All About the Vagus Nerve
Photo by Basil James
In the past three months, my understanding of how to navigate my dysregulated nervous system has been super-charged through my learnings about polyvagal theory and the inner workings of the vagus nerve. I read Stanley Rosenberg’s step-by-step book on the topic and met regularly with an incredible somatic educator / coach, Amanda Joyce, who has helped me put the pieces together in a new way. Amanda shared a page of her own notes about the vagus nerve with me, and I organized them into the sections you see below. I encourage you to dig into this summary, but then go deeper with Rosenberg’s book if you have the bandwidth. It is pretty mind-blowing stuff. Even though we still don’t understand all of the mechanisms of the vagus nerve, we understand a lot more than we used to, and this information can be a gamechanger for overthinkers who learn to harness its healing power.
What is the vagus nerve?
The Latin meaning of vagus is “wanderer”
Discovered in past two decades
Allows for understanding of others' emotions
Controls muscles for facial expression
Displays emotions on faces and in voices
Regulates basic functions like breathing, heartbeat, and eye dilation
Plays role in sleep, mood, pain, stress, and hunger
Largest organ in body’s autonomic nervous system
Connects brain to large intestine
Controls muscle movement in body
Innervates trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles
The vagal pathway bi-directional: 80% information from body to brain, 20% information from brain to body
Communicates gut information to brain using neurotransmitters and hormones
Responsible for receiving and spreading the message that you are safe, so it can restore regular functions, and you can relax.
The connection of your vagus nerve to your brainstem is different from being connected to your thinking brain. There is only one language the brainstem speaks: Am I safe, or am I unsafe?
It receives fight, flee, or freeze messages from your brainstem (lizard brain) and help the rest of your body prepare to engage in a survival response.
Through your brainstem, your vagus nerve — along with the cranial nerves responsible for senses like sight and hearing — scan both your internal and external environments for safety and danger.
An important part of our body's control system is known as the "vagal brake" which is a system that helps regulate your heart rate and breathing. It's like the brakes on a bicycle that help you go faster or slower when needed and gives you the right amount of energy for each moment.
To understand polyvagal theory, you must first understand the relationship of the neck to the head
The complicated coordination of tension and relaxation of the muscles that turn our heads requires precise muscle control. This is programmed into our nervous system in such a way that we do not have to think about the mechanics of it.
When something catches our attention, we automatically focus our eyes on it. The movement of our head follows the direction of our eyes, and then the movement of our body follows the movement of our head.
Turning the head is one of the most important and complex movements of the body. As babies, it is one of the first movements we make. Control and coordination of the tensing and relaxation of these muscles depend on well-functioning cranial nerves.
Turning the head to either side should be an even, well-coordinated movement, without stops or jerks and without deviation from a smooth curve. Ideally, the head should be able to turn ninety degrees or slightly more.
With chronic tension or flaccidness of these muscles, we obtain a forward head posture which reduces our breathing capacity which also means increasing anxiety, general fatigue, and low energy levels.
Forward head posture also puts pressure on the heart and crowds the blood vessels that go to and from the heart while compressing the vertebral arteries that carry blood up to the head, diminishing blood supply to the face, parts of the brain, and the brainstem.
What is polyvagal theory?
Presented by Stephen Porges in 1994, polyvagal theory is a model that describes the role the vagus nerve plays in regulating emotions, fear responses, and social connections. It identifies social engagement as a type of nervous system response.
Social engagement is a playful mixture of activation and calming that operates out of unique nerve influence.
The social engagement system is a two-way interaction system (receptive and expressive) based mainly in the eyes, ears, larynx, and mouth but incorporating the entire face and the torso above the diaphragm. All twelve cranial nerves participate in the social and expressive functions.
Social engagement is the human neurobiological network that is accessed when you feel safe, which facilitates connection/affiliation with others and your surrounding environment through eye contact, facial expressions, vocalization, and orienting of the body/face toward others.
The social engagement system helps us navigate relationships. Social engagement forms the basis of social relationships by providing a sense of belonging, social identity, and fulfillment. Spending more time in the social engagement state of the nervous system is associated with positive health behaviors, and improved communication and social skills.
Social engagement is not a fixed or permanent state. If you have experienced an imbalance of time spent not in this state, then repeat balancing techniques should be done frequently or at least as needed. Since there is no such thing as a fixed state of balance, it is more useful to think of balance as an ongoing process.
Societal expectations pressure you to feel as though you should appear calm and in control at all times. However, this is not how nervous systems work and does a disservice to honoring the importance and value of the other nervous system states and their many hybrids.
Ventral vagal is safe and social (that is our connected state); you have the sympathetic, which is fight-or-flight; and the dorsal vaga- shut down or freeze. also have hybrid states
What the role of human connection to the nervous system?
The human brain and our entire being (whether in children or adults) are designed for connection with a deep desire to be felt by others. We all need to be seen, valued, and met within our relationships.
Regulating your nervous system does not mean becoming calm; it means becoming connected.
Regulated or connected means having the ability to hold mindful awareness of whatever emotions you are experiencing while maintaining access to higher centers of the brain to remain grounded and connected in order to make decisions and respond.
You can be angry and still connected to yourself.
When we show up in relationships with the intent to be present with another person, it can sometimes look messy rather than calm in its presentation.
When “messy” is authentic and connected, and therefore regulated, even those moments can ultimately have the impact of repair, reconnection, and security.
