit more seriously (after exhausting other options). I'm keeping this as the last option, going to try the ultrasound first (and already have a pretty active protocol otherwise).
Ultrasound Therapy for Lymphatic Drainage
What a huge difference this has made. I started with my armpits and have moved to my neck. After a goods nights rest the difference in puffiness is very noticeable! Drop a like and comment below your experience with using ultrasound on lymph 😊
7 likes • Apr 30
I am curious about this too since i had heaviness and puffiness in my legs. do you just directly target the spot or are there specific spots for the lymph you need to target?
2 likes • May 5
@Denis Arkharov yeah my PT has me doing more calf (+ general leg) work now because my legs had severely deconditioned. I am using the swing master to move some blood and lymphatic fluid in my legs too. Thanks for this! I'll try it out once I receive my order of the US-1000.
1-8 of 8
Aksh Shar
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17points to level up
@aksh-shar-6793
Thinker

Active 17d ago
Joined Apr 16, 2025
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