The Eíriú-Eolas Quick Guide

Disclaimer

Bio-energetic Breathing (round breathing) is contra-indicated in pregnancy, epilepsy, bi-polar

disorders or other chemical imbalances. All other portions of the Eíriú-Eolas Breathing and

Meditation system may be utilized with these conditions.

Introduction

Welcome to the Eíriú-Eolas Breathing and Meditation System. By utilizing this 21st century

revival of an ancient breathing and meditation technique, you are now embarking on an

exciting journey of discovery. Eíriú-Eolas is the premiere tool of the age to help you relax

and gently work through emotional and psychological trauma, releasing the repressed

emotions and mental blocks that stand between you and a successful, fulfilling life.

It is important to perform the warm-up exercises as given on Disc 2. They increase lung

capacity, circulation and will greatly enhance your Eíriú-Eolas experience. If you are already

following a system of physical activity that incorporates stretching and flexibility, such as

yoga, this portion may be modified to suit or can be skipped.

Pipe Breath

Pipe Breath is used to stimulate the vagus nerve and is performed in three stages to utilize

your entire lungs. Stimulating the vagus nerve is like hitting the “off” switch for your stress

response. The constricting of the glottis (voice box) almost yet not quite to the point of

producing sound causes stimulation of the portion of the vagus nerve which passes between

the trachea and esophagus. Practice so you can hold that glottal constriction while inhaling to

achieve greater relaxation. The major stimulation of the vagus nerve occurs during exhalation

and this is why Eíriú-Eolas Pipe Breath calls for an extended exhalation.

Warrior Breath

The Warrior Breath is intended to clear the lungs of old, stale air. It strengthens the muscles

involved in making a good exhalation as preparation for the next part of the program. You

may find your sides a little sore the first time you perform this exercise. The muscles will

strengthen quickly and this will pass. Vocalizing “Ha!” helps make the exhalation more

complete. It is also good for getting out frustration. Children love doing Warrior Breath!

Bio-energetic Breath

Bio-energetic Breathing, or round breathing, is used at the physical level for oxygenating

your body to better process physical toxins. At the emotional level, it begins the process of

gently releasing layers of emotional toxicity. As these layers clear, you will find yourself able

to think more clearly and remain calm in stressful situations, allowing you to respond in an

efficient and harmonious manner.

Meditation (Prayer of the Soul)

The breathing exercises are intended as preparation for the meditation, which is the heart of

the Eíriú-Eolas system. The meditation is performed with “seed”, which means it is neither

mindless nor without aim. The seed, entitled “Prayer of the Soul”, has been carefully

composed to be unlimited in its application to life and to create a subconscious ground of

positive, life-affirming thoughts in your quieted mind. The prayer addresses the Divine

Cosmic Mind, which is existence in and of itself. If you wish to address the Divine Cosmic

Mind in terms more familiar such as Jesus, Buddha, Allah, Krishna etc. that is also fine.

Should a divine personification not be part of your outlook, you may even look to your own

“best self” as being addressed. The Prayer of the Soul is intended to be universally applicable

to all personal philosophies.

It’s best to first practice exercising your diaphragm and perform Pipe Breath. Then add more

to the program as you feel comfortable. Keep in mind that you breathe in through the nose

and out through the mouth. This applies to the entire program!

Common Questions

Q: How often should I practice Eíriú-Eolas?

A: Generally it is recommended you complete the entire program twice per week and the

meditation daily, preferably before sleeping. This allows your subconscious to process while

you rest. Also, you may perform Pipe Breath daily, as desired.

The worldwide Eíriú-Eolas community has chosen Monday and Thursday evenings for

completing the whole program, each in their own time zone. If you are ill or dealing with a

specific problem, you might want to complete the entire program daily for a while.

Q: I can’t keep up with the counting, what should I do?

A: If the count is too long or too short for you, adjust to what is comfortable. As you become

more proficient you will find it easier to keep to the count. The important thing when doing

Pipe Breath is to make the exhalation longer than the inhalation, and to empty your lungs as

completely as possible. The brief pauses between inhaling and exhaling are also important

because they allow for full gas exchange within the lungs.

Q: Can I lay down for the breathing exercise?

A: Laying down is fine. The point is to be as comfortable as possible.

Q: Can three-stage breathing be done without the arm positions?

A: The three arm positions for Pipe Breath allow you to progressively use the whole of the

lungs.

Q: I’ve mainly had issues with sitting cross-legged for a long period of time. My legs fall

asleep and start bothering me. Can I do the program in another position?

A: Sure. You can try sitting in a chair, for example. The important thing is to find a position

that is comfortable for you. The girls in the video practice yoga and even they sometimes do

the program on a chair or lying down.

Q: I have difficulty breathing with my stomach and it does not rise properly. Any advice?

A: Check that you are moving your diaphragm correctly. It needs to push downwards when

you breathe in while your ribs rise, then relax back up into a dome shape when you breathe

out to expel old air. It should come naturally once you have practiced the breathing for a

while and you have become used to the movement. View the images of the diaphragm on the

introductory DVD and try to get the feeling of the position, action, and feel of your

diaphragm. After a little practice, you should be able to feel your diaphragm press down and

flatten out as you breathe in.

Another issue might be your posture. Try doing some simple breathing exercises while

standing up. Remember to keep your shoulders relaxed.

If you feel overly tense in your ribcage, neck, back or other area while doing the breathing,

this means you are doing more than your body can currently handle. If you have not done this

sort of breathing before, you should take care and gently ease yourself into it.

Q: I am having trouble breathing in for the full count. Do I need to do this?

A: If the count is not impossibly long for you then yes, try to breathe in for the full count.

Otherwise do the best you can so that over time you can gradually work your way to the full

count. Children, for example, have smaller lung capacity and may not be able to breathe in

for the full count.

Q: Why is it important to breathe through the nose and out through the mouth for the whole

program?

A: There are nerve endings at the top of the pharyngeal passage that, when stroked with air

that travels in the same direction, will synchronize both halves of the brain. If you then

breathe out and the air reverses through these nerve endings, it disrupts the synchrony. This is

a technique used in hypnotherapy to calm and quiet the brain.

Q: Nothing seems to be happening. Am I doing it correctly?

A: The benefits and effects of the Eíriú-Eolas system can be taking place under the surface

for some time before things are processed, with or without your awareness. If you try to have

“intent” other than assimilating the concepts of the prayer (which are designed not to

constrain activity of the subconscious) or if you try to add “bells and whistles”, you could be

circumventing the positive benefits of the Eíriú-Eolas breathing and meditation system.

Common symptoms and experiences

- Lessening of joint pain

- Lessening of muscle spasticity

- Refreshing and/or deep sleep

- Feeling energized

- Increased relaxation

- Experiencing sensation of heat

- Experiencing sensation of white light surrounding oneself

- Decreased heartbeat

- Intense and detailed dreams (see later for details)

- Zoning out, difficulty staying awake during breathing exercises and meditation (see

later for details)

- Sensation in the solar plexus

- Ringing ears

- Tickling or numbness in arms, legs, lips (common side-effects of hyper-ventilation)

- Feelings of joy and elation

- Change in appetite (reduced desire for foods that are incompatible with your body)

- Hunger after the breathing and meditation

- Bursts of unanticipated laughter

- Abdominal pain, sharp pains in body (symptomatic of organs becoming more

functional again)

- Increased heart rate

- External and internal interruptions during breathing and meditation

- Sweating

- Watery eyes

- Desire to cry (see later for details)

- Depression (can last a couple of weeks, only temporary)

- Anger, disproportionate to situations (see later for details)

- Feelings of disconnection from the world (temporary)

- Confusion, irritation (temporary)

- Perceiving images during meditation (try not to be too distracted by this, it is your

mind symbolically expressing what was suppressed in your subconscious)

- Sharper awareness, senses, thoughts; perception of actually being in the present.

Questions about symptoms and experiences

Q: Why am I so hungry?

A: Pipe Breathing stimulates the vagus nerve, which in turn affects your hunger.

How the brain knows when eating must stop — vagus nerve responds

differently to each nutrient to decode what and how much has been eaten :

The vagus nerve, which carries two-way communication between the gut and

the brain, transmits distinctly different patterns of electric signals in response

to carbohydrates and to protein in the gut, finds Gary J. Schwartz of Johns

Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore.

There's another component of the vagus nerve's reaction to protein. Schwartz

suspects that hormone-like peptides produced by the gut in response to food

are responsible for amplifying the signals triggered by the motions of the

stomach and small intestine.

