Vagus Nerve - provider of motor and sensory impulses to all organs in your body

                                   
                                      IN  GENERAL  >  BODY,  EMOTIONS

             The longest cranial nerve is the Vagus Nerve, and it is this nerve that controls the entire parasympathetic nervous system.  During  its  wandering,  it  addresses its  sensory fibres directly from  the brainstem to the  visceral organs. It is like
a line of energy in which the pulse delivers motor and sensory impulses to all organs. When the nerve is weakened, chronic inflammation may be the cause. However, this is not an insignificant problem, which, if neglected, only shows its symptoms many years later. Underestimating the symptoms of a malfunctioning vagus nerve can lead to serious psycho-physical disorders, as it is the most important link between the brain and the immune system. Hence, normally in a healthy person, for example during stress or a form of escape, this system would send a signal via cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathways directly to the immune system.  Due to the overstimulated and overly dulled nervous system in humans today, this is unfortunately not the case. Functioning under stress has become the norm for us practically all the time during the day and even at night, when it should be a time for regeneration. Yes, inflammation is a healthy sign because it is simply a response from the immune system. So it's a form of protection, it serves to repair the body from harmful e.g. infection or muscle tissue damage. Hence, you may notice some kind of swelling in an area that has been injured, a sprain or fracture has occurred. The snag is that after the recovery period, the inflammatory response is not active. So the inflammation would only reappear if the area in question in the body required it. But as I mentioned, for most people, during over-stimulation and dulling of the nervous system, inflammation has become standard. And now, when it occurs for longer, it is given a name and naturally becomes chronic, unfortunately. When the immune responses, the aforementioned situation of the new unnatural norm of modern society is adapted as a continuous uninterrupted occurrence throughout the day and night, there is a slow breakdown of the organism in the form of degeneration. In chronic disease research, it can be seen that in people with chronic inflammation of an organ, heart rate variability is reduced. This is then the marker responsible for the reduction in vagus nerve tone. Among other things, the adrenal glands also suffer, which are in constant use of the hormone cortisol, instead of it being in motion when it would really be needed. In a moment of high stress, cortisol would jump up, whereas it would naturally drop down afterwards. The subsequent persistence in one state, or stagnation, is the opposite of health. After all, the key to healing is the variability of the brain and heart. Therefore, it is necessary to find one's best balance for functioning, where, on the one hand, one does not lead to too frequent outbursts of the stress hormone, while on the other hand, one does not persist in its constant use.  Healing, rehabilitation and regeneration mainly take place when the organism feels relaxed, and this does not mean just lying down, but adapting to everyday life in such a way that one is fit and at the same time resilient in every step of one's existence.

                               MAINTAINS MEMORIES              

               When  you  are  just  experiencing  a  similar  event,  situation  as  before,  this  activity  releases  norepinephrine.  This is a neurotransmitter that is sent to the amygdala so that memories can accumulate there and concentrate in one place.

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                             PROTECTS AGAINST INFLAMMATION                    

              The onset of a given inflammation is a signal to the vagus nerve to trigger an immune response. In an organism that is already in a state of homeostasis, all inflammation, viruses, fungi, acidic conditions, etc. will be the impetus for your nerve to alert the brain with cytokines and send out anti-inflammatory neurotransmitters again.

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                            RELAXES THE BODY            

            The vagus nerve releases acetylcholine as a surge of cortisol or adrenaline pours through your body under the instinctive reactions of flight and fight. It is like a command for the body to loosen up, to come to a faster balance. Hence, when your vagus nerve has not been overexerted, i.e. at the same time reacting more strongly, then you are more likely to recover more quickly from trauma, stress or inflammation in the body.    

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                           ASSISTED BREATHING            

               The  vagus  nerve  plays  one  of  the most important roles in the communication between the brain and the lungs.
It contributes to stimulating the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which in effect commands your lungs to breathe on their own, so you don't have to think about it. It is worth mentioning here that when you use botulism (colloquially given the name Botox in aesthetic medicine), you expose very acetylcholine to great loss and a complete interruption of its production, hence you can lead up to suffocation.

                           CARING FOR THE ACTION OF YOUR HEART           

              In the Brain-Heart relationship, the previously mentioned neurotransmitter acetylcholine also plays an important role,  as  it  controls  the  heart  rate  by  sending  electrical  impulses directly to the muscle tissue located in the right atrium.
As a result, in a healthy body, the pulse can be slowed down if the current situation requires it.    

