Vagus Nerve Stimulation:
Natural Neural Exercises to Enhance Emotional & Physical Health
June 4, 2026
Enhance Your Emotional and Physical Health
Join Dr Arielle Schwartz, PhD, CCTP-II, E-RYT, an internationally sought-after teacher, therapeutic yoga instructor, and leading voice in healing PTSD and complex trauma.
- This program offers a unique opportunity to enhance your clinical practice with cutting-edge techniques promoting physiological and psychological wellness.
- Dr. Schwartz will explain the science of natural vagus nerve stimulation and guide you through an experiential process, allowing you to sense the benefits of these practices for yourself and teach them to others.
Unlock the Healing Power of the Vagus
Understand the Mechanism
Gain a comprehensive understanding of how natural vagus nerve stimulation influences the autonomic nervous system and its implications for mental health.
Master Techniques
Learn and practice various neural exercises, including breathwork, mindfulness, sound, mindful-movement, and self-applied touch.
Integrate Into Practice
Develop skills to seamlessly integrate vagal toning methods into existing therapeutic modalities.
Enhance Therapeutic Efficacy
Discover how to use these techniques to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, chronic illness, and trauma.
Empower Others
Equip clients, patients, or students with self-regulation tools, fostering their sense of agency and promoting sustained mental well-being.
Course Timing
The first live online session of this course is June 4th, 2026. Live sessions run from 11:30 am to 2 pm ET. Time zone conversion.
This course rotates between a week of self-paced lecture, a week of a live session, and a week off of “play.” You have access to the Welcome, Introduction materials, and Pre-recorded Lecture 1 upon enrolling, and the following 2 Pre-recorded Lectures will be made available as the course progresses.
Within the live sessions, the first two hours will consist of a short review of the lecture, practices and a Q&A. This practice session offers embodied self-compassion and gentle movement practices to provide your brain with proprioceptive and vestibular sensory inputs, enhance brain and body integration, and help you come out of the automatic defensive activation. The Q&A will emphasize how to apply these techniques for self-care or in your work with others. The last 30 minutes of class will give students the chance to connect and practice in break out groups.
Course Schedule of Live Sessions:
Recordings of previous live sessions will be available on our learning platform. Recordings do not include time spent in breakout groups.
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I learn in this course?
In this course, you will learn and practice a range of natural vagus nerve stimulation techniques using breath, sound, eye movements, self-applied touch in areas where the vagus nerve comes close to the surface of your skin, and gentle somatic movements that are highly effective, easy to implement, and affordable.
This program offers a unique opportunity to enhance your clinical practice with cutting-edge techniques promoting physiological and psychological wellness. Dr. Schwartz will explain the science of natural vagus nerve stimulation and guide you through an experiential process, allowing you to sense the benefits of these practices for yourself and teach them to others.
What are the benefits of vagus nerve stimulation?
Research on vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of autonomic dysregulation associated with chronic physical and mental health conditions including depression, epilepsy, obesity, migraine headaches, among other conditions. Historically, this stimulation has occurred through the use of surgically implanted devices and more recently through external transcutaneous devices.
Healthy vagal tone is an optimal balance between parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system actions. High vagal tone is linked to improved stress resilience, better mood stability, and autonomic stabilization. Conversely, low vagal tone heightens stress responses, including anxiety, fear, and anger. While most people need to down-regulate their nervous system into the parasympathetic due to busy, stressful lives, some individuals require up-regulating strategies to combat fatigue or collapse. This course will provide you with a wide array of neural exercises to support you and others with nervous system informed care for your emotional and physical health.
Who is this course for?
Individuals with chronic emotional and physical health conditions; parents looking for tools to support children
Psychotherapists and coaches wanting to empower clients with nervous system-informed care; medical professionals seeking to enhance a sense of safety for your patients; teachers seeking regulation interventions for the classroom.
This course is intended for a wide audience. There are no pre-requisites.
How does this course integrate with Polyvagal Theory?
Grounded within the principles of Polyvagal Theory, affective neuroscience, and trauma-informed care, this course with leading Polyvagal Theory expert Dr. Arielle Schwartz will help you gain a better understanding of how your brain and body respond to stress and trauma.
Are there CE's available?
11.5 CEUs are available for Yoga Instructors upon course completion through your Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider, Arielle Schwartz.
Stimulating the Vagus Nerve Naturally
Learn more about Arielle's background and expertise in Vagus Nerve Stimulation on our Wired for Connection podcast. In this episode, titled "Stimulating the Vagus Nerve Naturally," Dr. Schwartz provides the audience with several practical methods to stimulate your vagus nerve, in what serves as a high-level overview of some of the concepts shared in her course.
Enroll NowAbout Your Instructor
Arielle Schwartz
Arielle Schwartz, PhD, is a psychologist, internationally sought-out teacher, yoga instructor, and leading voice in the healing of PTSD and complex trauma. She is the author of eight books, including The Complex PTSD Workbook, EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology, and The Post Traumatic Growth Guidebook. Dr. Schwartz is an accomplished teacher who guides therapists in the application of EMDR, somatic psychology, parts work therapy, and mindfulness-based interventions for the treatment of trauma and complex PTSD. She has a depth of understanding, passion, kindness, compassion, joy, and a succinct way of speaking about very complex topics. She is the founder of the Center for Resilience Informed Therapy in Boulder, Colorado where she maintains a private practice providing psychotherapy, supervision, and consultation. With over twenty years as a therapeutic yoga teacher, Dr. Schwartz believes that the journey of trauma recovery is an awakening of the spiritual heart. Discover more at drarielleschwartz.com.