Unlocking the Vagus Nerve: Engineering Self-Healing for Trauma and Stress
In Episode 103 of Beneath the Helmet, Arjuna sits down with Chris Duquemin — mechanical engineer turned bodyworker, founder of New Vision Therapy (NVT), and author of The Body Engineer.
After suffering 10 years of chronic shoulder pain that conventional medicine could not diagnose, Chris began exploring the mechanics of the central nervous system. What he discovered changed his life — and now informs his work with first responders, veterans, and individuals living with post-traumatic stress, chronic anxiety, and unresolved trauma.
This conversation explores how a compromised nervous system can drive physical symptoms, emotional distress, and chronic stress — and how restoring mechanical balance may unlock the body’s natural capacity to self-heal.
Time Stamps
00:00:00 – Introduction and Chris’s background
00:01:00 – From mechanical engineer to chronic shoulder pain
00:02:00 – Medical dead ends and being told “it’s in your mind”
00:05:00 – The central nervous system as the body’s fuse board
00:08:00 – Unresolved trauma and the rib injury breakthrough
00:10:00 – Craniosacral mechanics and cerebrospinal fluid explained
00:14:00 – Compromised nervous systems and fight-or-flight states
00:18:00 – Fascia, compensation patterns, and cumulative trauma
00:23:00 – Vagus nerve mechanics and restoring self-healing
00:27:00 – DNA reset and the three-to-four-month healing cycle
00:30:00 – The three levels: balance, fight-or-flight, and breakdown
00:39:00 – Quick self-assessments: heart rate variability & uvula test
00:42:00 – Practical tools: stretching, vagus exercise, grounding
00:52:00 – The amygdala, hippocampus, and trauma storage
01:00:00 – How emotional trauma becomes stored in fascia
01:07:00 – Making this practical inside firehouses
What You’ll Learn
• How a compromised central nervous system impacts digestion, immunity, sleep, and mood
• Why unresolved trauma can lock the body into fight-or-flight
• The role of fascia in storing physical and emotional trauma
•
Simple nervous system checks firefighters can use in minutes
• Practical daily tools to support vagus nerve function
• Why self-healing depends on restoring mechanical balance
Chris shares how New Vision Therapy bridges engineering principles and bodywork to help those who are not responding to medication or counselling — especially veterans, military members, and first responders.
Chris Duquemin is the founder of New Vision Therapy (NVT) and is based in the Canary Islands (Tenerife).
He teaches foundational workshops and practitioner training programs internationally, with plans to expand training in Canada.
Those interested in practitioner training can attend workshops in Tenerife or the UK, with a five-workshop foundational path that can lead to qualification within 12–15 months.
Connect with Chris
Email: chris@newvisiontherapy.co.uk
Newvisiontherapy.co.uk (http://newvisiontherapy.co.uk/)
If this conversation resonated with you, take a moment to subscribe to the channel and share this episode with someone who may benefit from it.
Conversations like this can spark real change — in firehouses, departments, families, and communities.
Stay well.
Host Arjuna George - Fire Chief (ret)
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