Our Vagus Nerve - Pathway To Health, Wellbeing & Emotional Balance

Feeling stressed and out-of-sorts? It’s likely your vagus nerve is out of whack!

The importance of the health of our vagus nerve cannot be underestimated in keeping us calm, fully functioning and healthy.

The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in our body. It plays a central role in regulating stress, digestion, heart rate, and emotional state. Wrapped around and connecting every organ and nerve plexus in our body, it sends billions of messages to our brain every day reporting on the state of our physical self but also our environment.

The vagus nerve is also one of the main bridges between your body and your biofield - the electrical energy field that powers and surrounds your body. Trauma and PTSD also negatively impact the vagus nerve.

Signs that your vagus nerve may not be functioning to its best capacity include:

·        Anxiety, depression and panic attacks

·        Irregular heart beats or cardiac function

·        Irregular blood pressure

·        Chronic inflammation

·        Digestive tract issues such as poor digestion, bloating, constipation

·        Depressed immune function

·        Insomnia and Inability to relax

·        Emotional imbalance

·        Lack of compassion

·        Hypersensitivity to external stimuli

Vagus nerve issues are a major and under-recognized cause of human dysfunction and illness.

When we live in long-term stress, anxiety and fear our vagus nerve function becomes dysregulated, sluggish and even dysfunctional. Gastroparesis is another example of our vagus nerve not functioning as it should.

When we live in constant high stress and anxiety, healing as a natural part of our everyday maintenance systems is disrupted and even switched off. Our body goes into survival mode.

Put simply - your body cannot heal effectively or even at all, while you are living in constant stress and overwhelm because the evolutionary fear-flight-fight protection mechanisms of our body take precedence over absolutely everything else that does not immediately assist to keep us alive.

When we calm and rebalance the vagus nerve, we support a return to calmness, clarity, and the ability to re-balance after disruptions. It restarts our ability to relax and heal - physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

This is one of the reasons why Reiki & other forms of energy healing are so effective. Reiki almost immediately calms the nervous system and takes you out of fight/flight/freeze mode. It soothes the vagus nerve and flips your system back into rest digest and healing mode.

During a session, evidence of this can be found in the calm feeling that washes through your system and the gurgling of your stomach and digestive system as it returns to the important function of processing and digesting your food and liquids and your lymphatic system enabling it to clear the toxins from out body.

Just a single hour of Reiki regularly can make a huge difference to your physical, mental & emotional health, especially to people in high stress living and work situations. Reiki energy flows through your body unblocking your energy pathways, soothing and calming the adrenals and nerves throughout your body. Most people can feel this difference within 5 minutes of the Reiki energy beginning to flow. And because of its importance to your overall health, I always include a vagus nerve activation process in every session to calm, clear and re-energise your vagus nerve.

Apart from Reiki and energy healing, here are some simple ways we can calm and soothe our vagus nerve

·        Humming, singing, chanting, dancing - stimulates and calms the vagus nerve in the back of your throat

·        Listening or meditating to binaural beats

·        Lightly massaging the sides of your neck - why not try adding some lavender or other calming, grounding oil to your massage?

·        Deep breathing with long slow exhales

·        Petting our pets or something soft like a furry toy or blanket

·        Cuddles, hugs and caring embraces

·        Immersing ourselves in creative hobbies

·        Focussing ourselves in activities such as jigsaw puzzles, sudoku etc

·        Deep conversation and the easy company of like-minded people

·        Doing something fun with trusted friends

·        Walking barefoot on the earth especially in a forest or beach

·        Taking a cold shower or dip in cold water – especially after the sauna or on a hot day

·        Meditation & mindfulness

·        Spiritual work

Why don’t you try this quick 5 minute exercise to calm your vagus nerve:

·        Lie down in a comfortable place on your back

·        Interlace your fingers behind your head

·        Take 3-5 deep, long, slow belly breaths focussing on your breath in and out

·        Return to normal breathing

·        Now turn your eyes only to look to the right

·        Holding this position until you sigh, yawn, or swallow

·        Repeat this on the left side until you sigh, yawn, or swallow

·        Note if your body feels any different from when you began the exercise.

Regular practice and engagement in activities that stimulate our vagus nerve can improve vagal tone, enhance our social engagement capabilities, reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety and improve overall physical and emotional well-being

 A healthy, resilient vagus nerve is essential for navigating life’s challenges with calm, vitality, and balance.

Supporting this essential nerve can unlock a cascade of benefits: improved mood, digestion, immunity, and the deep inner peace so many of us crave in these stressful times.

While self-care techniques like breathing, movement, and connection are vital practices, sometimes we need deeper support to ignite real transformation. This is where a Reiki session stands out as an exceptional pathway for exploring vagus nerve health and get your nervous system back on track.

Reiki is designed to settle the nervous system quickly, dissolve stress, and create the conditions where rest, renewal, and true healing are truly possible. A session not only calms your mind and body - evident in the immediate relaxation and shifts you feel -but also actively supports your vagus nerve’s capacity to reset, regulate, and rejuvenate. Through facilitated energy flow, your system gets the chance to experience what calm, balance, and ease truly feel like.

If you’re seeking to deepen your wellness journey, manage stress, or simply reconnect with your energy and resilience, why not consider booking a Reiki session as your next step to health and well-being? During the session we can practice some of the easy do-at-home vagus nerve stimulating techniques that might just change your life.

And if you have never had Reiki, why not experience first-hand how this gentle, profound practice can help restore your inner harmony - one breath, one heartbeat, and one moment at a time.

Namaste and blessings to you. Susie