About
What if the key to reducing stress, taming inflammation, and building true resilience was already wired inside you? In this illuminating episode, Dr. Fiona Lovely welcomes fellow chiropractor and functional medicine expert Dr. Navaz Habib, bestselling author of Activate Your Vagus Nerve and Upgrade Your Vagus Nerve, to explore the body's most underappreciated healing pathway.
Dr. Habib shares his personal journey from chronic health struggles to discovering functional medicine, which led him to a powerful realization: uncontrolled inflammation is the common thread behind most chronic illnesses, and the vagus nerve holds the master switch. He breaks down why eighty percent of vagus nerve signals travel from the body to the brain—not the other way around—and how this changes everything for women navigating perimenopause. Listeners will learn why declining estrogen leaves them more vulnerable to inflammation, how heart rate variability serves as a window into nervous system health, and why protecting sleep is non-negotiable. Dr. Habib also delivers a memorable distinction between comfort and safety, explaining why scrolling a phone may feel soothing but never truly calming. He then offers three practical pillars of vagus nerve training: nasal breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, and longer exhales, with simple temperature therapy to build adaptive capacity.
Episode Highlights:
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Why chronic inflammation is the common path behind most modern illnesses.
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The surprising truth is that 80% of vagus nerve signals travel from organs to the brain.
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How declining estrogen during perimenopause worsens inflammation without a strong vagus nerve.
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The critical difference between comfort and safety—and why your phone can't give you either.
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Three specific breathing techniques to build vagal tone and increase heart rate variability.
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Simple temperature contrast methods to build resilience, starting with just twenty seconds.
Tune in to learn how to stop seeking comfort and start building the nervous system resilience every woman in midlife deserves.
Thank you to our sponsors for this episode:
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