How the brain knows when eating must stop, Janet Raloff, Science News,

1996

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n22_v150/ai_18947098/

Q: During the breathing and meditation, I snap into a dream state where I no longer hear the

audio. As soon as I realize this, I snap myself out of it. Should I restart the program when this

happens?

A: You don’t need to restart the program. This is called “zoning”. It is perfectly normal and

a good sign that something is happening. It is a positive sign that your subconscious is

beginning to process and heal.

Q: I am experiencing cold and flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, aches, pains, fatigue) as a

result of practicing the program. Why is this happening?

A: The program detoxes not just emotionally but physically. When you kick-start the vagus

nerve and start putting things back in motion after years of the physical cesspool backing up,

it can be like a hole in the dyke that gets very large very fast. If you are suffering physical

symptoms it is likely to be a Herxheimer reaction. This occurs when your body is dislodging

toxins at a faster rate than your body can eliminate them.

If you are experiencing symptoms that are too much for you to bear, then we recommend you

undergo the program no more than twice per week and perform only the Pipe Breathing and

meditation for now, omitting Warrior’s Breath and Bio-energetic Breath.

As your diet and supplement intake will help with this process, we highly recommend the

following Diet and Health books:

- The Ultra Mind Solution, Mark Hyman

- The Ultra Simple Diet, Mark Hyman

- Detoxify or Die, Sherry Rogers

- What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Autoimmune Disorders, Stephen B. Edelson

and Deborah Mitchell

- Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Rodger Murphree

Q: Why am I experiencing so much anger and sadness?

A: This is quite normal and is a sign that the program is working. If you are experiencing

anger, keep a pillow nearby while doing the program so you can punch it when you feel like

it. Remember, you are bringing up and processing old emotions that are stuck in your

subconscious and body tissues. Once they are released, they will no longer control your

thinking and/or your life choices. Also, keep in mind that the Eíriú-Eolas breathing and

meditation system is the most efficient, effective, and least painful way to deal with these

things by retroactively utilizing the body’s own stress coping mechanism. You could spend

years in psychotherapy and never have the same results that you can achieve with just a few

months of practicing the Eíriú-Eolas system.

Q: How do I continue with the system when I start crying? My normal reaction is to hold my

breath.

A: You can cry as much as you need to, then resume the program once you have finished

crying.

Q: Why do I experience scary dreams after doing the program?

A: It is your emotional center that dreams. Unpleasant or scary dreams are in fact your

suppressed negative emotions rising to the surface. Quite often you will process this just by

dreaming it away, but this is one of several ways in which it may be processed. What works

best for one individual may differ from what works best for another. Everyone is different

and has different stuff buried inside them.

Long term benefits

As you continue practicing the Eíriú-Eolas system, you will embrace a new quality of energy,

range and initiative. You will become strong in areas where you were once weak. You will

experience the constant guidance of your higher self. This guidance will be active in the work

of your hands and the words of your mouth. You will feel this guidance in the form of

protection, as you will also have the ability to perceive danger in greater capacity than

before. Your higher self will guide you to acquire the knowledge you need on a practical

level to protect yourself from unnecessary harm.

***************************************************************************

You are welcome to visit the Eíriú-Eolas website to access the discussion forum, where you

can meet and interact with others on this same exciting path. Eíriú-Eolas teachers are always

available to answer your questions either in your local community, or online.

www.eiriu-eolas.org

ReviewsReviewsReviewsReviews

People from all walks of life – and from all over the world – are already practicing Éiriú Eolas with amazing results. The following are a few of the testimonials we’ve received about the positively amazing results that can be achieved by anyone with this incredible new program:

„I’ve been doing EE for over 6 months now and I’ve had some great results! Leading a “modern” lifestyle rapidly left me totally stressed… a busy work environment with long hours and short deadlines, three teenage children and generally trying to get ahead in life. I was overweight and not able to sleep for more than 4 hours at a go. After practicing EE for a short period of time, I found I was more relaxed and calm. It was much easier for me to put life in perspective so to speak. I found the will to get on the Ultra-Mind diet and rapidly lost 6 Kilos! My sleep is now much better and I now am able to sleep for 6-7 hours without waking up. Recently while talking with a group of new friends, I asked them to guess my age. I was surprised when the nearest guess put me 5 years younger. I figure that must be rejuvenation!!

By far the best benefit from EE has been the ability to put my life in perspective. I feel I’m now back on track and better equipped to figure out what’s really important in life. I’d like to thank all those who developed and are helping to share this amazing program.“

- Kinyash, Kenya

„I’ve been working with the program since June 2010. Before diving into any specific health experiences, I would first like to affectionately commend my instructors as they have been primary in assisting me in the rewarding and grueling process of changing my mental, physical and emotional outlook on life and being. Together, Ingrid and Elan are a formidable team and are building E.E. New York into an oasis of learning, growing and evolving.

One of my obvious and ongoing results has been a loss of over twenty pounds of excess weight and not just any type of weight either. It seemed the weight I was carrying was literally loaded with toxins and spiritual heaviness courtesy of an already unhealthy modern lifestyle, persistent childhood emotional issues and having the noxious fumes of the World Trade Center waft over my apartment in downtown Brooklyn for several months. After the WTC I developed various severe immune problems within six months and have become increasingly frustrated at the methods I’ve employed to attempt to cope with my health issues. Fortunately, I now know I don’t have to give up and can honestly work with a group of people who are similarly inclined towards better health and existence.

Another important result has been a marked reduction in addictive thought patterns and anxiety produced by unhealthy lifestyle decisions. The siren call of sugar and unhealthy food choices is not as alluring or necessary now. Oh, and this is a somewhat embarrassing one, but I have quit biting my fingernails. Since childhood I have always chewed my fingernails but now I don’t.

Unlike other programs, Eiriu Eolas has no predetermined goals based on guilt, metaphorical shame based weigh ins or unrealistic expectations yet numerable positive changes come in short order. As Gore Vidal wrote, and I’ll place in the entirely different context of Eiriu Eolas, “There are no ends Joe, only means.”

- Joe, NYC

„I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this. It’s amazing – I really can’t describe it. What I’m holding here is a miracle!“

- Jim, with the Éiriú Eolas DVD set in hand, UK

„There have been many improvements in my life since I began the programme: For the first time in my life, I don’t wish I was somewhere else, doing something else. I feel so strong and optimistic, that’s a wonderful feeling. Here’s a great slogan: “Does your soul need a holiday? Then our EE program might just be the solution!”

- Aude, Health Kinesiology practitioner, Belgium

„I’ve practised yoga and breathing meditations over the years but there was absolutely no comparing that to this experience.“

- Elaine, Executive Assistant, Arizona

„The introductory video is so nicely made. All those 3D explanations are just stuck in my mind now. Every time I breathe the wrong way I am reminded by the animation. The info coupled with the visuals just stays with me.“

- Frank, Computer Consultant, California

„The EE program has helped me experience and release much emotional baggage.“

- Brent, Genetic Research Technician, New York

„My anger has abated A LOT. YAY! My hearing seems to have gotten better, too. My appetite has increased with no weight gain (another YAY).“

- Margaret, Administrative Assistant, Texas

„It’s like feeling “cleaner”, this is the closest word I could find to this sensation.“

- Amokrane, Astronomer, Chile

„Today the process included cleansing tears as I recalled patterns of loss and abandonment in my life. Everything about the experience was utterly gracious. I feel so blessed to have been given the gift of Éiriú Eolas.“

- Elizabeth, Student, Missouri

„The breathing technique is a great tool for the kids because they can do it anywhere and it does seem to really work.“

- Second Grade School Teacher, North Carolina

I am both alert and relaxed most of the time.

- Mike, Filmmaker, Armenia

„My experience doing EE is always blissful, the round breathing especially, so that I am in a deep meditative state… I used to lead group meditations and kirtans (devotional chanting) for many years. EE produces results in just a few minutes, doing it solo, that I have only experienced in group meditations after an hour or more. It’s such a beautiful experience.“

- Chris, Computer Programmer, New Jersey

„The most deeply healing practice I’ve ever encountered. No other practice has had such a positive and lasting effect on my mind, body and soul.“

- Tom, UK

„I’ve tried a little of Yoga before but it simply missed the mark since it just didn’t have that ‘power’ to relax me the way the EE program does. The vagus nerve stimulation and the very effective, no nonsense breathing techniques really make the difference!“

- Ken, USA

„Having explored many different breathing and meditation techniques over the years, Henry See was not prepared for the gentle power of Éiriú Eolas. Other techniques had left him feeling grounded, but nothing came close to producing the emotional release and detoxification he experienced right from the start of his daily EE practice. He knew it was something he wished to share with others.

