“Trauma Isn’t Just Psychological — It’s Biological: How Survival Mode Rewires the Body.”

✅ PHASE 2 — BREATH & VAGUS RESET (REBOOTING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM)
Breath is the bridge between survival and regulation.

1. The Trauma Breath Pattern
Trauma creates:
• shallow chest breathing
• breath holding
• tight diaphragm
• high CO₂ sensitivity

You reverse trauma by reversing breath patterns.

Long exhales don’t just ‘relax’ you; they physically signal the vagus nerve to tell the amygdala (the brain’s alarm) to stand down. It is the only manual override switch we have for our primitive brain.

2. Restorative Breath Work
• Long exhales (double the inhale length)
• Diaphragmatic expansion
• Soft nasal breathing
• Humming (vagus activation)
• Sighing (releases sympathetic charge)

Slow breath lowers amygdala activation in seconds.