The foundational trinity for connection is grounding, orienting, and resourcing.
GROUNDING is coming down to earth, feeling our bodies in relationship to the ground beneath us. Feel feet on the floor, butt in chair, etc.
ORIENTING is the process of becoming aware of our location in time and space- count colors, soft/loud sounds both ears, smells around room, taste in mouth, feelings touching your body
RESOURCING refers to accessing our resources- could be sensations, emotions, colors, places, people, sounds, animals, types of music, places in nature, activities, animals, or people, symbols, words, concepts, archetypes, or figures— anything that shifts your state in a positive direction toward a sense of well-being, safety, gratitude, grounding, compassion, empowerment, or inspiration.
Building the “window of tolerance”
A window of tolerance is the range of nervous system arousal you can tolerate without becoming overwhelmed and either hyper or hypo-aroused.
Stressors, both good and bad can still occur when you're within this window, but you are better able to tolerate the discomfort, and you're able to respond instead of simply reacting if you have good vagal tone
It is neurobiologically and behaviorally possible to be highly aroused and still be regulated and contained within one’s window of tolerance. Discerning the difference between regulated activation of emotions as information and triggered states of emotional dysregulation that lie beneath awareness is a critical distinction.
If you're feeling anxious and want to calm down, concentrate on your exhale. If you're feeling stuck and want to become more alert, focus on your inhale.
Emotional metabolism
Here is what we know: what appears to arise from the mind might actually be being caused by the body, and looking after the body is, therefore, key to looking after the mind.
When your nervous system is overwhelmed, your neocortex goes offline, which means you can neither take care of yourself as you operate in real-time nor integrate any new skills. This is why when you are overwhelmed (reptilian brain running the show), you are not logical or rational (traits found in the neocortex).
Pendulating is a term that describes the natural rhythm of contraction and expansion within our bodies. Think of it as the natural flow of breathing in and out.
Understanding and experiencing this rhythm reminds us that even when we're going through tough times, there will be relief.
Using pendulation has begun the deep work of getting to know your nervous system states and tracking your sensations, which will guide you to understanding what yes, no, and maybe feels like inside your body- connecting to your intuition.
This work will help you build resilience, choose clean pain, and train your nervous system to shift flexibly to different states as needed. Using your vagal brake, keeping your neocortex online, and metabolizing emotions will help you find freedom inside your body as well as your life.
And just like any muscle you are working to tone, it takes consistent training. Knowing the information and waiting until you are in desperate need of the tools will make it incredibly difficult to implement them.
As you become more confident in your ability to stay grounded and in control, you can consciously adjust the balance towards calm when anxiety rises or towards heightened readiness when you need to take action.
If you speak rationale to someone overwhelmed, you may as well be speaking another language. Think of that time you lost it (hyperarousal) only to later think, Okay, maybe I overreacted. Though at the time it absolutely did not feel like you were overreacting.
Exploring the Vagal Brake
The vagal brake affects your breathing rhythm. It slows down your heart rate to keep it within a healthy range (between 60 and 80 beats per minute).
When you breathe in, the brake eases up a bit and your heart beats a little faster. When you breathe out, the brake engages and your heart rate slows down again.
It's like gently squeezing and releasing the bicycle brakes. Focus on extending your exhale, which engages the brake slightly and helps calm your system.
Picture yourself with one foot in a state of social engagement and the other foot in a mode of heightened readiness, like preparing to take action. Shift your weight between them, swaying slightly from one foot to the other.
Inhale as you lean towards the foot associated with heightened readiness, and then exhale as you shift your weight back to the foot associated with social engagement. Do this for a few breath cycles to feel the rhythm of your "vagal brake" releasing and re-engaging.
As the vagal brake releases, you'll notice a range of responses becoming available. You may feel engaged, joyful, excited, passionate, playful, attentive, alert, and vigilant, all while remaining within the boundaries of safety and social connection provided by the ventral vagal system.
Without this vagal brake, we risk losing our sense of safety and connection and can easily slip into the protective states of fight-or-flight.
Experiment with pushing the limits of this release.
Shift your weight in such a way that you're almost entirely leaning towards heightened readiness. Notice how your balance starts to shift and you might feel less steady. Then, return to a solid base by shifting your weight back to the foot anchored in social engagement.
Try the opposite too, with most of your weight on the foot connected to social engagement, and just a light touch on the other foot associated with heightened readiness. Observe the changes in your experience.
Experiment with how your vagal brake allows you to gather and mobilize energy and then helps you return to a state of calm.
Recognize how the vagal brake serves as a boundary between the safety and regulation of social engagement and the survival response of heightened readiness.
Once you've grasped the concept of your vagal brake, you can start playing with adjusting the balance between energy and calm deliberately.
Practice maintaining your anchor in safety while experiencing mobilization. Alternate between periods of rest and taking action.
Explore the full range of experiences that emerge as you release and re-engage your vagal brake.
Think about situations in your daily life where you either need to be energized or calm, and consider how you can use your vagal brake to help you navigate those moments effectively.
Recall a situation where you needed more energy and visualize yourself releasing the brake to meet that need. Then, bring to mind a moment when you wanted to feel more relaxed and re-engage your brake to achieve that sense of ease. You can use past experiences as a reference and play around with the idea of releasing and re-engaging your vagal brake to imagine how the right balance of energy might have changed those situations.
That’s it for the notes…for now. More coming soon, I’m sure.