“It is such a remarkable programme, so gentle yet powerful, and it is so easy to integrate into a busy life. When I was raising a family, I found it difficult to do regularly the zen meditation I was practising at the time. It is hard to find a half an hour morning and night to sit on your mat with young kids. But with Éiriú Eolas,it can be broken up into shorter periods during the day, and the pipe breathing is available whenever you need it, whenever you feel those stress chemicals shooting into your gut.”

He is also impressed with the scientific grounding of the techniques provided for the students. “The work that is being done by the research team at EE is remarkable. It is reassuring for the students to know that there is a clear scientific basis to the programme. The forum is a valuable resource as well.”

The health benefits are also impressive.

“Other types of meditation left me feeling energetic after going to weekend retreats, but that energy got lost quickly when I returned to daily life. With EE, that energy is always there. But energy with a sore, achey body isn’t much help. With the changes to my diet recommended by the EE programme, I have completely eliminated all the aches and pains associated with ‘growing old’. If I can help just one otherperson achieve those benefits, it is worth it.”

Henry has been teaching EE for almost a year in the northern British Columbia community of Fort St. John where he runs a bookstore. “There is an active music community up here in FSJ. I used to have all sorts of blocks about getting up and performing. I noticed that with the EE, I have more confidence. I can get up and perform just for the sheer pleasure of it without being hounded by that negative voice in my head telling me that I am an idiot and am makinga fool of myself”, he says laughing.“

- Henry See, Canada

Great program with good instruction, April 17, 2010 This review is from: Éiriú Eolas (DVD) I got this video at the New Life Expo after seeing the lecture there. I have done meditation before, but it was difficult for me to achieve effects and keep focused. This breathing and meditation program makes it so simple, yet the positive effects come fast! This video explains the science behind the breathing techniques. It also explains how to do it step by step. There's also a CD included that is great to play on my mp3 player before I go to sleep that guides you through the exercises and meditation. So far my mind has felt clearer and I feel like stress just rolls off of me. Highly recommended, even if you have done meditation before.

I have this one -- great for stress relief This review is from: Éiriú Eolas (DVD) Just saw this listed on Amazon. I already own a copy. The title is Irish Gaelic and pronounced "airu olas." It's a deep-breathing technique that systematically oxygenates the body and relieves stress at the same time. Interestingly, you can use it either to relax and get to sleep, or to energize yourself for the day. The difference in the way you feel is obvious after the first session, and it changes over time. Deep breathing is really important, good stuff for general health and mental well-being, too.

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http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/10/24/31690.aspx?page=1

It used to be dogma that the brain was shut away from the actions of the immune system, shielded from the outside forces of nature.

But that’s not how it is at all. In fact, thanks to the scientific detective work of Kevin Tracey, MD, it turns out that the brain talks directly to the immune system, sending commands that control the body’s inflammatory response to infection and autoimmune diseases.

Understanding the intimate relationship is leading to a novel way to treat diseases triggered by a dangerous inflammatory response.

Dr. Tracey, director and chief executive of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, will be giving the 2007 Stetten Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. His talk – Physiology and Immunology of the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway – will highlight the discoveries made in his laboratory and the clinical trials underway to test the theory that stimulation of the vagus nerve could block a rogue inflammatory response and treat a number of diseases, including life-threatening sepsis.

With this new understanding of the vagus nerve’s role in regulating inflammation, scientists believe that they can tap into the body’s natural healing defenses and calm the sepsis storm before it wipes out its victims. Each year, 750,000 people in the United States develop severe sepsis, and 215,000 will die no matter how hard doctors fight to save them. Sepsis is triggered by the body’s own overpowering immune response to a systemic infection, and hospitals are the battlegrounds for these potentially lethal conditions.

The vagus nerve is located in the brainstem and snakes down from the brain to the heart and on through to the abdomen. Dr. Tracey and others are now studying ways of altering the brain’s response or targeting the immune system itself as a way to control diseases.

Dr. Tracey is a neurosurgeon who came into research through the back door of the operating room. More than two decades ago, he was treating a young girl whose body had been accidentally scorched by boiling water and she was fighting for her life to overcome sepsis. She didn’t make it. Dr. Tracey headed into the laboratory to figure out why the body makes its own cells that can do fatal damage. Dr. Tracey discovered that the vagus nerve speaks directly to the immune system through a neurochemical called acetylcholine. And stimulating the vagus nerve sent commands to the immune system to stop pumping out toxic inflammatory

markers. “This was so surprising to us,” said Dr. Tracey, who immediately saw the potential to use vagus stimulation as a way to shut off abnormal immune system responses. He calls this network “the inflammatory reflex.”

Research is now underway to see whether tweaking the brain’s acetylcholine system could be a natural way to control the inflammatory response. Inflammation is key to many diseases – from autoimmune conditions like Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis to Alzheimer’s, where scientists have identified a strong inflammatory component.

Dr. Tracey has presented his work to the Dalai Lama, who has shown a great interest in the neurosciences and the mind-body connection. He has also written a book called “Fatal Sequence,” about the double-edge sword of the immune system.

Headquartered in Manhasset, NY, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is home to international scientific leaders in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, psychiatric disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, sepsis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, human genetics, leukemia, lymphoma, neuroimmunology, and medicinal chemistry. The Feinstein Institute, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, ranks in the top 6th percentile of all National Institutes of Health grants awarded to research centers. Feinstein researchers are developing new drugs and drug targets, and producing results where science meets the patient. For more information, please visit:

http://www.FeinsteinInstitute.org or http://feinsteininstitute.typepad.com/feinsteinweblog/

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INFLAMMATIONINFLAMMATIONINFLAMMATIONINFLAMMATION http://coolinginflammation.blogspot.com/2008/09/vagus-nerve-controls-intestinal.html Macrophages release inflammatory signals (TNF, IL-1, IL-6, IL-18) that result in tissue inflammation. Nicotine is anti-inflammatory by acting on the acetylcholine receptors normally responsive to acetylcholine released by the vagus nerve. Acupuncture is anti-inflammatory by stimulating the vagus nerve-mediated effects on macrophages. The relationship between the nervous and immune systems has been accepted as a reality, but has been elusive. Numerous examples in alternative medicine appear to show that a variety of treatments have immunological impacts, but explanations based on cellular biology have been slow to materialize. Here I will discuss some of the recent experiments that reveal obvious connections between nerves and

macrophages that may explain in medical terms at least part of the efficacy of acupuncture. Dilation of blood vessels that causes reddening, swelling and warmth of tissue inflammation results from changes at the cellular level. If the sentinel cells of a tissue, macrophages, are exposed to a bacterium, for example, receptors on the surface of the macrophages bind fragments of the bacterial cell wall, i.e. lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or endotoxin, and signal the expression of five dozen genes. Among these genes are inflammatory mediators, TNF, IL-1, IL-6, IL-18, that are released from the macrophages and trigger behavioral changes in the surrounding cells of the tissue, which are observed as inflammation. Expression of the inflammatory genes is controlled by a master transcription factor, NFkB. Thus, LPS will signal a macrophage, NFkB is activated, inflammatory genes are expressed, mediators are secreted and tissue inflammation is observed. Dozens of different inputs determine if NFkB will be activated or quieted. Nicotine for example has been observed to block inflammation by LPS. It has been shown that macrophages also have receptors for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that is released by branches of the vagus nerve in the intestines. It has also been recently shown that excitation of the vagus nerve releases acetylcholine and blocks the response of intestinal macrophages to LPS. Thus, vagus stimulation is anti-inflammatory and blocks NFkB activation through a competing transcription factor, STAT3. Nicotine acts by binding to the acetylcholine receptors of the macrophages and is similarly anti-inflammatory. Acupuncture appears to work by needle stimulation of the vagus nerve that sends signals to the brain. Returning nerve impulses via the vagus nerve subsequently release acetylcholine back into the surrounding tissue and block inflammation. In this context, acupuncture would be exploiting an existing inflammation dampening system, that would serve to localize spreading inflammatory signaling and emphasize the source of inflammation for action by the circulating elements of the immune system.

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http://coolinginflammation.blogspot.com/2009/09/vagus-nerve-controls-gut-inflammation.html

In a previous article, I outlined the role of the vagus nerve in responding to infection/damage signals by producing signals that inhibit inflammation. In a recent article (ref. below), the role of the vagus nerve in gut inflammation was examined using real-time biophotonic labeling. Basically that means that a video camera sensitive to infrared can be used to detect infrared dyes produced when NFkB is activated -- the camera is able to visualize regions of inflammation in living mice. Using this technique, researchers were able to demonstrate that cutting the vagus nerve produced heightened inflammation in gut treated with an irritant. The vagus nerve appears to stimulate regulatory T cells that lower the activity of inflammatory cells.

