Running through the center of you,
The base of your brain,
Down through the throat,
Your heart,
Your lungs,
Your belly.
Is one of the most extraordinary pathways in the human body.
The vaguest no.
Known as the wandering nerve.
Has been there since the beginning of your life.
Quietly monitoring,
Quietly communicating,
Carrying messages between your body and the brain.
Am I safe?
Am I at rest?
Can I trust this moment?
It doesn't switch off.
It doesn't need resetting.
You simply need to be heard.
And today.
Will listen.
Find a comfortable position sitting or lying down.
Allow your eyes to close.
And take one slow breath in through your nose.
And release it completely.
For the weight of your body,
For the ground beneath you,
You are held safe.
And you are here.
The vagus nerve thrives in stillness,
In moments just like this,
Where we invite silence and presence.
When the noise of the world quietens.
And the body finally has space to do what it has always known how to do.
To regulate,
To restore,
To return into balance not because we forced it or attracted it or manifested it but simply because we finally got out of the way now bring your awareness to your throat This is where the vagus nerve runs close to the surface.
Where it can be gently invited into greater ease.
Now soften the throat.
Let it open unguarded.
Let the tongue soften.
The jaw unclenched.
One of the powerful ways to communicate with the vagus nerve is through sound and vibration.
Imagine pulling a string of a harp and giving a beautiful melody,
A beautiful sound.
So we will attempt to hum.
Softly.
As low or as loud as you feel the urge to express.
Take a deep inhalation.
And very softly you let out a hum with your mouth closed.
It can be simple and easy just like this.
No need to sound spiritual.
No need to make it sound awesome.
You just want to invite vibrations to your own nervous system.
Your own harp,
Your own melody,
Your own story.
Take another inhalation,
Breathe in fresh air.
And exhale again,
This time with the mouth open.
Perfect,
Let all the air out.
Take a deep inhalation,
Fill up the lungs,
Puff up the chest,
Lift up the head.
This time with the mouth closed.
Feeling the vibrations settle.
Travelling down through the chest.
The vagus nerve responds to this.
It recognizes the vibration as a signal.
You are calm,
You are well.
The vagus nerve sends this signal to your parasympathetic nervous system,
The one responsible for resting,
For rejuvenation,
And is telling it,
Hey,
We can do this,
We can rest now,
It's okay.
Now bring your awareness to your heart.
The vagus nerve wraps around it,
Influencing every beat,
Every rhythm.
And place one hand there if you like.
Feel the steady percussion of your body doing its quiet faithful work beat after beat.
With each exhale,
Imagine that rhythm slowing just slightly.
Deepening,
Settling.
Not forced.
Just invited.
You are safe to slow down.
Take a slow breath in and make your exhale twice as long,
In through the nose 4,
3,
2,
1 and out with an exhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
This extended exhale directly speaks to the vagus nerve it is not a metaphor it is physiology science fact The body genuinely receives this as a signal of safety.
And let's do that again at your own pace,
Your own rhythm.
You are responsible for communicating to your vagus nerve about safety.
Breathe it in as long as you want.
And exhale slowly out.
Long exhale.
And again breathe it in,
Fill up the lungs And let it all out.
One last breath,
Inhale,
Bring it in,
Gather the energy,
Fill it up.
And XO release.
Now bring your awareness to your belly.
The vagus nerve travels here too.
It is called wandering nerve for a reason.
It wanders through the body.
Into the organs,
Into the gut.
This is why anxiety lives in the stomach,
Why grief sits heavily beneath the ribcage.
Why a deep breath can change the quality of a moment.
The nerve is here listening,
Always listening.
Now place the other hand on your belly now.
The other one still sits restfully at the heart.
Feel the belly rise,
Feel it fall,
Feel it inflate,
Feel it deflate.
And simply be present with it,
With the rhythm,
With the rhythm.
Of nature,
Of life within you.
I am here.
I am listening to.
There is nothing to fix right now.
A Wegener is not broken.
It is not overwhelmed beyond reach.
It is simply waiting.
The way a river waits beneath ice in winter.
It is present,
It is patient.
Ready to flow again.
When the conditions allow.
And you are creating those conditions right now.
Letting the light in.
You're allowing the sun to shine to break that ice to melt it away with every slow breath.
Every moment of stillness.
Every time you make the choice to pause instead of push.
You are in conversation.
And the vagus nerve responds.
And I will leave you here in a few moments of silence and stillness.
Just you,
Your breath.
This music.
Let it all be.
And take one breath in as you return slowly.
Hold it gently at the top.
And release.
Just waking up the breath.
Waking up the conscious breath.
Feel the quiet that follows each exhalation.
Feel the space between one breath and the next.
Like the empty space between notes.
Of a melody.
That space is where the vagus nerve does its deepest work,
In the pause,
In the trust.
In the letting go.
When you are ready,
Let your breath return to its natural rhythm.
Allow these senses become alive.
Begin to bring gentle movement back to the fingers,
The toes,
Taking your time returning to the world of movement.
The world of action.
And carry this with you today,
Not as knowledge but as a remembering that within you,
Running quietly in the background,
Through the center of everything,
Is a pathway to peace.
It was never lost.
It was always there listening.
And so are you.
Thank you so much for joining me.
Well done for showing up.
Have a beautiful,
Bright day.
Namaste.
