The Vagus Nerve (The Message Cord)

The vagus nerve is like a long invisible string that goes from your brain all the way down to your heart and your tummy. It is the message cord that tells your heart to beat slower and your tummy to relax. When you take a very slow breath out, you are actually tickling this nerve! It tells your brain hey everything is okay we can relax now. It is the most important wire in your body for helping you feel calm and connected to other people.

The most important wire in your body for feeling calm. The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It wanders from your brain to your gut, touching your heart, your lungs, your throat on the way down. Eighty percent of its fibers go up — from body to brain. Only twenty percent go down. This means the body is talking to the brain four times more than the brain is talking to the body. This is why meditation works. This is why singing works. This is why humming works. This is why a long exhale works. You are not calming your mind. You are sending a calm signal up the wire. And the brain believes whatever the wire says.

Cranial nerve X: primary component of the parasympathetic nervous system. Bidirectional: 80% afferent (body to brain), 20% efferent (brain to body). Calming the mind is easier through the body (bottom-up) than through thought (top-down). Stimulating vagal tone improves heart health, reduces inflammation, and regulates glucose. The brain believes whatever the wire says.

SOUND: Making a voo or humming sound that vibrates in your chest: manually activating the nerve with your own voice.

SMELL: Peppermint that makes you take a big deep breath: the nose pulling the vagus nerve's trigger.

TASTE: A cold grape savored slowly: the throat sending a calm report up the wire.

TOUCH: A gentle massage on the sides of your neck: touching the nerve through the skin.

SIGHT: The rhythmic waves of the ocean: visual rhythm syncing the nervous system.

BODY: The vibration of your own voice in your throat: the body hearing itself from the inside.

Music: Shattered (Turn The Car Around) by O.A.R.

Part of Emotion & Feeling — CONSCIOUSNESS — Education Revelation