**🔼 Up:** [[The Guide to Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve]] **\#️⃣ Tags:** #NervousSystem --- The Salamander Exercise is part of a series of exercises developed by Stanley Rosenberg to improve the function of the five cranial nerves responsible for social engagement by activating the ventral branch of the vagus nerve—the 10th cranial nerve involved in our physical health, emotional regulation and social engagement. This exercise is foundational and is usually done alongside [[Basic Exercise for the Vagus Nerve|The Basic Exercise]]. It works by progressively increasing flexibility in the thoracic spine and freeing up movement in the joints between the individual ribs and the sternum. It improves breathing patterns, enhances vagal feedback loops, and helps relieve tension in the neck and shoulders. It's named after the salamander because during the exercise, we place our head in a neutral position (neither above or below) in relation to the spine—similar to the salamander whose head functions like an extra vertebra at the top of the spine. Again, like The Basic Exercise or [[SCM Exercise for the Vagus Nerve|The SCM Exercise]], this exercise doesn't require any equipment or extensive training—it's super simple, only takes a few minutes to complete, and produces noticeable shifts rather quickly. # How it Works The Salamander Exercise works by: 1. **Increasing joint flexibility** — the exercise progressively increases flexibility in the thoracic spine (the chest part of the spine) and frees up movement in the joints between the ribs and the sternum. This improves breathing patterns and capacity. 2. **Improving the body to brain feedback system** — 80 percent of the fibres of the vagus nerve are afferent (sensory) fibres, which means they bring information back from the body to the brain, while only 20 percent are efferent (motor) fibres which carry the instructions from the brain to the body. This improves the communication pathway of the vagus nerve. 3. **Signals safety through a more regulated breath** — some of the sensory fibres from cranial nerves 9 and 10 monitor oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood. When we improve our breathing patterns and capacity with this exercise, we tell the brain (through the sensory fibres) that we are safe and that our organs are functioning properly. This feedback loop supports ventral vagal activity which helps to put us into a state of rest, digest and social engagement. 4. **Improving blood flow and relieving nerve pressure** — when we take pressure off the vertebral arteries we may see an improvement in back pain between the shoulders. Similarly, when we reduce our potential forward head posture, this takes pressure off the nerves running from the spinal cord to our vital organs. # Goal The goal of The Salamander Exercise is to increase joint flexibility in the thoracic spine and improve breathing patterns and breathing capacity. This improves the body to brain feedback system through the vagus nerve, which helps to reduce forward head posture, take pressure off vertebral arteries and nerves and signal overall safety to the nervous system. # Muscles Involved The Salamander Exercise primarily engages the: - **Thoracic spine muscles** — responsible for side bending movements and increasing flexibility between the ribs and sternum. - **Intercostal muscles** — the muscles inbetween the ribs that support breathing. - **Sternocleidomastoid (SCM)** — paired muscles that run diagonally from behind the ears to the sternum and collarbone. The SCM muscles is what rotates the head. When the SCM is chronically tight, this can cause migraines, limited neck movement and forward head posture. - **Trapezius** — a large diamond shaped muscle that extends from the base of the skull, across the shoulders and down the back. Tension and imbalances with the trapezius often contribute to neck and shoulder pain. While secondarily engaging the: - **Levator scapulae** — muscle that connects the upper vertebrae to the scapula, innervated by spinal nerves C3-C5. - **Diaphragm** — the primary breathing muscle, innervated by the phrenic nerve (C3-C5) and influenced by the vagus nerve (10th cranial nerve). - **Suboccipital muscles** — small and deep muscles at the base of the skull which connect the occiptal bone to the first two vertebrae (atlas C1 and axis C2). These are directly influenced by eye movements and when balanced, allow for vertebral alignment and proper blood flow. # Instructions ## The Half Salamander Exercise 1. Sit or stand, land in a comfortable position and have your head looking straight ahead. 2. Without turning your head, let your eyes look to the right. 3. While continuing to face straight forward, tilt your head to the right so that your right ear moves closer to your right shoulder. Don't lift your shoulder here, keep it in its natural rest position. Hold your head in this position for 30-60 seconds. 4. Return your head to neutral position and shift your eyes to look forward again. 5. Now do the same on the other side. Let your eyes look to the left, then side bend your head to the left. 6. After 30-60 seconds, return your head to an upright position and your eyes to a forward direction. ## The Full Salamander Exercise 1. Get down on all fours. Support your weight on your knees and the palms of your hands. 2. Find the optimal head position where your head is in line with your spine. To do this, raise your head so it is above your spine, then lower it. You should be able to locate the middle this way. 3. Once you've found a good head position, look to the right with your eyes while holding your gaze there. 4. Side bend your head to the right by moving your right ear toward your right shoulder. 5. Continue the side bending movement beyond your neck by allowing it to flow down your entire spine to the base. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds. 6. Bring your spine and head back to centre. 7. Repeat all the steps on the left side. ## A Variation As a variation to both the Half and Full Salamander, you can look with your eyes in the opposite direction that your head is bending. For example, if you're bending your head to the right, you can let your eyes look left instead (or vice versa). The opposite movement of the eyes increases the range of motion of the exercise. I personally do the exercise this way as it feels more effective to me. # Resources ## 1. Stanley Rosenberg's Book If you've found this helpful, consider picking up Stanley Rosenberg's book. It's a little technical, but highly valuable: [[Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve by Stanley Rosenberg]]. ## 2. Video — Half Salamander Exercise  ## 3. Video — Half Salamander Exercise (Variation)  ## 4. Video — Full Salamander Exercise  # See Also - [[Vagal Assessment — Discovering Your Nervous System State]] - [[Basic Exercise for the Vagus Nerve]] - [[Osteopathic Technique for Treating Hiatal Hernia|Stomach Pull-Down]] - [[SCM Exercise for the Vagus Nerve]]