Inflammation/NFkB Activation Visualized in Live Mice

The studies were performed in a mouse line constructed to express an infrared fluorescent protein in cells in which the inflammation transcription factor, NFkB, is activated. Mice of this strain were prepared with and without the vagus nerve intact leading to the intestines. The mice were then exposed to sodium dextran sulfate (DSS) to simulate inflammatory bowel disease symptoms.

Cutting the Vagus Nerve Permits Inflammation

Mice with intact vagus nerves exhibited much less inflammation in their gut than those without vagus innervation. The cut vagus experiments demonstrated that the vagus nerve was responsible for suppressing inflammation. Further experiments were performed to determine if the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory reactions could be transferred to other mice by transferring cells from the treated mice.

Regulatory T Cells (CD4+, CD25+) Block Inflammation

Transfer experiments showed that inflammatory T cells (CD4+, CD25-) from cut vagus, DSS mice would cause bowel inflammation in other mice, but that did not happen with the same type of cells from mice with intact vagus nerves. Further tests showed that either cutting the vagus or adding inflammatory T cells from a mouse with a cut vagus, reduced the population of regulatory T cells (CD4+, CD25+) in control mice treated with DSS. So, without the vagus stimulation, the regulatory T cell population declined in the presence of inflammatory signals.

Absence of Regulatory T Cells Can Explain Many Inflammatory Diseases

In many inflammatory diseases, e.g. celiac, Crohn’s disease, rosacea, there appears to be a deficiency of regulatory T cells. In the absence regulatory T cells, signals from vagus nerves will no longer produce anti-inflammatory suppression. In fact the same nerve signals may become inflammatory. This would explain why rosaceans will become inflamed by hot or cold stimulation that would normally lead to anti-inflammatory stimulation of regulatory T cells. Similarly, capsaicin, castor oil and menthol, which normally produce an anti-inflammatory response, produce inflammation in rosaceans.

Reference: O’Mahony C, van der Kleij HP, Bienenstock J, Shanahan F, O’Mahony L. 2009. Loss of vagal anti-inflammatory effect – in vivo visualization and adoptive transfer. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. Aug 12. [Epub ahead of print]

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by Paul Ingraham http://saveyourself.ca/articles/breathing.php

The shoulders of giants

Someone tells you to “take a deep breath.” There’s more to it than you think. It’s the tip of an iceberg most people have never seen or heard of.

Having difficulty breathing?

If you are having difficulty breathing, please see below for possible causes in Appendix: Difficulty Breathing.

For more than a decade now, I have been practicing, teaching and exploring an unusual form of therapeutic breathing. It is known as “bioenergetic breathing,” and has its origins in the bodywork philosophies that emerged originally from Alexander Lowen’s interpretations of Reich and Jung.1 Interestingly, the same breathing style is called “round” breathing by the Chinese in the context of qigong, and has deep roots in that culture, although in a much different way.

So when I teach this kind of breathing, I stand on the shoulders of giants. I learned about bioenergetic breathing from Joanne Peterson and Drs. Jock McKeen and Bennet Wong at Gabriola Island’s renowned Haven Institute [www.haven.ca] for Professional Training. What I teach today is an adaptation of what I am still learning whenever I visit Gabriola.

No therapy at all

What I enjoy most about this form of “therapy” is that it is no therapy at all, but simply a kind of education. I do not have the conceit of the healer when I do this work. I am more of a coach. And it’s easy.

Although I offer many suggestions while “coaching” a breathing session, this is not because anyone ever breathes incorrectly. Every kind of breathing is intrinsically expressive of the individual, and potentially useful. My job is to encourage new and unfamiliar breathing – to stimulate altered states, and to use deep breath to reveal personal habits, limitations and resistance to full experience of life.

Breathing with your body

Bioenergetic breathing is basically just fast, deep breathing. It emphasizes inhalation, which is assertive and full. It does not pause at the top or the bottom of the breath, forming a smooth sine wave. The mouth and throat are open wide, removed from the path of the breath, never shaping or controlling the movement of air. Most people attempt to breathe predominantly with their mouth, nose and throat. In fact, it is the body that breathes, and the upper respiratory tract is simply an obstacle course.

In a typical bioenergetic breathing session, you might work up to a vigorous pace of breathing in the space of a minute or two, continue for five to ten minutes, and then wind down again.

How fast is fast? “Fast” is roughly double to triple your normal resting respiratory rate — about the same as if you’d just been exercising. Depth is more important than speed. Go as fast as you reasonably can while still actually taking and expelling a good chest-full of air. Don’t cut corners off the amplitude of the breath just to get greater speed. The overall effect is pretty vigorous, but it doesn’t have to be ridiculous. If you were to breathe like this in front of someone, but act otherwise normal, they would say, “Wow, hey, what’s up? You been running or something? Doing some kind of deep breathing exercise?” It’s an eyebrow-raising pace, not a “call 911” pace.

And what’s the point of all this breathing?

Breathing is stimulating. It induces heightened and altered states of awareness and sensation. For more information about the deeper philosophy of breathing, read The Anatomy of Vitality [http://saveyourself.ca/articles/anatomy-of-vitality.php]. But I suggest that you just try it first … I think that you’ll like it.

The surprising challenges of deep breathing

For something so simple, bioenergetic breathing proves to be a surprising challenge for nearly everyone. Most struggle, experiencing fear, frustration or apathy. Obviously, the challenge isn’t technical — it’s just heavy breathing. So what is it that gives people such trouble?

The challenge is emotional. Shallow breathing is the norm in our society. In fact, it is typical of most aging biological organisms. Shallow breath constitutes a comfort zone that we are reluctant to leave. Breathing hard stirs up interesting and alarming sensations, and we humans have an enormous repertoire of tactics for controlling and limiting the experience so that it is a little less boat-rocking.

Some common avoidance behaviours that I’ve observed over the years include chain yawning, squirming, blowing and hissing, wheezing, dry throat, aches and pains that magically pop out of nowhere, an attack of silliness, giggles or ticklishness, and so on. As they attempt to proceed, most people will experience anxiety, frustration or (most problematic) a suspiciously intense apathy. As a coach, “the fade” is the most difficult of all avoidance tactics to navigate, and it happens to be my own favourite reaction to breathing: when the going gets tough, I get sleepy and tune out.

Shallow breath constitutes a comfort zone that we are reluctant to leave.

Getting past these defenses is so surprisingly difficult that most people need coaching. As a breathing coach, I can spot all your tricks, keep you breathing clearly, and encourage you to actually experience all of the new sensations – instead of developing a sudden, intense interest in something else.

Parasthesia, tetanus and tremors, oh my! Transient physiological consequences of deep breathing

The challenge is complicated by the fact that bioenergetic breathing tends to cause three harmless but potentially alarming side-effects: parasthesia, tetanus, and tremors.

Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? Well, it is kind of exciting. This is powerful stuff. But these experiences really are harmless, and they tend to go away with practice. I myself went through them and came out the other side many years ago.

Parasthesia simply means “altered sensation,” usually in the form of tingling that starts around the mouth, at the fingertips and in the toes. As it advances and spreads, it is usually accompanied by tetanus — sustained but mild contraction of muscles. The hands and feet tend to “claw up,” and your lips will feel like you’ve just been to the dentist! This is different than spasm, and it is more stiff than painful. It wears off quickly. Finally, tremors may sweep through the body

erratically, perhaps favouring a specific limb or side, but this too passes rapidly — and should actually be indulged when it occurs. Let yourself shake. Be free!

Martial arts and yoga practitioners may study their entire lives without knowing the sensation of qi.

These symptoms are produced by an altered mind-body state, both physiological and psychological. The tetanus is a consequence of some changes in blood chemistry. The tingling is the sensation of qi — when your hands are tingling fiercely with qi, it feels like you are holding balls of fire. It’s a very distinctive sensation, and a privilege to experience. I often explain to people that martial arts and yoga practitioners may study for their entire lives without knowing the sensation of qi, simply because they don’t breathe enough.

The tendency to tremor is a “letting go.” We are all hanging on tightly to so very much, including out own bodies. The breathing shakes us loose. I advise you not to try to stop it.

I must emphasize again that all of these side-effects are temporary. Bioenergetic breathing is not hyperventilation.2 It is not dangerous in any way. Any sensation you experience during breathing will go away as you slow down and stop.

