The Vagus Nerve & The Root Chakra
“It carries signals to your brain, heart, lungs and digestive system. It’s the longest cranial nerve in your body, running from your brain all the way to your large intestine…Your vagus nerve plays a part in controlling involuntary sensory and motor functions like your heart rate, speech, mood and urine output. It helps your body switch back and forth between your flight-or-fight response and your parasympathetic mode, where you’re more relaxed. (schneik)”
I love when science backs up reasons to practice mindfulness.
When out of balance from stress, this nerve can contribute to anxiety, depression, diabetes 2, heart disease, highblood pressure, and more…
Age can also be a factor, however, we can age gracefully and nurture this nerve/chakra as a part of our mind body commitment to living and experiencing a healthy mind/body so that we can ENJOY LIFE well into our ‘wisdom years.’
Since the vagus nerve runs from the colon to the brain, the chakra associated with this is the ROOT CHAKRA & the CROWN CHAKRA and in yogic culture it is directly related to “Kundalini,” energy. Kundalini energy.
“Kundalini, when awakened and activated, travels up the spine and both purifies and turns-on the seven main vortexes situated along the spine known as chakras. Along the way, kundalini helps to bring prana to the various organs and glands located along this vital channel, helping to maintain the pristine health of the body/mind… The Vagus nerve is the 10th cranial ventricle, which extends from the colon to the brain with mostly upward firing neurons. It reaches from the position of the first chakra up to the crown. The function of the Vagus nerve (which is interestingly enough really a pair of nerves referred to as One) is to “collect data” from all the organs and glands of the body, including the stomach and heart, thymus and thyroid, and bring this information to the brain for deduction.(Stasia Bliss)”
There is no coincidence that both the Vagus Nerve and the Kundalini energy run from root to crown and pelvis to brain. Both run along the spinal cord & both interact with glands and organs along the spine. To awaken the Kundalini energy can balance this energy center which in turn can assist in your Vagus Nerve THRIVING!!! Kundalini is activated when we meditate for instance and allow both the ida and pingala nadis (Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine aspects that reside in all of us on an energetic level) to harmonize and travel in figure 8’s up the spine to the Crown. This is also in essence connecting our inner Heaven & Earth.
We must first enter into nurturing this nerve through conscious efforts of maintaining a clear and balanced root chakra so that the Life Force (what yogis called Prana) can easily travel to and through our main channel of energy(Sushumna nadi) and the spine.
Here are 5 Ways to Vagus Nerve + Root Chakra:
1. Carve out time to meditate daily: Committing to begin or continue a meditation practice is an essential when it comes to balancing your Vagus Nerve. When you rise in the morning, set yourself up for success by not checking your emails or texts and instead popping in some headphones and listening to a guided meditation or simply allowing the silence to bring you into a state where you are focusing only on your breath. As you sit or lay down , allow your eyes to close and notice the coolness of your inhalations going through each nostril and then the warmth of your breath as you exhale through the nostrils, perhaps even drawing awareness to the breath brushing the upper lip. If you are new to meditation, start with 1 minute daily and try to build up to 15-20 minutes in the morning and then before bed. “Meditation can regulate your autonomic nervous system,” says Dr. Estemalik. “It has a good effect on lowering rapid breathing, rapid heart rate and cortisol levels.” (/)
2. Yoga: Yoga is another great way to destress and balance your Vagus nerve and Root Chakra energy center. Some poses that specifically help to balance these centers are Child’s Pose, Easy Pose, Forward Fold & Garland Pose.
3. Massage: Research has shown that reflexology can be effective in supporting a health Vagus Nerve and Nervous System
“Foot reflexology can increase vagal modulation, decrease sympathetic modulation, and lower blood pressure in healthy subjects and patients with coronary artery disease.(PubMed; CD)”
4. Singing/Humming/Mantra: Vibration of the vocal chords can lead to a happy and healthy Vagus Nerve and has been used by yogis and different cultures of the ages to promote mental health. The Vagus Nerve is connected to the vocal chords to it makes sense that humming or singing can help to maintain a healthy Vagus regime. A great way to practice this is singing only songs that feel good to you or try chanting three “OM’s” or humm.
5. Cold Compress: Research has shown “Effects of Cold Stimulation on Cardiac-Vagal Activation in Healthy Participants, (Jungmann et al., 2018)” Some easy ways to practice this are placing an ice pack or frozen orange/lemon on the back of your neck and pulse points for a few minutes!
I hope that you have great success in practicing these mindful techniques for a balance mind, body & spirit!
Author: Alana Roach, Founder of Explorations of Self, joyful mother of 2, business owner, wellness expert, student of The Universe, spiritual seeker, beach hopper, surf enthusiast, laughter lover, writer, singer, and international Lifestyle Coach, Yoga & Meditation Teacher.
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Works Cited:
schneik4. (2022, March 10). 5 ways to stimulate your vagus nerve. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/vagus-nerve-stimulation/
-by Stasia Bliss | 05/2/2017 | × http://www.blissinthehouse.com, -by Stasia Bliss | 05/2/2017 |, Bliss, S., & × http://www.blissinthehouse.com SEE ALL ARTICLES Stasia Bliss Stasia Bliss studied yoga and meditation in India and has taught for over 12 years. She pers. (n.d.). An intro to the Vagus Nerve & the connection to Kundalini. Basmati. Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://basmati.com/2017/05/02/intro-vagus-nerve-connection-kundalini
CD;, L.W.A.C.G.Y.K. (no date) Foot reflexology can increase vagal modulation, decrease sympathetic modulation, and lower blood pressure in healthy subjects and patients with coronary artery disease, Alternative therapies in health and medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22314629/ (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
Jungmann, M. et al. (2018) Effects of cold stimulation on cardiac-vagal activation in healthy participants: Randomized Controlled Trial, JMIR formative research. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6334714/%C2%A0 (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
What it Feels Like to Live Your Divine Purpose
Alana’s love for yoga came from firsthand experience with just how powerful the practice is. “In 2009, Yoga found me. Inside the studio, she experienced a deep sense of belonging, but the most profound part was what happened after. “I felt as though I was at true peace. I finally knew what the word meant. Until that moment, I had just understood it cerebrally. There is something profound to be said about Peace dropping into the heart.”