Explore Your Neural Architecture - Ventral Vagal System

Mindfully exploring the inner architecture of our nervous system helps us navigate our experience through the day. This meditation focuses on the ventral vagal system, our safe and social system, and engages this nervous system state through connection and wonder. Strengthen your "home base" of ventral vagal through this practice and invite moments of sensory safety throughout your day.

Transcript

Explore your neural architecture,

The ventral vagal system,

Inviting safety and connection.

I'm so glad you're practicing with me today.

Let's begin our exploration of the nervous system by focusing on our ventral vagal system.

Ventral refers to the 10th cranial nerve,

Which originates in our brainstem and travels down both sides of the neck,

Branching out through our whole torso,

Innervating our heart,

Lungs and digestive organs.

Ventral refers to the more front-facing branch of this nerve,

Predominant in the organs above the diaphragm.

This ventral vagal system is the most recent development of our nervous system,

Found only in mammals,

And is responsible for our ability to connect with others and assess and negotiate our needs for safety.

It is so important for us to move into this vagal rest and digest state for healing,

Decreasing inflammation,

And widening our window of tolerance,

Our resilience.

The ventral vagal state also has a dampening or breaking effect on our fight,

Flight,

And freeze protective states,

Helping us conserve energy and only allowing us to move in our protective states if absolutely necessary.

This branch of the vagus nerve is also responsible for our ability to connect with others,

Our social engagement system.

We are biologically wired to connect with others for safety and well-being.

Most of our neural states are instinctual and automatic,

Yet we can make them more conscious by directing our awareness and mindful attention towards them.

If you experience a lot of stress,

Overwhelm,

Or trauma,

It can feel difficult to return to this home base state of our ventral vagal system.

Our bodies will always prioritize protection over connection to keep us safe.

It is important to give frequent messages to our body that we are safe enough and that we're okay enough right now.

Taking little pockets of safety during our day and taking refuge in these moments will bring stability and resilience into our nervous system and increase our time that we spend in our resilient ventral vagal state.

Let's begin our practice.

You can do this practice sitting,

Standing,

Or lying down with eyes open or closed.

Take a few moments to settle your body,

Taking a few deep breaths,

Feeling your feet,

Or feeling the support beneath you.

I'd like you to bring a loved one to mind right now,

Someone you feel connected to and at ease with.

This someone can be a person or an animal that is presently alive or one who has passed on,

Someone you feel safe and at home with.

Take a moment to feel their presence right now,

Remembering details about their face,

Voice,

Their mannerisms,

And so on.

As you enrich the memory of this person or animal,

Start to notice what begins to happen in your body.

Does your breath change?

Your muscles soften or your belly relax?

What else do you notice happening in your body?

As you feel the presence of this kind loved person.

Keep tracking your sensations and notice what happens next in your body.

It may take some time to shift into the safe,

Connected ventral vagal state.

So please be patient with your nervous system and do notice even slight small shifts towards feeling more open,

Safe,

And connected.

Know that you can come back to this remembered experience with this loved one anytime you wish to create a nice ventral vagal response.

Thank this person or animal right now for being willing to be part of your meditation today.

Next I'd like you to remember an experience that brought you a sense of wonder or awe.

This could be a simple moment of listening to a flock of geese flying by or watching a child take their first steps.

You may remember wonder at seeing a seedling emerge from the cold spring soil soon to blossom into a spring flower.

You may have felt inspired by listening to music,

Dancing,

Or creating some art.

Any moment of wonder and awe will do to focus on in this practice.

Take some time to remember the details of this experience.

Where you were,

What time of day,

What was the quality of light,

Who was with you.

Focus on the sensations you feel as you remember this experience.

Notice what begins to happen in your body as you remember this moment of wonder.

Do you notice expansion or curiosity or perhaps relaxation tinged with some delight?

Again,

Stretch out the goodness of these sensations for at least 12 to 16 seconds to allow your body to grow stronger neural pathways for your ventral vagal functioning.

To overcome the effects of stress and trauma,

We need to give safe sensory input to our nervous system through sight,

Smell,

Touch,

Hearing,

And taste every day,

Many times per day.

And since our ventral vagal system is our safe and social system,

We also need to invite healthy social interaction as much as possible,

Ideally in person,

But it can work through technology as well.

Safety doesn't just happen.

Safety is a skill we build by learning to befriend our nervous system through understanding and inviting experiences which give our bodies moments of felt safety.

So savor that first sip of your morning drink.

Notice the smell of the air when you step outside of your house.

Notice the smile of someone you meet on the street.

Little moments of safety will grow a stronger ventral vagal system.

As we finish this practice today,

Commit to noticing small moments of safety and wonder that happen daily.

You will strengthen your ability to be in your ventral vagal state.

You'll reduce stress.

You'll grow new neural pathways for goodness,

And you will enhance the experience and quality of your life.

Thanks for practicing with me today,

And stay curious.

Reviews

Thank you, Bhanu, for this invitation to notice small moments of safety. They count 🙏💫

Meditation starts at 3.20. I found it very beneficial but next time will start at 3.20.

This is such a thoughtful and informative session! Very centering and helpful to learn and practice. Thank you.

Thank you 💞 for reminding and giving a practice to do many times a day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this meditation. 🙏🏽

Wonderful, thanks so much. It’s encouraging to know that even the smallest moments count. 😊🙏🏻🦋

Thank you, Bhanu. In attempting to map my ANS I realized I don't have clear, past ventral experiences to draw on so I'm learning to create new ones post-CPTSD.

Your guidance here has helped me see that opportunities for experiencing a few seconds of ventral are everywhere. I just need to stop and smell and savor the roses. 🙏🩵🪷😊

Interesting information! Calm voice and supportive.

Many thanks hanks for this really helpful info on the ventral vagal system!

Beautifully informative & nourishing. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us 🤍✨

Thank you for the wonderful instruction. It’s encouraging to hear that my body knows to do some of these things on its own and is fine-tuned for healing. 🙏

extremely informative on both the qualitative and quantitative elements of gratitude and presence in our lives. knowing that the human body is neurologically engineered for grace, unconditional love, and joy create a new benchmark for accountability in my life to operate in alignment with my very existence.

feeling gently corrected by this meditation through information and reflection. grateful for this practice.

Clear easy instructions for a practice that will improve my life. Thank you!

Informative and gentle reminder of the importance of connection. A lovely practice, thanks Bhanu Joy. 🙏♥️

Wonderful meditation! Thank you for your wisdom and kindness.

Definitely going to do this one again and again. Very valuable practice thank you

I am somewhat new to Polyvagal Theory but this meditation is helping me bring it home. I sm already feeling it’s effects in my life after a few practices! Thank you Bhanu! 🙏

I’m so grateful for this series you are offering here. I find myself wondering if the quality of delight is similar enough to wonder and awe — somehow I go there more easily. What do you think? Thank you as always 😻

I loved this meditation!

I remembered cycling through a swarm of bees and when you said 'who was with you' I thought 'no one ' and then I realized I was with a thousand bees. :-)
Lovely meditation and thank you for everything you do for us.