Soul diving!

You might become emotional during bioenergetic breathing.

Most people feel like crying. Feeling sad and frustrated are the most common reactions to breathing. But many also feel like they want to hit something (hint: try a pillow!), and virtually any other kind of emotional experience is possible for different people, or for the same person in different sessions.

Sadness and anger are the two great unexpressed emotions in our society. Most of us have deep wells of them. Bioenergetic breathing can be a handy way to deliberately induce cathartic crying jags. Indeed, some people notice that they cry every time they breathe like this, prompting the question, “What else is there? When will I be done crying?”

The answer is, “When you’re done.” If you’ve been holding back sadness for thirty years, expect it to take a while. But trust me: there is something beyond all the crying. And that is what this work is all about. It’s soul diving.

Possibilities

Go to it. Slow down and stop if you get alarmed. Call me if you have questions or you want a coach. There are no rules, but many possibilities. I’ll leave you with a few of those …

• Try breathing like mad for a five minutes and then holding your breath for a while. You’ll be amazed at how long you can do it.

• Try breathing in different positions. Some classic positions are: draped over an exercise ball (face up or face down), touching your toes, leaning backwards, flat on your back with the knees up, squatting, child’s pose, while doing virtually any stretch …

• Try breathing in different patterns: three sharp breaths in, one out. • Try breathing by “filling” different parts of your body: the deep belly, the

solar plexus, the upper chest. For a real challenge, “fill” the less flexible parts of yourself.

• Try adding movement to the breathing, either rhythmically and repetitively, or randomly.

• Try visualizations. The possibilities in this category alone are virtually limitless. Two examples: pull energy in through your head with the intake and flush it out your toes on the exhalation; or visualize yourself like a coal that swells with heat and light when you blow on it! I like that one …

• Try breathing with music that you love. • Try adding sound to breathing. Start with noisy exhalations, like you are

groaning with satisfaction and weariness at the end of the week. That’s a good place to start. But you can work up to all kinds of noisy nonsense. If you have the privacy, do not hesitate to be emotionally noisy.

• And on and on …

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http://www.perfectbreathing.com/breath-retraining-vagus-nerve-and-depression-dr-fred-muench

Dr. Fred Muench is a clinical psychologist who served on the team that developed the Helicor StressEraser bio-feedback device for breath-based stress reduction, as well as the Breath Pacer application for the iPhone. Dr. Muench offers a unique perspective into the science and application of conscious breathing, with some startling revelations on the profound effects breathing has on depression, anxiety and hypertension.

Perfect Breath: What was it that initially sparked your interest in the breath and its applications to health and wellness?

Fred Muench: I went to school for clinical psychology and during my training I realized that every patient intervention uses a stress management technique even if it is just as an adjunct. Whether it was a chronic population on an in-patient ward, schizophrenics, depressives, anxiety cases, it didn’t matter, there was always some form of stress management that was a part of the treatment.

There was also the mindfulness revolution of the early nineties which occurred while I was in grad school. So we started hearing more and more about it. And I came to realize that in every one of these interventions the common or even primary mechanism was breath control and although there were different techniques and forms – alternate nostril breathing, different counts and ratios - it was ultimately about slow deep breathing.

After I graduated I was working at Columbia doing process research into the mechanisms of change in people. We were looking at social support, stimulus control techniques, and at people changing their environments, and it became clear

that stress reduction was a key part of how people changed their behavior. Whether it was engaging in physical activity, stress reduction methods like meditation or breath retraining - stress reduction techniques were an excellent predictor of outcome. So I started focusing on breathwork more and more as time went on.

At that time Helicor was looking for a director of clinical research, focused on psycho-physiology and what happens to the body as people are breathing. That led me full force into this entire world of biofeedback, breath retraining, and stress reduction.

Since leaving Helicor, I’ve been working on applications like the Breath Pacer for the iPhone, as well as other applications and phones as well.

PB: During the research, studies, and investigations that you’ve conducted, what has surprised you the most?

FM: My perception, and I think that of the general public as well, was that breathing techniques help with stress arousal and anxiety and stress-related conditions, which is all true. What shocked me was the powerful effect of breath retraining on the symptoms of depression!

What I found so interesting was that when you have an anxious or hyper-tense population, what you are dealing with is sympathetic nervous system (the fight or flight system) over-arousal. Breath retraining reduces sympathetic nervous system over arousal and increases para-sympathetic nervous system activity – the relax, recuperate, regenerate system –which calms you down.

With depressives the problem seems to be under arousal. Low skin conductance, low heart-rate variability (HRV), and reduced low-frequency HRV. These are all indicators of depression. The whole body is under-aroused – it can’t get moving. Proper breathing seems to bring balance to the body. It is not a one way intervention, but brings the body into to equilibrium so it can work. Breath retraining increases skin conductance and increases low-frequency HRV. Typically people think these are not great outcomes. But in depressives that is exactly what you want.

Perhaps one of the most important outcomes is increased vagal nerve tone. The vagus nerve is the primary pacifying nerve in the body. Increased vagus nerve tone activates parts of the body that need activating and quells the parts that need to be relaxed. That was what really took me by surprise - the powerful effects on depressives. The effects are so significant they make any drug look like a placebo. The effect sizes are either large or very large and that is compared to active treatment not placebo. Compared to active relaxation treatments that don’t utilize breath retraining as an active component, it is extremely powerful. Unfortunately these outcomes have not been widely publicized which is a shame.

PB: What is the connection between the breath and the vagus nerve? How does the breath impact vagus function?

FM: The breath’s effects on the vagus occur primarily during exhalation. During exhalation your heart rate decelerates and during that period of deceleration the vagus becomes active. Shallow, rapid breathing patterns inhibit the vagus because the period of vagal activity is too short and the nerve does not have time to pacify the other nerves that it touches. It really is a simple mechanism. By slowing down your breathing you create more vagal activity, accentuating its relaxing and regenerating effects. With bio-feedback devices (such as StressEraser) you can train yourself to keep the heart-rate deceleration for as long as possible, maximizing its benefits.

PB: What do you see as the main benefits of using biofeedback technologies like StressEraser, and Breath Pacer?

FM: There is a difference in the function and value between StressEraser and Breath Pacer. The Breath Pacer is a simple metronome, while the StressEraser is actually a biofeedback device. Both of these devices make breath retraining accessible to those who don’t know about it or have difficulty performing the activity.

I’ve been quite surprised at how many people are oblivious to the effects of their breath - who don’t understand the concept of slowing down their breath, or are chest breathers. These technologies provide them with a window into the power of breath.

I personally found that I was easily distracted doing breathwork and discovered that the external focus provided by the device was very helpful, especially on the subway. I’ll just close my eyes and use the audio component to guide my breathing and do 20 minutes of breathwork on the way to the office. It does help you to stay focused, and when your mind wanders, StressEraser has the added benefit showing you the breaks in the waves so you can see what is happening. The down side is that some people are very anxious and get even more stressed out seeing their physiology being tracked on the device. For those people the simple metronome function of the Breath Pacer might be a better place to start.

The ultimate goal however is to encourage people to practice focusing on their breath. Where they take it from there is up to them. The physiological effects of just focusing on breath are so powerful, that alone would be sufficient, but if they graduate into integrating other practices such as mindfulness, yoga, or meditation, that is even better.

PB: What are the benefits of specific practices, such as alternate nostril breathing? How do these practices differ from simple slow, deep breathing?

FM: In terms of research, there is currently much more anecdotal evidence. Studies that have been done don’t seem to have good control groups. However, there seems to be the suggestion that alternate nostril breathing, for example, helps to lateralize the brain (emphasize one hemisphere over the other), activate certain regions of the brain, and perhaps affect visual acuity as well. But as I said there is not enough solid research yet to know the specific impacts of these different types of breathing.

It is the same with breath holding. A lot of practices use it. Clearly you see heart-rate deceleration during breath holding and I think taking slow inhales with long holding before the exhale helps - particularly in situations where you are dealing with anxiety in the moment. But I don’t know of specific research regarding breath holding.

That is why I focused on autonomic balance where breathing is in synchronicity with your heart rate.. That is what we’ve done with Breath Pacer. People enter their height which indicates how the blood flows through body, which helps determine the proper breath rate to create that autonomic balance.

That is my focus because we can see it happening. As a researcher, I just want to look at the empirical information. We know that around 6 breaths per minute, you get the autonomic balance.

PB: What do you recommend for people wanting to get started with breathwork?