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                          THE GUT - THE SECOND MANAGER OF THE SYSTEM              

             The famous statement 'second brain' is very apt, as the gut has a multitude of neurons within it. Hence, it is  important to  understand how the  human species should nourish its  microflora so that  there are no health  complications.   What is the connection with the vagus nerve?  The answer is very simple.  All you have to do is grow and nurture an inappropriate biome in your gut, and you automatically have a lowered mood, depressive symptoms or increased anxiety levels,  not  counting  the  whole  spectrum  of  physical  symptoms  reflected  on  the  physical  body.  So,  if you add to this
a damaged vagus nerve, which, through its disruption, results in the same symptoms as an impure fermented gut, and in addition causes faulty communication between all the internal organs, then you have a double whammy of problems throughout the body on the physical and mental body. In simplest terms, the gut is the first to send sensory signals, i.e. it tells the brain how you feel. Confirmation for this can be found in studies on the amount and location of the serotonin site in our body, which indicate that up to 95% of it is produced in the gut. An unclean gut also encourages you, among other things, to overeat constantly, because there is insufficient absorption of nutrients for the body to meet its calorie requirements in peace.

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                                      AS SEEN BY THE VOCALIST > LARYNX

                                  HOW DOES THE LARYNX COME UNDER THE ACTION OF THE VAGUS NERVE?            

                 When there is some disharmony in the body, but the action of the vagus nerve is not disturbed, then it allows the body to decelerate and possibly cushion some sudden surges. It also contributes to the correct correlation between the eight main systems in our body, through the activation of regeneration, relaxation up to full activity, which results in the fruit of our creative creativity. It is worth mentioning here that the vagus nerve is not responsible for everything in our body. When you delve deeper into the workings of a particular phenomenon, area or specific thing in the body, you can then see how much of a role a particular action plays, or what would happen if it were totally absent from the body. This is because the functional efficiency of a single unit is always important, where it can then participate in the correct integration with other organs or whole systems. However, if we are already at the vagus nerve, it is worth illuminating the whole essence of its functioning in order to appreciate and care for it properly. This is some of the most important information for vocalists, among others, because in order to relax the larynx, it is necessary for this nerve to be active and functional. On the one hand, this is a simple and yet over-complicated phenomenon. We are talking about the relaxation of overworked laryngeal muscles. Internal muscles contribute to the entire process of sound birth, with its adjustments such as vibrato, changes in pitch, intensity, scale or overall resounding quality. However, they cannot work freely when the outer muscles are the first to thunder from their tension. Therefore, their loosening must first be skilfully mastered.

When the breath is in some way deficient during phonation, the diaphragm through which it travels is unavailable. Therefore, during such a situation, the vagus nerve leads to an alarm in the body, causing your central nervous system to give feedback with the help of the sympathetic nervous system. Thus, a 'fight-or-flight' phase occurs, which naturally gives rise to unpleasant tensions. In place of the correct subtle work, over-activity occurs, chaos ensues. As a result, we again have the aforementioned double whammy of problems, because on the one hand, the sympathetic nervous system becomes overactive, while on the other hand, general stress on the body has resulted. Your entire fitness, vitality and energy  resources  are  severely  reduced  at  this  point,  which  is  precisely  what  leads to the blockage of the diaphragm.
As a result, you cannot deepen your breathing (unless by force, but this will lead you to even deeper tensions), which of course translates into a imbalance in the vocal apparatus.

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                                            Proper breathing - Harmony of body, mind and spirit

                    No forcing, no straining unnecessarily, nothing forcible, PLEASE let go 😊.

                   One of the first exercises I was given by my vocal coach when I was young was to push off and stick to the wall using my tummy. Here, one had to use the 'piston' of the diaphragm, which, under the influence of correctly used air when inhaling, gave space to produce a free voice. At this point, a cluster of a given syllable had to be uttered, e.g. "Pa", "Ba". The diaphragm was lifted upwards, creating the effect of being pushed away from the wall.  

