Scenario: I am waiting, sitting in my chair, for my name to be called for that ever important interview to see if I can get hired to be a teacher at the school I have always wanted to teach at. My stomach is going in circles and I feel like I am going to throw up! I need to find a bathroom, like now! My heart is beating so fast I think it is going to pop right out of my chest. I say to myself, " I am 50 years old, I should be able to handle this. And then, I think to myself, “get out of here!” Do I leave or do I recognize the feelings I am having and say to myself, “ I got this.” How often do we take the time to really listen to and pay attention to our nervous system? And, if we did, how might listening affect our lives?
THERE ARE SO MANY QUESTIONS SURROUNDING OUR NERVOUS SYSTEM
How does it work?
How do I HEAL it from that deeper place?
How do I regulate my nervous system?
Do I listen and pay attention to my nervous system?
What is the relationship between our Serotonin levels and our nervous system?
Is there psychological shame?
THE VAGUS NERVE: The Root of our Nervous System
The Vagus Nerve originates in the brain stem and travels to the right and left of the spinal cord to the organs thru the diaphragm and onto the lower body. The nerve sends messages. It is our sixth sense.
As the diagram depicts, according to author Genevieve Richter, “It is a cranial nerve, meaning it starts in the brain and makes its way down to different parts of our body and organs.
It acts as a communicator, back and forth, all day long.
It provides sensory to our external acoustic meatus (our ears), larynx, and visceral sensation to our heart and abdominal organs.
It provides motor innervation to the muscles of our soft palate, pharynx, and larynx
It innervates and provides smooth muscle mobility of our trachea, bronchi, gastrointestinal tract, and regulates our natural heart rhythms.”(Richter)
PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
When we are in balance our nervous system is also balanced. We feel a sense of safety & security in ourselves. We are in a state of rest & digest; whether it is our food or our minds. We feel connected to our bodies, minds and breath.
"Your parasympathetic nervous system is a network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger. It also helps run life-sustaining processes, like digestion, during time when you feel safe and relaxed....'rest and digest'. The Vagus Nerve, as I am learning more about, "connects to part of your mouth, extends down through your neck to your chest and abdomen. This nerve make up about 75: of your parasympathetic nervous system; connecting heart, lungs and other organs." (Cleveland Clinic)
SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
On the other hand, when we feel a sense of imbalance our nervous system is in a state of “fight or flight.” We feel life we can not move; we freeze and yet have this sense of hyper arousal. Our bodies and minds can do a myriad of reactions: we can shut down, become numb, feel a sense of immobilization and disassociation. And yet, one has a feeling of hyper arousal.
"Your sympathetic nervous system is a part of your autonomic nervous system. Your 'automatic' nervous system, as it is responsible for many functions that your don'e have to think about to control. This can include control of your heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, urination and sweating, among other." (Cleveland Clinic)
Think like a ladder and the role that it plays; it takes one up and it takes one down. I sit in that chair waiting for my interview and my heart continues to race and my stomach is in knots. If I can bring in practices which, “down regulate,” hyper mobilization will shut down. I close my eyes and take myself inward and begin to focus on my breath; taking each breath fully at a time and then I can begin to relax and focus more so on what I am there to do and know that I am qualified to accomplish this interview successfully.
I needed to develop a set of tools or skills to deal with and face the issue at hand. My reaction to the situation would determine whether I was in a state of balance or imbalance. I needed to turn towards to heal; to turn towards the suffering I was feeling. In the moment I asked myself:
How am I feeling right now?
What am I feeling in my body right now?
What is the state of my mind right now?
What is the emotion I am feeling right now?
How is my body FEELING right now? AND, What do I NEED right now?
I could look at how to use my tools to listen to my nervous system to know how and when to use them. Tools such as: breath work, meditation, vagus nerve practices, somatic practices. Find the tools that bring in a feeling of joy; a guide to help me through the event. So I closed my eyes, took myself inward and began to slowly and mindfully breathe.
Resources:
https://www.methodptnm.com/methodphysicaltherapyblog/vagusnervemethodphysicaltherapy
Image: https://www.stroke.org.uk/research/vagus-nerve-arm-function
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