FM: There are two things: The technology can help them get started focusing on their breathing and help guide them, but I would recommend that they take 2 hours out of their life to either join a yoga class, or a qi gong class - anything with the experience of guided training.

What I’ve learned it that it is a lot harder than I thought it was to teach proper breathing.

Some people are chest breathers and no amount of technology will change that. Get some sort of professional help, a video, a book, anything that will help you understand the fundamentals of the practice. You can breate 6 breaths per minute from your chest, but you’ll probably hyperventilating after 3 minutes and decide that it is a bunch of garbage. Some people get it right away, but some people need help. If you are having difficulty, get help.

PB: How has this knowledge, how have these techniques changed your life? How are you using them?

FM: That is a great question - especially now that I have kids. I have lots of opportunities! It has made a huge impact in terms of my personal emotional reactivity. I can come to work much more balanced, and I always know that I have it up my sleeve.

As I was learning and integrating it into my life, I found that I was using it as a crutch rather than a preventative measure. For example I’d get into a situation - like going to a last-minute meeting – where I was feeling anxious and using the breathing and feeling like it wasn’t working. Now it is a part of daily routine. I use it mostly on the train for 20 minutes on my way in to the office and also on the way home and I feel much more even-keeled. I can walk in the door and my kids will jump on me and I don’t need that 5 minutes or so to decompress and get settled. I can go right to engaging with my family because I’ve had that time to myself. Where everyone else on the subway just seems annoyed, I seem to have found a measure of peace, and finding peace on a NY subway - in and of itself - is more than anyone can ask!

PB: That is a quite an accomplishment!

FM: In terms of clinical practice, I’m not seeing patients any more, but I integrated it into my practice by showing patients how to use the techniques preventatively, trying to get them to realize that it is a very important tool - not your only tool - but a very important tool that can help you function throughout the day. It’s tool that I’ve integrated into my life and recommend that other do as well.

The best thing though is people calling the company and telling us that this has changed their life. “I’m a better, nicer person.” “I can’t tell you what you’ve done for my life.” “I’m more mellow, I don’t react to situations.” It is a glorious feeling and it really makes your day.

Don Campbell and Al Lee are the authors of Perfect Breathing: Transform Your Life One Breath At A Time (Sterling Publishing/2008) and write, speak, train, and blog tirelessly on the subject. Discover more ways you can improve your health, performance, and wellbeing at www.perfectbreathing.com. Reach them at info@perfectbreathing.com

CAN VAGUS NERVECAN VAGUS NERVECAN VAGUS NERVECAN VAGUS NERVE STIMULATION HALTSTIMULATION HALTSTIMULATION HALTSTIMULATION HALT OROROROR

AMELIORATEAMELIORATEAMELIORATEAMELIORATE RHEUMATOIDRHEUMATOIDRHEUMATOIDRHEUMATOID ARTHRITISARTHRITISARTHRITISARTHRITIS AND LUPUSAND LUPUSAND LUPUSAND LUPUS????

http://7thspace.com/headlines/370612/can_vagus_nerve_stimulation_halt_or_ameliorate_rheumatoid_arthritis_and_lupus.html

Acetylcholine, the principal vagus neurotransmitter, inhibits inflammation by suppressing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines through a mechanism dependent on the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit (alpha7nAChR) that explains why vagus nerve stimulation is anti-inflammatory in nature. Strong expression of alpha7nAChR in the synovium of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis patients was detected.

Peripheral macrophages and synovial fibroblasts respond in vitro to specific alpha7nAChR cholinergic stimulation with potent inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines. Fibroblasts balance inflammatory mechanisms and arthritis development through feedback cholinergic stimulation by nearby immune cells.

Collagen induced arthritis in alpha7nAChR(-/-) mice was significantly severe and showed increased synovial inflammation and joint destruction compared to the wild-type mice. Similar to vagal nerve stimulation and alpha7nAChR agonists, polyunsaturated fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) also suppress inflammation.

In view of their similar anti-inflammatory actions, it is proposed that vagal nerve stimulation, alpha7nAChR agonists and EPA and DHA may augment the formation of anti-inflammatory lipid molecules: lipoxins, resolvins, protectins and maresins. This implies that therapies directed at regulation of the cholinergic and alpha7nAChR mediated mechanisms and enhancing the formation of lipoxins, resolvins, protectins and maresins may halt and/or ameliorate rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other rheumatolo

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http://answers.drugaddiction.ca/drug-addiction/vagus-nerve-epilepsy-drug-addiction/

Holistic support for the vagus nerve, that is part of our parasympathetic nervous system could bring about an end to epilepsy and drug addiction. Chronic stress causes the sympathetic nervous system to gear up the body in a defensive way, not optimal to good health, more a survival function. In an effort to compensate for stress factors, and bring the body back to homeostasis, the vagus nerve is activated, boosting the immune system and trying to restore equilibrium.

The vagus nerve means “wandering” and indeed the vagus (10th cranial) nerve extends direct from our brain throughout the body, reaching the heart, our digestive system and peripheral organs, our muscles and our skin.

Epilepsy is precisely caused by excessive discharge of electrical activity in the brain resulting in loss of consciousness, and very often tonic-clonic spasms and convulsions. There is also a wide range of non-epileptic seizures, tics, tremors and spasms that have the appearance of epilepsy – but without the cerebral discharge. Focal epilepsy would appear to be connected with brain function. There is evidence of glial function in the brain trying to compensate for stress where epilepsy is involved. Non epileptic seizures seem to be associated with somatic aberrations, and sometimes have psychosomatic causes.

Both epilepsy and drug addiction are still considered by some to have congenital, genetic origin – in both cases no genetic cause has in fact been located, with

increasingly strong indications that for both disorders it is trauma and an abusive childhood that is causal of these symptoms. A holistic approach has no difficulty with treating both epilepsy and drug addiction as symptoms of distress – each being the best way that the individual concerned learnt to defend against and tried to deal with particular stressors in their life.

Both epilepsy and drug addiction can be a result of chronic over stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, and a hyperactive vagus nerve, trying to conquer the stress. Apart from physical toxic stressors, modern day life abounds with traumatic, toxic emotional conflicts and stress.

Causes of epilepsy are known to be sources of intense stimulation, such as flickering lights, or binaural sound entrainment. The epileptic response would appear to be a natural type of ECT devised by the body to rid itself of both physical and emotional tensions generated by overwhelmingly toxic stress. A similar effect is achieved when people compulsively turn to drug and substance abuse.

Sadly, much of the stress that we suffer from today comes from the necessity of having to deal with toxic human relationships from a position of relative powerlessness. We don’t get catharsis by negotiation, we have no choice, no option – to emotionally survive the situation – we have to take drastic action. For some it is the epileptic discharge of mental and physical tension – for others it might be taking refuge in alcohol use, or shooting up with a needle.

In a holistic sense, virtually all psychosomatic, auto immune and compulsive, impulsive disorders can be explained in terms of conflict between the mind-activated sympathetic nervous system, and parasympathetic attempts by the vagus nerve, the glilia, and other body regulators to try and down regulate the stress.

Holistic methods and treatments provide parasympathetic support, helping to bring the body into balance and harmony – using methods that are natural – and 100% drug free. When emotional conflicts are resolved, using holistic therapy – people can achieve recovery from drug addiction and epileptic symptoms.

ON VAGUS NERVEON VAGUS NERVEON VAGUS NERVEON VAGUS NERVE, , , , MEDITAIONMEDITAIONMEDITAIONMEDITAION & & & & HEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTH

http://drhyman.com/

“The mind has great influence over the body, and maladies often have their origin there.” — Moliere

What were Dean Ornish, Mehmet Oz, Dan Brown, the Dalai Lama, and I all doing in Woodstock, New York, last week?

We — along with an assortment of Tibetan monks and doctors, Buddhist scholars, meditation researchers, and prize-winning biomedical scientists in the field of aging, the immune system, stem cells, genetics, brain aging, stress physiology, and more from MIT, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Duke, and UCSF — were all part of a special conference at the Menla Center.

The subject of this conference: Longevity and Tibetan medicine.

If that seems intriguing, it was!

The goal of the conference might sound complex — but it was quite simple.

We were there to investigate the relationship between the science of longevity and wellness and the ancient Indo-Tibetan practices of meditation and training the mind.

The point wasn’t to learn how to treat disease, but to learn what we know about regeneration of the body, protection from illness, and optimization of our function and wellbeing.

The convergence of “post-modern biology” — the new science of “systems” thinking and medicine — and the ancient wisdom and practices of Tibetan medicine and Buddhism was startling.

So what did we talk about?

