Written by Nicole Lawler and published 06/04/2017
What is the Vagus Nerve and why is it so important?
Simply put, the Vagus nerve is the commander in chief of your inner nerve center, regulating all of your major organs. This is the longest cranial nerve, which starts in the brain just behind the ears and connects to all of the body's major organs. It sends fibers from your brain-stem to all of your visceral organs, and is literally the commander of your inner nerve center, communicating nerve impulses to every organ in your body. The word Vagus literally means “wanderer”, because it wanders throughout the body from the brain all the way to the fertility organs, hitting everything in between. When it comes to mind-body connection, the Vagus nerve is monumental, since it reaches all the major organs except for the adrenal and thyroid glands.
This is an important nerve to every organ it is in contact with. It is what helps control anxiety and depression in the brain. How we connect with one another is closely related to the Vagus nerve as it is attached to nerves that tune our ears to speech, coordinate eye contact, and those which regulate expressions. This nerve also has the power to affect proper hormone release in the body which keeps our mental and physical systems healthy.
It is the Vagus nerve that is responsible for increasing stomach acidity and digestive juice secretion for ease in digestion in the stomach. When stimulated, it can also help you to absorb vitamin B12. When it is not working properly, you can then expect to have serious gut issues such as Colitis, IBS, and Reflux, just to name a few. Reflux issues are due to a Vagus nerve issue because it also controls the esophagus. It's the improper reflex of the esophagus that causes conditions like Gerd and Reflux.
The Vagus nerve also helps control the heart rate and blood pressure, preventing heart disease. While in the liver and pancreas, it's this nerve that controls blood glucose balance, preventing diabetes. When it passes through the gallbladder, the Vagus nerve helps to release bile, which is what assists your body in eliminating toxins and breaking down fat. While in the bladder, it's this nerve that promotes general kidney function, increasing blood flow, thereby improving filtration in our bodies. When the Vagus nerve gets to the spleen, activation will reduce inflammation in all target organs. This nerve even has the power to control fertility and orgasms in women. An inactive or blocked Vagus nerve can wreak havoc throughout the mind and body.
Now that we know that the Vagus nerve is connected to all of the major organs and proper functioning of those organs, we can easily conclude that any disorder, illness, or disease of the mind, body, or spirit, can be reversed or even cured by activating and stimulating the Vagus nerve. So you will indeed see positive effects from Vagus nerve stimulation on issues such as anxiety disorders, heart disease, headaches and migraines, Fibromyalgia, alcohol addiction, circulation, gut issues, memory issues, mood disorders, MS, and even cancer.
There are many documented ways to stimulate the Vagus nerve such as singing or chanting, laughter, yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, exercise in general, and sound just to name a few. Singing and laughter works the muscles at the back of your throat which activates the nerve. Mild exercising and exercising in general increases gut fluids which means that the Vagus nerve has been stimulated. A regimented Yoga practice can also increase activation of this nerve due to the movements but also Meditation and OM-ing helps stimulate the Vagus nerve. All of these ways you can stimulate the Vagus nerve have one thing in common: Sound!!
Findings of resonant frequency of organs is happening worldwide by doctors to assist in vibrating the whole body back into a state of health, and transfuse illness and diseases such as anxiety, PTSD, migraines, depression, memory issues, chronic pain, sleep disorders, and even cancer. “You can really look at disease as a form or disharmony,” says Dr. Gaynor director of oncology at the Strang-Cornell Cancer Prevention Center in New York, and author of Sounds of Healing. “We know that sound and music have profound effects on the immune system, which clearly do have a lot to do with cancer.”
There was also a study in April of 2016, that involved patients with Alzheimer's Disease. Researchers from the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the Baycrest Centre Hospitals conducted a study of these patients in different stages of the disease, subjecting them to sound simulation at 40 hertz. They noted “promising” results with cognition, clarity, and alertness. Lee Bartel, one of the authors of these findings stated that, “Parts of the brain appear to be at the same communication frequency, and that frequency is about 40 Hz. So when you have a deterioration of that - when you have too little of it - the two parts of the brain that want to talk to each other, like the thalamus and the hippocampus, the short-term memory to the long-term memory, they can't talk to each other, they won't communicate, so you won't have long-term memory.” Bartel explained that the sound-simulation treatment at 40 Hz leads to an “increased” frequency, which allows “parts of the brain to talk to each other again.”
One specific school of thought comes from a French otolaryngologist, Alfred A Tomatis, who believes that the primary function of the ear is to provide all the cells of the body with electrical stimulation, thereby “toning up the whole system and imparting greater dynamism to the human being” (Tomatis. 1978) He believes that sounds abundant in high harmonics are considered charging sounds, and sounds abundant in lower tones are considered to be discharging sounds. Tomatis claimed to have successfully treated a wide variety of illnesses through sound because they were all related to issues with the inner ear. Just a few of the issues he's successfully treated were stuttering, depression, ADD, concentration issues, and disorders related to balance.
There is another study that suggests that the Tomatis Method is supportive to assisting children with ADD. “Results revealed statistically significant improvements for the Tomatis when compared to the non-Tomatis group: the experimental group showed the significant improvements in processing speed, phonological awareness, phonemic decoding efficiency when reading, behavior, and auditory attention.”
Sound is rapidly becoming one of the most largely buzzed about gatekeepers of health in alternative healing modalities today! Sound is a brilliant implementation of common medicine to stimulate the Vagus nerve promoting the health and vitality of all of the organs in your body. Do this through Sound Healing with Crystal Chakra Singing Bowls or Group Sound Baths. Clear Quartz is called the 'Master Healer' because it has the ability to amplify, transform, and transfer energy. When working with these quartz crystal bowls, the effects on the organs, tissues, and cells, along with the circulatory, endocrine, and metabolic systems are intense. The tones from the crystals are heard by the ear, felt in the body, stimulate the Vagus nerve, enabling the vibrations to echo also through each Chakra center in the body, creating a balanced and rejuvenated mind, body, & spirit!
Feel free to reach out to me today to discuss this further and see how I can help you stimulate your Vagus nerve! Also, please share this with anyone you think may benefit from it.
Live, love and laugh!
Nicole Lawler