Just as we train our muscles to become strong, we need to train the Calm and Tranquillity system to achieve inner peace. Worry and stress easily settle in the abdomen, affecting the functioning of the intestines and our digestion. As 80% of the immune system is located in the abdomen, it is very positive for our immune system to both counteract stress and promote peace, bliss and calm. Plus, 80% of communication goes from the abdomen to the brain – so calming the body, breathing and abdomen is important! Here is my simple AVB method that calms the breath and the whole body in three minutes.

Tranquillity training uses your strongest systems to create calm. Our body is designed to function optimally in a state of calm, also known as bliss: quiet peace, harmony, light joy and ease. It benefits all processes in the body! Stress is accumulated tension and the body goes into a state of struggle, which is ok briefly but not to stay in. Everything works worse then, so start training your inner calm!

My calming method is called the AVB method and it stands for breathing, vagus and abdomen. It means that you involve and stimulate calm breathing and calm throughout the body using the body’s largest nerve, the vagus nerve, and the abdomen. By using your body’s innate intelligence, you can quickly calm your whole self. It helps to create a necessary distance from a stressful existence so that we can feel better, and it improves digestion which improves everything!

“Calm is seen as the absence of activity. But this is completely wrong because you also have to activate the healing and calming system promoted by oxytocin.”

So says Professor Kerstin Uvnäs Moberg, an international pioneer who was the first in the world to define the importance of our calm system. In particular, she has researched the crucial importance of touch for health and the role of the hormone oxytocin in our development from the start.

Do this: Sit or lie with your legs parallel, so no crossed legs! Create relaxation just by holding one minute in each place. It is energy points that bring the desired result quickly:

1. the A-points

The A-point stands for breathing. Stop and take a few deep breaths. To activate deep abdominal breathing, take the fingers of one hand (the left one) and put the fingertips together to form a flower. Put this finger flower on the lower part of the sternum, approximately between the nipples. Hold at that point for a minute or more, and your breathing will immediately become calmer and deeper. Keep your attention focused on your breathing/chest. Breathe slowly in and out through your nose throughout the exercise. Deeper breathing automatically brings relaxation.

2. V-points

The V-point stands for the activation of the vagus nerve. Using the same finger flower, place on an important vagus point located at the base of the neck. Hold where the neck ends near the back, on top of the lower cervical vertebra. Continue to breathe calmly while lightly holding the finger flower for one to two minutes. Touching this area relaxes the vagus nerve – and thus the rest of the body.

3. the B points

The B-point is stimulated by placing one hand on the abdomen, just below the navel. Continue to breathe deeply. Touching the skin directly with your hand gives the best effect, but it works well on top of clothes. Slowly move your hand around in clockwise circles on your abdomen for one minute. This will also produce oxytocin, our calming feel-good hormone. Your body is now in a much calmer state, which is very good.

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Calm is important for the gut brain

Here’s how to easily calm your stomach with calmness training. It’s easy to do and remember: AVB – breathing, vagus and abdominal touch. It is beneficial to do several times during the day, because it only takes a couple of minutes and can result in the majority of all stress disappearing! Below is an explanation of why calm is so important and what the abdominal brain is.

The gut is an ecosystem where the intestinal flora together with the intestinal mucosa form a separate organ and the abdomen is an immune center. The immune system starts in the gut, where the majority of immune cells are found in the gastrointestinal tract, but there are also a number of neurotransmitters (neuropeptides) that form a little brain of their own in the gastrointestinal tract. This is called the ENS (enteric nervous system) or the gut brain.

The abdominal brain communicates extensively with the brain of the head, but also with the rest of the body via the vagus nerve. This is the largest nerve in the body and affects all internal organs. As much as 80% of the communication goes from the abdomen to the brain, so the abdomen informs the brain what it is exposed to and what the brain needs to activate and produce. This highly intelligent interaction has evolved over a very long time.

Fact: The peritoneum – or enteric nervous system (ENS) – is composed of nervous tissue located in the cell wall (mucosa, endothelium) of the esophagus, stomach and intestinal tract. The ENS consists of more than 100 million neurons, which is more than the cells in the entire spinal cord. The peritoneum is highly autonomous and functions well without contact with the CNS. In addition, 80% of neuronal communication goes from the abdomen to the brain.

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The importance of calm

If you are stressed or calm, both the gut brain and the gut flora are directly affected. Researchers have shown that when certain strains of bacteria are present in higher levels in the gut, it creates stronger activity in the brain centers associated with depression. There is a lot of interesting new research coming out in this area. But it is complex, so we must be patient with new findings and new understanding.

This is how long you can go in to calm your stomach several times a day with calming exercises, especially before eating or during water fasting. The more of your awareness that is in a calmer stomach and the better the diet you choose, the better your stomach will work.

It is necessary for the body to relax, because then the communication in and between the nerves works better. You do yourself good by trying to live in a relaxed state as much as possible. This is what I call bliss – peace and quiet, and it’s good to repeat Tranquillity Training often so that it becomes a positive influence.

Sometimes holding the vagus point for 1-2 minutes can be enough to get a big, relaxing shift in your body. When I did this before a writing session, I was so relaxed that I had to go to bed and rest for a while! It works …

Dr. Sanna Ehdin

• If you want to reinforce the calm, continue doing the Blissful body method
• Learn about the importance of the vagus nerve.
• Lift your spirits with a well-trained vagus nerve!
• Vignette image from Unsplash.com