Well, for one thing, we explored the relationship between the nervous system and health and aging, and the connection between the immune system and health.

As you get older, your immune system produces more inflammatory molecules, and your nervous system turns on the stress response, promoting system breakdown and aging.

That’s not just talk. It’s backed by scientific studies.

For example, Kevin Tracey, the director of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, discovered how the brain controls the immune system through a direct nerve-based connection.

He describes this as the inflammatory reflex (i). Simply put, it is the way the immune system responds to the mind.

Let me explain.

Your immune system is controlled by a nerve call the vagus nerve.

But this isn’t just any nerve.

It is the most important nerve coming from the brain and travels to all the major organs.

And you can activate this nerve — through relaxation, meditation, and other ancient practices.

What’s the benefit of that?

Well, by activating the vagus nerve, you can control your immune cells, reduce inflammation, and even prevent disease and aging!

It’s true. By creating positive brain states — as meditation masters have done for centuries — you can switch on the vagus nerve and control inflammation.

You can actually control your gene function by this method. Activate the vagus nerve, and you can switch on the genes that help control inflammation.

And, as you know from my books Ultraprevention and UltraMetabolism, inflammation is one of the central factors of disease and aging.

But that’s not all we learned at the conference.

Even more fascinating was the discovery that our bodies can regenerate at any age.

Diane Krause, MD, PhD, from Yale University discovered that our own innate adult stem cells (cells that can turn into any cell in the body from our bone marrow) could be transformed into liver, bowel, lung, and skin cells. (ii)

This is a phenomenal breakthrough.

Here’s why.

It means that we have the power to create new cells and renew our own organs and tissues at any age.

And how are these stem cells controlled?

You guessed it: the vagus nerve.

So relaxation — a state of calm, peace, and stillness — can activate the vagus nerve.

And the vagus nerve, in turn, activates your stem cells to regenerate and renew your tissues and organs.

Scientists have even shown how meditation makes the brain bigger and better.

They’ve mapped out the brain function of “professional meditators” by bringing Tibetan lamas trained in concentration and mental control into the laboratory.

The result? They found higher levels of gamma brain waves and thicker brain cortexes (the areas associated with higher brain function) in meditators. (iii)

Relaxation can have other powerful effects on our biology.

In biology, being a complex system that can adapt to its environment and that is resilient and flexible is critical to health.

The same is true for us.

The more complex and resilient we are, the healthier we are.

Take, for example, our heartbeat.

Its complexity is called heart rate variability (HRV) or beat-to-beat variability. The more complex your HRV, the healthier you are. The least complex heart rate is the worst — a flat line.

So what does this have to do with relaxation?

The HRV is also controlled by the vagus nerve.

As you can see, turning on the relaxation response and activating that vagus nerve is critical to health.

Let me review what we learned at the conference.

By learning to create positive brain states through deep relaxation or meditation, you can:

* Reduce inflammation * Help regenerate your organs and cells by activating stem cells * Increase your heart rate variability * Thicken your brain (which normally shrinks with aging). * Boost immune function * Modulate your nervous system * Reduce depression and stress * Enhance performance * Improve your quality of life

Not bad for just learning to chill out!

Think you’re too stressed out to relax?

Not so fast. We learned that it’s not always outside stressors that are the most important, but our responses to those stressors.

In fact, the Dalai Lama told a story of a Tibetan monk he met who had been in a Chinese gulag, where he was tortured, placed in solitary confinement, and prohibited from practicing his traditions for more than 20 years.

The Dalai Lama asked him what his greatest stress was.

The monk replied that it was his fear that he would lose compassion for his Chinese jailers!

I have met a number of these old monks, who spent the better part of their lives imprisoned and tortured. What is remarkable is that they didn’t suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome — that they emerged intact, peaceful, happy, smiling, and giving back to the world.

Perhaps stress is more about the stories we tell ourselves about our lives.

On the other hand, the damaging effects of stress are clear.

As we learned at the conference, one of the leading theories of aging is that the protective ends of our DNA (called telomeres) shorten as we age.

Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, who discovered telomeres, explained that, ultimately, they become so short that the end of our DNA unravels and we can no longer replicate our cells, so they die.

Remarkably, mental stress produces a more rapid shortening of the telomeres — and leads to faster aging.

What’s even more remarkable?

In a study of caregivers of sick patients, the health of the caregivers’ telomeres was determined by their attitude!

It sounds impossible, but it’s true.

The caregivers who felt the care to be a burden had shorter telomeres, while those who saw their work as an opportunity to be compassionate had no shortening. (iv)

In closing, the Dalai Lama said that the seat of compassion is actually biological and — necessary for survival.

Perhaps the development of compassion and wisdom in coping with unfavorable life conditions is the true key to longevity.

It just may be that working to understand our true nature through the cultivation of our minds and hearts with positive practices like meditation or similar techniques is critical to health and longevity. The ways we can change our bodies through changing our minds is not longer a theory.

There is a new scientific language to understand how the qualities of the mind control the body through effects on the vagus nerve, immune cells, stem cells, telomeres, DNA, and more. Remember, your body has all the resources and infinitely adaptable systems to self-regulate, repair, regenerate, and thrive.

You simply have to learn how to work with your body, rather than against it. Then you can have a healthy, thriving life — and live out your full lifespan, which can be as high as 120+ years!

So here are a few tips to activate your vagus nerve and prevent aging:

1) Learn to meditate.

Find a teacher or check out tapes or CDs [Practice the Éiriú Eolas Program!]

2) Stretch it out.

Try a yoga class in your area. Yoga can be a great way to release tension and deeply relax.

3) Get some energy.

Learn qi gong, a relaxing ancient system of energy treatment and balancing.

4) Get rubbed the right way.

Massage has been proven to boost immunity and relaxes the body deeply.

5) Make love.

The only way you can do it is if you are not stressed!

6) Get back to nature.

Climb a mountain and watch a sunrise, which will calm your nervous system.

7) Express yourself.

Write in your journal about your inner experience — this has been shown to boost immunity and reduce inflammation. Now I’d like to hear from you…

Have you noticed how stress affects you? Have you noticed people looking older after significant life stressors? Have you noticed how people who seem to have a happy disposition or compassionate attitude toward life don’t seem to age as quickly as people who are angry and miserable? Do you have any other suggestions for how to reduce stress, or better yet, how to better your manage your own response to stressful events?

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, MD

Notes

i Kevin J. Tracey, The inflammatory reflex, Nature 420, 853 – 859 (19 Dec 2002)

ii Krause DS. Plasticity of marrow-derived stem cells. Gene Ther. 2002 Jun;9(11):754-8. Review.

iii Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, Gray JR, Greve DN, Treadway MT, McGarvey M, Quinn BT, Dusek JA, Benson H, Rauch SL, Moore CI, Fischl B. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport. 2005 Nov 28;16(17):1893-7.

iv Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, Morrow JD, Cawthon RM. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Dec 7;101(49):17312-5. Epub 2004 Dec 1.

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http://www.mattasons.com/tag/vagus-nerve-stimulation/

NIH-funded researchers were able to eliminate tinnitus in a group of rats by stimulating a nerve in the neck while simultaneously playing a variety of sound tones over an extended period of time, says a study published today in the advance online publication of the journal Nature. The hallmark of tinnitus is often a persistent ringing in the ears that is annoying for some, debilitating for others, and currently incurable. Similar to pressing a reset button in the brain, this new therapy was found to help retrain the part of the brain that interprets sound so that errant neurons reverted back to their original state and the ringing disappeared. The research was conducted by scientists from the University of Texas at Dallas and MicroTransponder Inc., in Dallas.

“Current treatments for tinnitus generally involve masking the sound or learning to ignore it,” said James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), which funded a large part of the research. “If we can find a way to turn off the noise, we’ll be able to improve life substantially for the nearly 23 million American adults who suffer from this disorder.”

Tinnitus is a symptom some people experience as a result of hearing loss. When sensory cells in the inner ear are damaged, such as from loud noise, the resulting hearing loss changes some of the signals sent from the ear to the brain. For reasons that are not fully understood, some people will develop tinnitus as a result.

“We believe the part of the brain that processes sounds—the auditory cortex—delegates too many neurons to some frequencies, and things begin to go awry,” said Michael Kilgard, Ph.D., associate professor of behavior and brain sciences at UT-Dallas, and a co-principal investigator on the study. “Because there are too

many neurons processing the same frequencies, they are firing much stronger than they should be.”

