Finally! The Vagus nerve has exploded onto the landscape of stress mastery, immune function, and positivity/mood control. We all know the saying, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” That may be true of our gambling mecca in the desert but does not apply to our Vagus nerve.

The Vagus (Latin for wander) is a meandering pair of cranial nerves beginning in the brain stem and branching out to our vital organs. It is a superhighway of informative nerve fibers and the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system.

Crucial Functions of the Vagus Nerve:

• Mood control

• Immune response

• Digestion

• Heart Rate & Blood pressure

• Brain-Gut communication

How is this helpful? Awareness for starters. We’re all aware of the opposing system, the Sympathetic nervous system or Fight-Flight response. In some situations, our Fight-Flight response is necessary and appropriate to keep us alive. But an overactive sympathetic response to stress has a damaging and inflammatory effect to our body.

The opposite of triggering the Fight-Flight response is triggering a Vagal response.

7 Ways To Activate Your Vagus Response:

• Deep breathing- 6 breaths per minute (TotalBrain.com)

• Humming- vibrations of humming are an easy way to influence your nervous system states.

• Cold- ice in a zip-lock bag on your neck or face, splashing cold water on your face, cold shower.

• Yoga, Tai-chi

• Laughter

• Connecting with loves ones. (oxytocin)

• Gargling - activates the vagus nerve and stimulates the gastrointestinal tract.

Lastly, practice Totally Immune :

• Remove negativity, stress, virus

• Install calmness, well-being.

• Connect- pay attention to physiological signals from your body.

#vagusnerve #brainbodyconnection #immuneresponse #FightFlight #StressMastery