Who this is for

This course is for you if your nervous system feels tired of being on alert.

If you are holding everything together on the outside, but inside feel braced.

If you have already begun exploring Gentle Release Therapy and are ready to go deeper into the vagus nerve itself.

It is especially supportive for those who have completed the Introduction to Gentle Release Therapy course.

That foundation creates space in the system, often allowing the vagus nerve work to settle more deeply and more easily.

If you have not completed it, you are still welcome here.

Just know that some of the principles will land more fully if you choose to begin there first.

This course may resonate if you are:

• Have already experienced Gentle Release and are ready to explore the vagus nerve more specifically
• Are navigating chronic stress, hormonal shifts, digestive disruption, or long-term tension that feels rooted in the nervous system
• Are a parent of a neurodiverse or emotionally sensitive child and want to support regulation in a way that is subtle and non-invasive
• Work in a caring profession and are ready to support your own nervous system before supporting others
• Have felt a quiet recognition when reading about the vagus nerve, as though something important has clicked

 You do not need special equipment.

You do not need to be “good” at meditation.

You simply need a willingness to slow down and allow the body to respond.

If you can rest your hands gently, or even bring your attention softly to an area, you can begin.

This work meets you exactly where you are.

What Begins to Shift

After working with these first four points, something subtle often changes.

It may not be loud.

It may not be immediate.

But there is a settling.

Many people notice they fall asleep more easily the first night they practise.

Others find they wake feeling slightly more rested than usual. Their shoulders are not quite as tight. Their jaw is softer.

Digestion begins to regulate.
Headaches ease.
The background hum of anxiety becomes quieter.

Not because life has changed.

But because the nervous system’s response to life has shifted.

As you continue, the changes often deepen.

• You respond instead of react
• You feel more present with your children or partner
• You notice tension patterns you had accepted as normal beginning to release
• Emotional waves move through more cleanly, without lingering
• Your body feels lighter, steadier, more settled

For parents, something beautiful often happens. When you regulate first, your child begins to settle too. The simple act of gently holding the ears while they watch television. Resting your hands lightly at the base of the skull before bed.

For children or adults who do not like being touched, the work can also be offered with hands hovering, or even at a gentle distance. The nervous system responds to intention as much as contact.

Often clients tell me their child melts into it.

And in that moment, the whole household softens.

For practitioners, the shift can feel equally profound.

You begin to understand the vagus nerve not just intellectually, but experientially.

You feel the difference in your own system.

And that embodied knowing changes how you hold space for others.

Over time, what begins as a simple four-point practice becomes something much deeper.

A relationship with your own nervous system.

A reminder that your body is not broken.

This course may not be for you if:

You’re looking for clinical diagnosis or medical treatment

You don’t enjoy working with subtle body cues

You feel uncomfortable engaging in quiet, reflective practices

 You don't have an open mind about energy work

How This Work Began

This work began quite simply, through my daughter.

Gentle Release Therapy had already helped my daughter, but she was still finding school immensely difficult at the time. A few people had suggested looking at the vagus nerve, so one evening I thought we would try some vagus nerve exercises together.

We climbed onto the bed and looked up a few things on YouTube. Very quickly she decided she didn’t want to do them. So that was the end of that.

After she wandered off, I remember thinking, why am I trying to do other people’s vagus nerve exercises? Why don’t I try Gentle Release on the vagus nerve instead?

So I began working on myself.

Very quickly I had a very big release, and I knew I was onto something.

From there I started gently working with Imogen’s vagus nerve using the approach that began to emerge.

At the time she had just moved to a new school and the transition had been very challenging. Whether it was the timing or the work itself I cannot say for certain, but what I do know is that whenever I return to working with her vagus nerve when she is struggling, it helps her settle again.

It brings her back to a sense of safety.

And when she feels safe, she can do just about anything.

Imogen is autistic and has always been a very sensitive soul. Over the years we have continued to support her with Gentle Release, with vagus nerve work, and with her wider self-care.

Today she is doing wonderfully well and preparing to start grammar school.

This work also helped me personally in ways I did not expect.

For many years my own body had been living in a constant state of stress without me fully realising it. I had developed psoriasis not long after Imogen was born, and since working regularly with the vagus nerve it has been the best it has been since it first appeared.

For me it felt as though the deeper layers of stress were finally beginning to leave my system.

Over time, this exploration developed into the vagus nerve treatment I was using with clients.

Around six months later, my colleague Sara, a complementary therapist in Northern Ireland, began exploring her own way of working with the vagus nerve through Gentle Release. She knew I had been experimenting with it, but she did not know exactly what I was doing.

She simply followed her own curiosity.

When we eventually came together and compared how we were both working. Sara had developed precise still-point holds along the vagus nerve. My work had evolved through a moving hand that cleared along the pathway. When we brought those two approaches together, they complemented each other beautifully.

And from that collaboration, the Gentle Release Vagus Nerve Protocol began to take shape.

The first four points that you will learn in this course were originally identified by Sara during her exploration of the vagus nerve. As we compared our work and began sharing the treatment with practitioners, these four points repeatedly proved to be the most powerful place to begin. Working at the base of the skull and around the ears, they gently start clearing the vagus nerve from the top down, often creating a noticeable settling through the whole nervous system.