I am always looking for a better way of self-care. This book was a great insight into how the vagus nerve controls so much of one's mental health. It was written for a lay-person, easily understandable along with some great breathing exercises. Stress is with all of us every day, some folks have a handle on it, some folks not so much. I fall into the latter. The eye exercises were something new for me, and I appreciate the simple, forthright explanations. I'm hoping to be able to use many of these techniques and will most likely get a hard copy to keep close by. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this, and giving my unbiased review.

This is a great resource for anyone curious about the vagus nerve or how to think about nervous system response but isn't sure where to start.

Armstrong covers a wide range of foundational vagus nerve topics and practices, all of which are offered in accessible and thoughtful ways!

As a trauma focused wellness practitioner, I will be recommending this book to clients who want to dig a bit deeper into the stress response and easy ways to begin forming habits to support beneficial vagal responses.

I was given a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was so hard to read on netgalley via the app. I wanted to read this but it was impossible in this format. But from what I can see it’s great and I’ll be purchasing.

This is a great in-depth book about helping yourself heal through the vagus nerve. I appreciate all the research that must have gone into this in order to offer so many different modalities to use. While I have read a couple of other vagus nerve books they were written with a lot of scientific wording. This book however is easy to understand, the options are well explained with detailed directions and illustrations to show you what parts of the body are affected. I especially like that each chapter ends with a summary just in case you missed something.
If you are stressed, experiencing issues with your body or have a dysregulated system this book holds a lot of great options for you to try.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

This is an essential resource for regulating the vagus nerve, which restores calm to your body after you've experienced anxiety, stress, depression, or trauma. I've even read that COVID long-haulers may achieve relief by doing exercises that positively impact the vagus nerve. I especially liked the quick summary after each chapter, as well as the chapters on "Somatic and Vagal Toning Exercises" and "Creating a Vagus Nerve Routine." I'm going to add these to my daily habit list, and highly recommended the book to others sufferers.

This is a timely book focusing on the vagus nerve which is increasingly getting scientific interest for its importance in regulating stress amongst other things. The author sets out its importance nicely as an introduction and then sets out practical low-cost solutions that the individual can practise themselves e.g. the physiological sigh. The book deserves wide attention on publication.

This is a very good introduction to the subject. It is well written, with good background information and plenty of exercises and activities. I liked the layout of the book, and the illustrations. I didn't find it easy to read on an e-reader but I would definitely buy a hard copy to use as a reference.

Really interesting read. Scientific approach to self care and looking after yourself. Always great to find a book that helps educate you and allow you to develop a better understanding of how your body works

Love this self-help book!! I'm definitely purchasing it when it comes out so I can reference back to it when needed. Crazy how the body can affect the mind when it's not "healed" right. I'll be eiplimenting a lot of what I learned throughout this book in my day to day life..

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for this ARC

I have really found this book interesting and valuable. I have liked how the book is laid out and presented. The information is in depth but not unmanageable to take in. I will keep revisiting this book as I know it is something I want to work on personally.

Very informative and easy to read. I liked the illustrations in the book which helped to understand the points being made. Would recommend!

NetGalley app review

Highly recommend this for anyone who works in a career with this topic coming up, or anyone who is interested in this topic for them self. I would absolutely utilize this book with my yoga clients and meditation clients.
I even learn some new things from this book which was so refreshing. The layout and design is aesthetically pleasing, Making it even more easy to understand a topic such as this.

Vagus nerve healing has been high on my radar recently.

I suffer bouts of gastroparesis and have since I was 30; though they occur infrequently they’ve gotten worse as I’ve gotten older and I read about the vagus nerve in relation to this issue and I’ve been curious as to how I can improve my overall health - physical as well as mental, along with hopefully lessening this miserable issue in the future.

When I saw this book I grabbed it immediately and read through it like I was studying for an exam. There are a lot of practical suggestions as well as a list of resources (including the author’s site) that look like they will prove to be helpful.

I haven’t read other books on this topic but I found this accessible and easy to understand.



Thank you to Fair Winds Press and NetGalley for the PDF

Healing Through the Vagus Nerve (Improve Your Body’s Response to Anxiety, Depression, Stress, and Trauma Through Nervous System Regulation) by Amanda Armstrong
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group – Fair Winds, Fair Winds Press
Genre: Health, Mind & Body, Science, Self-Help
Expected Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Date Finished: 2/12/2024

Healing Through the Vagus Nerve by Amanda Armstrong is a fascinating resource. I took so many notes and I know I will be reading this again!

The author provided practical suggestions on how to feel better and better deal with stressors. I look forward to implementing some of the ideas in my own life.

If you are looking for a resource to feel better, you may want to check this one out!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is such a beautiful book and I got lost in it today. These are all the symptoms I've been having and was an absolute must read. I'm going to be slowly re-reading and taking notes this time. Must read for anyone in their 30s struggling with chronic pain, aches and stress.

Very easy read. Easy to follow and understand. I struggle with stress and anxiety and this book really helped relieve some of that stress and anxiety!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I am, in theory, a lover of self-help and wellness books. I'm also a believer that the vast majority of these books always have at least one helpful theory, practice, or idea. I've read about the vagus nerve in a number of other books, so I was pretty excited to read an entire book about it. Unfortunately, I didn't find it very helpful. I found that the major focus of the book was background information, and the practical information and exercises came at the very end. I did find the information about zones of regulation and ways to respond to each very informative (it makes perfect sense that it would help to move your body when you are filled with nervous energy rather than trying to force yourself to stay still - thank you for this!), but there just wasn't enough of this kind of information in the book.

I also found some of the claims dubious. I don't doubt the science about the importance of the vagus nerve, but it did stretch credibility for me to believe that honing the vagus nerve could help prevent or treat a number of complex conditions. Overall, I think if you're looking for a detailed overview of the vagus nerve and a little bit of practical exercises, this is the book for you.

Excellent practical guide
Recently it has become clearer and clearer that healing on a physical and mental level is so much easier and at times only possible if you integrate your nervous system esp. the Vagus Nerv. If you think about it and the author makes a very good point: the stressful living in a modern world is not what the human body was made for. And to balance our nervous system in a way that supports a natural state of health you have to work with the system and its most important nerve, the Vagus nerv.
There are quite a few good books around this one excels because it is easy to read and very practical. As a Covid longhauler I can attest that Armstrong‘s explanations and practical exercises are excellent.
The author puts all the important information out there. The good thing: The information is in a nutshell and easy to understand. She does not skimp but nails the important points. Armstrong makes it totally clear why you need the foundations: depending on the state of your nervous the interventions may differ. And the exercises she proposes are easy as well. I loved how she encourages to start very small and gives lots of practical advice how to implement the change. I very much recommend this book.

received an ARC via netgalley. The review is left voluntarily.

If you have ended up on the high cortisol side of Tiktok like me, then this book will be perfect for you! I have been interested in learning more about vagal toning and this book walks you through everything you need to know and then gives you practical exercises to get started. Everything was explained in a way that made the information easy to understand, while also not being too long winded or boring. The formatting and illustrations were also beautiful and helpful for understanding. I can see myself referring to this book often, especially while learning the exercises at the end of the book.

4.75/5

Thank you Amanda Armstrong and NetGalley for this ARC!

This did a great job of giving me a foundational understanding of my nervous system and how to heal it. It's a good intro to this topic, and I'd definitely recommend it to folks who want to makes sense of their nervous system instead of continuing to feel like something's wrong with them.