Rooted Wellness

The beautiful vagus nerve

THE VAGUS NERVE
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A seemingly never-ending branching nerve that connects most of our major organs to our brain 🧠.
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It’s the longest cranial nerve in our body, one for the right side and one for the left. And is largely responsible for the connection for its role as a mediator between thinking and feeling, you know our “gut feeling.”
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The vagus nerve is the “queen” of the parasympathetic nervous system. The “rest and digest” or the nerve. So the more we do things to activate the nerve (like deep ), the most we combat the effects of its opposer, the sympathetic nervous system - the “fight or flight”, rushing around, have to do something, releasing one.
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A few other functions of the vagus nerve, just to name a few:
▪️slows your heart rate and respiration.
▪️lowers blood pressure.
▪️helps with calmness and relaxation.
▪️controls involuntary muscles in the digestive system, therefore, aiding digestion.
▪️taste sensation.
▪️movement function for the muscles in the neck responsible for swallowing and speech.
▪️gut-brain communication.
▪️reduces inflammation.
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Nutrient loaded smoothie 😋

Black sesame seeds 👌 excellent source of omega oils and minerals 🎉

Tumeric & Ginger 👌 high anti-inflammatory, be sure to add black pepper or a fat such as milk or coconut oil to enhance absorbtion 🎉

Spirillina 👌 full of vitamins & minerals particularly C and Selenium are high in antioxidant to protect cell and tissue damage 🎉

Fresh squeezed OJ 👌even more vit C 🎉

Pink dragon fruit 👌 B1, B2 & B3 excellent for calming the nervous system. High prebiotic fibres to aid with digestion 🎉

Passion fruit 👌 Why not get passionate about your juicing? 😝 High vit C, B6 and B3 excellent for immunity and thyroid function 🎉🎉🎉

It's that time of year again to up skill 🤓

I may not be able to travel to any new schools this year but aren't we lucky to have the opportunity to learn so much from home! ☯️

Focusing this year on specific illnesses and ailments with a mix of reflexology and acupressure! 👣

Influence your internal beat through sound and music! 🎶

"The core of all singing and even listening is rhythm, thus making it one of the most effective forms to tap the ventral vagal network."

Here are some simple ways to generate rhythm with in your body, this is an excellent way to tap into the vagus nerve and slow down your stress response in this uneasy time.

Tapping the Healing Rhythms of the Vagal Nerve Self-regulation is found through the sound of your internal beat.

👣 By boosting your digestive system and releasing toxins Reflexology can do wonders for your skin!

And of course water, water, water!! 💦💦💦

I have regular reflexology and it unexpectedly helps my skin | IMAGE.ie Reflexology is, usually, performed on your feet. So how could it possibly help your skin? I wondered the same thing, but somehow it did...

🌬 Lets talk about breathing! That thing we rarely consciously do...

The pace we breathe and how deeply we breathe can change our stress responses in the nervous system. 🧠

Fast and shallow breathing takes place naturally when we are stressed. Our bodies think we are our running from a lion (fight or flight). 🦁

Guess what? The opposite also applies! ☯️

Slow breathing signals calmness to our brain. Tapping into our lovely parasympathetic nervous system.

⬇️While lowering our stress levels we are in turn slowing down our heart rate giving the rest of our body systems more energy to do their thang! 🎉

Our digestion improves, toxins release with ease & nutrients get sent to where they are needed!

Why not stop for 10 even 2 minuets a day to slow down and be conscious of your breathing?

Breathing exercises are extremely beneficial for us who find meditation a bit difficult. 🧘‍♂️

You can even take an extra step and put pressure on your solar plexus reflex point on the hands or feet. This will help relax your diaphragm muscle and that big bundle of nerves that sit in the middle of your diaphragm. 👣

You'll find the Solar Plexus reflex exactly on the folding line where the colour changes between the ball and the arch of your foot, pictured below and same area on your hands! 👋

Simply push with the base of your thumb on the point as you breathe in and slowly release on the way out. 👍

I also find the video below great to zone out to while practicing mindful breathing techniques! 😊

If you have read this far big ups to you! 😋🙏🥳

RELAX AND BREATHE: Do Nothing for 10 Minutes

THE DENGUE FEAR IS HERE! Here is a little nutritional tip to help avoid the mossies 🦟

👉B1 has been recently studied to repel mosquitos! B1 is eliminated through the skin and causes a repelling smell for mosquitos.

Get your dose of B1 from:
🌻Lotus Flower Seeds here in Vietnam!
🌻Flax seeds
🌻Green peas
🌻Brown Rice
🌻Asparagus
🌻Legumes
🌻Brewers Yeast being the highest

Or get yourself a B1 Thiamine supplement, try ensure its derived from natural sources to guarantee bioavailability. 💊

Cover up as much as possible and avoid being out at dawn & dusk especially around stagnant water.

Happy rainy season all ☔️🌊

Photo credit: Tonsai Wall Thailand

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Super interesting read. I have found working the Vagus nerve reflex has amazing benefits to induce long term relaxation! 👣

"The vagus nerve is essentially the queen of the parasympathetic nervous system — a.k.a. the “rest and digest,” or the “chill out” one — so the more we do things that “stimulate” or activate it, like deep breathing, the more we banish the effects of the sympathetic nervous system — a.k.a. the “fight or flight,” or the “do something!” stress-releasing adrenaline/cortisol one."

I Now Suspect the Vagus Nerve Is the Key to Well-being “Stimulating” it leads to calmness, but how and why?

From our soles to our soul 🍂👣