               Another exercise was to lay a book on your stomach and breathe. In essence, it had a similar task, but there were noticeable differences in at least the positioning of the body. In the previous one against the wall, the training took place in an upright, vertical position, while here it took place in a horizontal lying position. On the one hand, it seemed too easy, because when lying down you don't have to do anything, you don't even have to think about your posture, only about your breathing, while placing the book on your stomach while lying down gave the impression, like an extra weight. Nonetheless, it was a very effective task, because people who could not freely find the feeling up to the visual effect of gently pushing their tummy out, suddenly experienced it always in this position. It was therefore a good starting point to start practising with correct and natural breathing.

              An exercise I disliked was the 'belly balloon'. The name itself already suggests a certain tension in itself, let alone incorporating this into an experiential practice. Most practitioners of this method tended to feel an automatic forcing.

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                                                       Breath - an invigorating influx in the body

              Experiences especially from early childhood always bring with them some conditioning. If these were harsh and difficult experiences, the body reacted in the same way, and unhealed on an ongoing basis from the pregnant episodes manifested the sensations in the chest as a stiffened corset.        

              Breathing in, breathing out, contracting, contracting. It should be a place only for Life, not for stiffness, inertia or unnecessary combinations.      

            Don't hide your weaknesses and stiffness. You may think this is the easiest way, but there is an easier way - confronting the challenge, the very difficulty that flows from blockages.    

                 Forcefulness won't help here either. It is not a ring.

 
                                                              Your  sensory  centre  is  the  Chest

               That is why it is so important to first understand why this particular place is important. By doing so, you will learn why it was so easy for you to become irritated, use force or run away as a possible solution to conflicts and blockages. Once again, LIFE = MOVEMENT. Naturally, when you express every feeling, every emotion, you have a flow in the whole physical body, the energy of the body, that means also in the breath of the chest.

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                                         The larynx remembers - just find your original sense of

              Just learn how to let the air pass freely, find a place to go. You need to allow yourself to be subtle. When you let go and leave your fears, anxieties and fears alone, the larynx returns to work in its natural alignment.

      IF YOU ALREADY KNOW :               "I can't"                    "I don't want to"             "I'm afraid"

                                                                 "I'm ashamed"        "it's not appropriate"      " I'd rather disavow..."    

                                                                 " I'd rather throw it away "          

       THEN JUST ASK YOURSELF :        "What would it be like to experience this now?"                                                          

                                                                 "What is freedom of breath for me?"                                                                

                                                                "How can I finally feel myself?"                                                                

                                                                 "Do I definitely feel my body, what is it saying to me,
                                                                  what warning signals is it sending me?"    

                                                                 "Can I feel the pleasures of my body fully?"

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       AND SAY :                                        "It's mine"                 "I'm not judging"                "Thank you"          

                                                                "I'm sorry"                     "I forgive"                           "I ask"                             

                                                        "I let go without fear"              "I trust"

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               ❤ From this point you can begin to look further afield to reach harmony in life, being always in truth ❤

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                                                Diaphragmatic-abdominal breathing , but HOW?

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                                 DON'T burst your abdominal cavity with breath      >       Release abdominal tension                              

                                 DON'T force yourself                                               >       Release pelvic floor tension                      

                                  DON'T wrestle                                                         >       Release perineal tension                                

                                 DON'T force                                                            >       Release tension in the kegel muscles

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                                             Diaphragmatic-abdominal-rib breathing, but HOW ?

                      A famous adage in yoga - "Open the whole body", and this is how this breath opens.  

                                  DON'T expand the ribs                                             >     Flow  

                                 DON'T block the chest                                             >      Flow

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                                                                 How to heal the Vagus Nerve?

                  It  is  worth  pointing out that if you have  symptoms of a drop in blood  pressure and heart rate or body  tremors

in situations where you see blood or needles, this does not mean that you are weak.      

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                                 - LOWER ACTION means feeling MORE and DEADER                            

                                - Quality, quality, quality again.                              

                                - Learning to breathe freely                              

                                 - Free diaphragm action              

                                - Chest influences the working condition of the diaphragm > Observation - Laugh!                              

                                 - Find, test and choose the best breathing technique for you !                              

                                 - Sing !                              

                                - Apply self-massage and derivatives such as acupressure                              

                                 - Light diet, preferably designed for the human species                              

                                 - Fasting (dry fasting, water fasting etc.)                              

                                 - Yoga, stretching, acrobatics

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                                                                                                                             ❤   TAKE  CARE  OF  YOURSELF   ❤

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