What the Gut Knows About Anxiety

Before anxious thoughts appear, your body sends an early signal.

You might feel it as a knot beneath your ribs, a tightening in your stomach, or a soft churn that has nothing to do with food.

Anxiety often begins here.

The gut contains millions of nerve cells that speak directly to the brain through the vagus nerve.

When stress rises, digestion slows and muscles tense.

Those signals travel upward, telling your brain that something isn’t right.

Your gut isn’t overreacting. It’s protecting you.

The Nerve That Speaks Both Ways

The vagus nerve is a messenger between the gut and the brain.

It regulates digestion, heart rhythm, and inflammation while sending constant updates to the nervous system.

When vagal activity is low, the body stays in alert mode.

The gut tightens, hormones rise, and discomfort grows. When vagal tone improves, those signals shift toward calm.

Researchers have shown that breath and sound can strengthen this connection.

A 2023 study found that ten minutes of slow belly breathing each day lowered cortisol and eased digestive tension.

Another experiment showed that humming increased vagal activity and improved both mood and gut motility.

When you calm the body, you change the message it sends to the brain.

The Grounding Practice

Use this short exercise whenever anxiety lands in your stomach.

1️⃣ Sit upright and place one hand over your belly.
2️⃣ Inhale slowly through your nose, feeling your hand lift.
3️⃣ Exhale through pursed lips while making a soft “mmm” sound.
4️⃣ Notice the vibration beneath your hand and the way your breath slows.
5️⃣ Continue for three minutes, letting warmth spread through the abdomen.

You might observe a gentle loosening or a deeper breath without effort.

That’s your nervous system shifting back toward safety.

Listening Instead of Tightening

When anxiety appears, the mind wants to solve it.

The body wants to be heard.

Each wave of tension carries information—where you hold stress, what needs care.

When you respond with steady breath instead of resistance, the gut relaxes and the brain follows.

Calm begins when you let the body finish its sentence.

A Sound-Based Way to Support Your Body’s Reset

If you are someone who wants a simple, natural way to help your nervous system settle, this is where Whole Body Sound Healing becomes incredibly powerful.

Your vagus nerve responds instantly to sound and vibration.
It is one of the fastest ways to activate calm in the entire body.

Inside Whole Body Sound Healing, you will find guided sound-based practices that use humming, resonance, and rhythmic audio to help:

• smooth the nervous system’s electrical signals

• reduce the tension the body has been holding

• quiet pain pathways

• shift the brain into rest-and-repair mode

The sessions are gentle, easy to follow, and designed so your body begins calming itself within minutes.

Many people describe it as feeling the “soft wave” settle through them the moment the sound begins.

If you already have access, this is your nudge to log in today and use it.

Your nervous system will recognize the support immediately.

If you don’t have Whole Body Sound Healing yet, I’d love for you to experience it.

Because your body is always trying to return to balance.

Sometimes it just needs the right frequency to guide it home.

Click here to get started.

Be Well, 

Jim Donovan, M.Ed.

References

• Mayer, E. A., & Tillisch, K. (2021). The gut–brain axis in stress and mood disorders. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 18(4), 241–256.

• Chan, C. L., et al. (2023). Diaphragmatic breathing activates vagal afferents and reduces inflammatory markers in anxious adults. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 1195874.

• Kock, M., et al. (2022). Vocal vibration increases vagal tone and digestive efficiency in stress-related disorders. Journal of Psychophysiology, 36(5), 425–439.