Every Wednesday on my Facebook page, I have a 'Meet Your Team Day', where bit by bit, you get to know yourself and your body a little bit deeper and clearer, resulting in a much better connection with yourself whilst learning something and having a bunch of fun a long the way.
Next week it will be this guy.. your 'Vagus Nerve', also known as the 10th Cranial Nerve, and the longest one in the body. It is paired, meaning there are two sides...two branches.
This is a really special place within you. And for many it is massively under functioning, suffering all kinds of afflictions. It comes up as a part of a clients session to be balanced and function better so often, it kinda seemed time to introduce you to it.
Found deep in your Brain...imagine it similar to a country road that runs from the Brain to the bottom of the GI tract, interacting with your parasympathetic nervous system, lungs, heart and GI tract as it wanders down through the body. In fact its name suggests that of a 'wanderer'...it wanders down from the brain, and basically goes all over the place, wandering here, there and everywhere.
Information or data, constantly runs back and forth between these two points, although sometimes, and for many different reasons it doesn't do this very well, it influences the microbiome (microbes...remember the good guys?) of the entire Intestinal system, affecting behavior and levels of hormones in your body.
It plays a role in addictions (compulsions to an action), digestion, metabolism, feelings of hunger and being satisfied, heart rate, respiration (Lung rhythm), Spleen, Liver, Kidneys and Pancreas function. This massively long nerve, supply's 'chilled out and happy' parasympathetic nerve fibers to almost all of your organs except the Adrenals, it even extends into some of your muscles... I talk a lot about this in the Access for Animals Course, as it plays such a huge role in the overall health and stress status of an animal.
So those of you who have taken this course will have learnt techniques, namely 'Cortices' and the 'Spheno Basilar Junction' technique to activate the Vagus Nerve and calm the nervous system, entering into parasympathetic state.
The health of this nerve, and how well it functions can play a very big role in a person or animal experiencing depression or anxiety...yes all animals can experience profound depression.
Some of the purposes this nerve serves up is, being responsible for heart rate, movement of the intestines (peristalsis), some muscles movements, speech, sweating, the gag reflex, and a general chilled out vibe running through-ought the body mind.
Its a big deal when this nerve has what is referred to as a 'Lower Vagal tone or is not 'happy', animals and people can experience excessive amounts of stress reactions, anxiety, depression as I mentioned earlier, but its worth mentioning again, as it is so overlooked in conventional therapies. Food sensitivities, foggy brain and thoughts, fatigue, lack of 'get up and go' (motivation), reflux, vomiting, as well as dysfunction of the heart, bladder, lungs, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, liver, gall bladder, breathing and respiration and the list goes on and on.
Stimulating the Vegas Nerve and balancing it in a session can turn down or shut off the inflammatory reactions in the cells of the organs, which helps with immune function and overall great function of the Body-mind.
So here is what you can try if you feel like your Vagus Nerve needs a hand...of course it goes without saying, that to maintain balance and find out how it came to be malfunctioning in the first place would require a BodyTalk Session. You want to address the issue and design it so it does not reoccur, however this can help you right now today...
Stimulation of the Vagus nerve
As with anything, when reading through all of these, trust your Gut Instincts when it comes to finding the best method/s for you and go with that.
* BodyTalk
* Applying cold water on to the face, or exposing yourself to snap cold environments stimulates the Vagus Nerve.
* Chanting, using mantras such as OM and singing songs that your love.
* Yoga in general, however there are some specific poses that work well for this.
* Meditation
* Being in environments and around people that promote laughter, good times and support. The company you keep is a big deal, be picky.
* Random smiling whilst laying in the sun.
* Breath....Slow and Deep!, set an alarm on your phone to go off several times a day to remind you, or pop sticky notes around your house and car to remind you 'Breath Deeply'
* Laughter, seriously...the mechanics and tone of laughter stimulates the Nerve. Watch funny movies, go to a comedy club, find a laughing yoga class...it's the bomb!
* Prayer....Bring the hands together so that the minor chakras of the heart which are in the center of the palms of both hands are sitting over the front of your own heart. And send good thoughts around the world.
* Probiotics...The nervous system of the gut connects to the brain through the vagus nerve, and we know now about the effects of the gut microbiota (having enough bugs, and having happy bugs in your GI tract) on the brain.
* Massages...hmm yes, these are now compulsory.
* Movement (some people call this exercise), just a nice movement to get things flowing.
* Tai Chi
There are a multitude of other things you can do to help this, however these are easy and accessible for you. And of course we will be addressing this and many more aspects about yourself in our Group BodyTalk Sessions and Individual BT Sessions.
in the meantime, maybe go watch a funny movie, sing songs loudly, spend time with people you love, meditate a little bit, and get some daily movement into your life.
All my very best
Jacquie
Consciousness based Healthcare where you and your Animals are the Priority
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