why everyones talking about the Vagus Nerve & Polyvagal Theory
read time 4 minutes
disclaimer: This is not medical advice. This is intended to educate, inspire and support you in your self healing journey. Speak to your medical professional. Some content might be sensitive; I invite you to practice self-harmonizing.
The world is changing rapidly; technology, economies, industries, education, healthcare, workplace… it’s all changing right before our eyes.
It can feel confusing, chaotic, stressful, overwhelming, lonely, and so intimidating.
To be successful and fulfilled in life, relies on your ability to heal your relationship to stress.
Healing stress is more than releasing stress.
When you are overwhelmed by stress fear, anxiety, doubt, insecurity, and control are running the show. You are in survival mode, harming your physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual health.
So you can’t think clearly, you can’t concentrate or make decisions.
You feel fidgety, all over the place, don’t finish what you start, wanting to desperately to turn bad habits around but staying committed to anything feels impossible.
You’re judgmental, critical and hard on yourself. You lack confidence. You’re not where you want to be. You’re struggling.
To take an active role as your own stress healer and transform from surviving to thriving requires you to familiarize yourself with two terms:
Vagus Nerve
Polyvagal Theory
Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in your body. Cranial meaning brain, it and wanders to/from every internal organ (vagus = Latin for wanderer).
I mean LOOK at how interconnect and vital this nerve is!
Your entire bodymind; your nervous system, immune system, endocrine system (hormones), your cognitive process, your thoughts, beliefs and behaviors depend on your internal organs and thus vagus nerve.
The vagus nerve is also primary influencer of the parasympathetic nervous system, it’s responsible for us feeling either safe or stressed.
It’s often called the vagal break, meaning it puts the breaks on a stress reaction like sympathetic (fight/flight/freeze) or shutdown.
The parasympathetic nervous system was once seen as the opposing force to the sympathetic nervous system, now we know there’s another branch… which brings us to Polyvagal Theory.
Chanting to stimulate the Vagus Nerve
Polyvagal Theory
The second term to know is Polyvagal Theory which describes 3 branches of the autonomic nervous system’s stress response, not the 2 branches originally understood to be sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system.
Polyvagal describes two branches of parasympathetic nervous system in addition to sympathetic nervous system; ventral vagal and dorsal vagal
Safely/Social (ventral vagal, connection, restoration, health, growth)
Sympathetic (fight or flight, mobilizing protection)
Shutdown (dorsal vagal, dissociation, collapse, immobilizing protection)
The ventral vagal and dorsal vagal are the two branches of the vagus nerve. Poly (many), vagal (vagus nerve).
Now you know there’s a variety of overwhelmed by stress modes; sympathetic and shutdown.
Once you know this you start to see larger patterns of stress in your life. For example chronic fatigue or depression are actually a symptom of overwhelming stress (shutdown) in the nervous system.
Only when we are aware of what’s here (the problem), can we heal what's here.
And the best ways to heal is to work with the intelligence of the body via the vagus nerve and other bottom-up or somatic therapy approach to healing physical, mental and emotional health.
Any questions? Comment below and ask!
And join the stress healing community on Instagram
infinite health & growth,
Stephanie
