Your nervous system is constantly adjusting how you breathe, how tense your muscles are, how you digest and how you sleep. It has two broad modes: one that prepares you for action, often called fight or flight, and one that supports rest, digestion and repair. Both are healthy. The trouble starts when the system gets stuck in “on”.
When stress becomes chronic, it tends to show up in the body: shallow breathing, a tight jaw and shoulders, poor sleep, digestion that reacts to pressure, and pain that feels louder than it should. A big part of Teresa’s work is helping the nervous system find its way back to calm, whatever brought you to physiotherapy in the first place.
The wandering nerve
The vagus nerve is the main nerve of the rest-and-digest system. Its name comes from the Latin for “wandering”, because it wanders from the brainstem down to the heart, the lungs and the gut. Breathing is one of the most direct ways to work with it, and slow, controlled breathing is one of the best-studied tools for supporting the body’s calming response.
What the evidence says
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 223 studies found that voluntary slow breathing increases vagally mediated heart-rate variability, a marker of the body’s calming activity, during practice, straight after a session and after a programme of several sessions (Laborde et al., 2022).
Part of a wider plan
Nervous-system work often sits alongside other treatment, such as care for persistent pain, pelvic-floor rehabilitation or therapeutic Pilates. At Maison Santé it can also be coordinated with the clinic’s doctors, nutritionists and psychologists when that helps.
This is physiotherapy, not a replacement for medical or psychological care. If you are struggling with your mental health, please also speak to your doctor.
Every plan starts with an individual assessment. This page is general information, not a diagnosis.
