What happens in Vagus
Calm down, why don’t you take a deep breath? Arguably these are amongst the least effective words in the English language. Why is this the go to line for the helpful/unhelpful advice giver? As with many cliches, it holds a world of truth, and if we get on top of breathing and the scientific literature of how it affects our bodies, and therefore our thoughts , we can use it as an effective tool to become better Agile coaches and professionals (and humans???). Think about walking down a dark quiet street. You’re minding your own business, mind maybe lost in thought and suddenly you hear a dog sprint up to the other side of the nearest fence and bark at you. If you’re anything like me you jump out your skin, you figuratively (or literally sometimes), shit yourself. Go into that memory. What physically happened at that moment? You’ll perhaps remember increased heart rate and breathing, maybe sweating, a general tingling in your fingers. Probably by just thinking about the exper...