In addition, the neurons fire in sync with one another and they also fire more frequently when it is quiet. According to Dr. Kilgard, it’s these changing brain patterns that produce tinnitus, which is usually a high-pitched tone in one or both ears, but it may also be heard as clicking, roaring, or a whooshing sound.

Dr. Kilgard, along with co-principal investigator Navzer Engineer, M.D., Ph.D., of MicroTransponder, Inc., and others on the research team first sought to induce changes in the auditory cortex of a group of rats by pairing stimulation of the vagus nerve, a large nerve that runs from the head and neck to the abdomen, with the playing of a single tone. When the vagus nerve is stimulated, it releases acetylcholine, norepinephrine, and other chemicals that help encourage changes in the brain. They wanted to find out if they could induce more brain cells to become responsive to that tone over a period of time.

For 20 days, 300 times a day, researchers played a high-pitched tone, at 9 kilohertz (kHz), to eight rats. At the same time that the tone was played, an electrode delivered a very small electrical pulse to the vagus nerve. The researchers found that the number of neurons tuned to the 9 kHz frequency had jumped by 79 percent in comparison to the control rats.

In a second group of rats, they randomly played two different tones—one at 4 kHz and the other at 19 kHz—but stimulated the vagus nerve only for the higher tone. Neurons tuned to the higher frequency increased by 70 percent while neurons tuned to the 4 kHz tone actually decreased in number, indicating that the tone alone was not enough to initiate the change. It had to be accompanied by vagus nerve stimulation (VNS).

Next, the researchers tested whether tinnitus could be reversed in noise-exposed rats by increasing the numbers of neurons tuned to frequencies other than the tinnitus frequency. A group of the noise-exposed rats with tinnitus received VNS that was paired with different tones surrounding the tinnitus frequency 300 times a day for about three weeks. Rats in the control group received VNS with no tones, tones with no VNS, or no therapy. For both groups, measurements were taken four weeks after noise exposure, then 10 days after therapy began, and one day, one week, and three weeks after therapy ended.

Rats that received the VNS paired with tones showed promising results for each time point after therapy began, including midway through therapy, indicating that the ringing had stopped for the treated rats. Conversely, the data from control rats indicated their tinnitus had continued throughout the testing period. What’s more, the researchers followed two treated and two control rats for an additional two months and found that the treated rats maintained this benefit for 3.5 months after noise exposure, while the controls continued to be impaired.

The researchers also evaluated neural responses in the auditory cortex in these same rats and found that neurons in the treated rats had returned to their normal levels, where they remained. This indicated that the tinnitus had disappeared. However, the control group levels continued to be distorted, indicating that the tinnitus persisted. Overall, the researchers found that the VNS treatment paired with tones had not only reorganized the neurons to respond to their original frequencies, but it also made the brain responses sharper, decreased excitability, and decreased synchronization of auditory cortex neurons.

“The key is that, unlike previous treatments, we’re not masking the tinnitus, we’re not hiding the tinnitus. We are retuning the brain from a state where it generates tinnitus to a state that does not generate tinnitus. We are eliminating the source of the tinnitus,” said Dr. Kilgard.

VNS is currently being used to treat roughly 50,000 people with epilepsy or depression, and MicroTransponder hopes to conduct clinical studies using VNS with paired tones in tinnitus patients.

“The clinical protocol is being finalized now and a pilot study in tinnitus patients will be conducted in Europe in the near future,” said Dr. Engineer, vice president of preclinical affairs at MicroTransponder. “The support of the NIDCD has been essential to allow our research team to continue our work in this important area of tinnitus research.” MicroTransponder is a neuroscience-based medical device company that is working to develop treatments for a variety of neurological diseases, including tinnitus, chronic pain, and anxiety.

In the meantime, the researchers are currently working to fine-tune the procedure to better understand such details as the most effective number of paired frequencies to use for treatment; how long the treatment should last; and whether the treatment would work equally well for new tinnitus cases in comparison to long-term cases.

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It used to be dogma that the brain was shut away from the actions of the immune system, shielded from the outside forces of nature.

But that’s not how it is at all. In fact, thanks to the scientific detective work of Kevin Tracey, MD, it turns out that the brain talks directly to the immune system, sending commands that control the body’s inflammatory response to infection and autoimmune diseases.

Understanding the intimate relationship is leading to a novel way to treat diseases triggered by a dangerous inflammatory response.

Dr. Tracey, director and chief executive of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, will be giving the 2007 Stetten Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. His talk – Physiology and Immunology of the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway – will highlight the discoveries made in his laboratory and the clinical trials underway to test the theory that stimulation of the vagus nerve could block a rogue inflammatory response and treat a number of diseases, including life-threatening sepsis.

With this new understanding of the vagus nerve’s role in regulating inflammation, scientists believe that they can tap into the body’s natural healing defenses and calm the sepsis storm before it wipes out its victims. Each year, 750,000 people in the United States develop severe sepsis, and 215,000 will die no matter how hard doctors fight to save them. Sepsis is triggered by the body’s own overpowering immune response to a systemic infection, and hospitals are the battlegrounds for these potentially lethal conditions.

The vagus nerve is located in the brainstem and snakes down from the brain to the heart and on through to the abdomen. Dr. Tracey and others are now studying

ways of altering the brain’s response or targeting the immune system itself as a way to control diseases.

Dr. Tracey is a neurosurgeon who came into research through the back door of the operating room. More than two decades ago, he was treating a young girl whose body had been accidentally scorched by boiling water and she was fighting for her life to overcome sepsis. She didn’t make it. Dr. Tracey headed into the laboratory to figure out why the body makes its own cells that can do fatal damage. Dr. Tracey discovered that the vagus nerve speaks directly to the immune system through a neurochemical called acetylcholine. And stimulating the vagus nerve sent commands to the immune system to stop pumping out toxic inflammatory markers. “This was so surprising to us,” said Dr. Tracey, who immediately saw the potential to use vagus stimulation as a way to shut off abnormal immune system responses. He calls this network “the inflammatory reflex.”

Research is now underway to see whether tweaking the brain’s acetylcholine system could be a natural way to control the inflammatory response. Inflammation is key to many diseases – from autoimmune conditions like Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis to Alzheimer’s, where scientists have identified a strong inflammatory component.

Dr. Tracey has presented his work to the Dalai Lama, who has shown a great interest in the neurosciences and the mind-body connection. He has also written a book called Fatal Sequence, about the double-edge sword of the immune system.

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Claude Libert

Clockwise from lower right: many bacteria contain lipopolysaccharide in their cell walls, which stimulates macrophages. These immune cells then make and release various cytokine ('alarm') molecules, including tumour-necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-1. But too much TNF in the blood can be harmful, leading to excessive inflammation and septic shock. Several drugs (orange boxes) inhibit steps in TNF synthesis. In addition, Tracey and colleagues have found that when the vagus nerve detects interleukin-1 (left), it releases acetylcholine (right), which binds to the alpha7 receptor2 on macrophages and inhibits cytokine production. This suggests possible new ways of controlling inflammation: through electrically stimulating the vagus nerve, by acupuncture, or with the use of nicotine (which mimics acetylcholine).

The molecular details of a connection between the nervous system and the inflammatory response to disease have been uncovered. This suggests new avenues of research into controlling excessive inflammation.

Sepsis is a complex, exaggerated and chaotic version of the usually well-organized inflammatory arm of our immune defences, and kills over 175,000 people each year in the United States alone1. Although a great deal of time and effort has been spent researching septic shock, it remains difficult to understand and treat. One

promising lead was provided two years ago, when it was discovered that there is a connection between inflammation and the involuntary nervous system. The details of this link have, however, been unclear — until now. Writing on page 384 of this issue, Kevin Tracey and colleagues2 describe how they identified a receptor protein that is stimulated by the nervous system and which in turn inhibits a key molecular mediator of inflammation and septic shock. This receptor might make a good target for future drugs to treat sepsis.

Inflammation has several roles in the body, one of which is to contribute to the immune system’s ability to fight off intruding microorganisms. For instance, molecules that are produced during the inflammatory response increase blood flow to infected areas, or help to recruit immune cells. One way in which inflammation is triggered is in response to lipopolysaccharides — components of the cell walls of many bacteria — which activate the immune system’s macrophages. These cells in turn release ‘alarm’ molecules, namely cytokines, some of which have powerful pro-inflammatory properties. Tumour-necrosis factor (TNF) is one such molecule. This protein can affect nearly all cell types, and has a range of biological activities. For instance, it induces the expression of a large number of genes that encode essential inflammatory molecules (such as other cytokines; enzymes that help to break down the barriers between cells, allowing the migration of immune cells; and adhesion molecules that again enhance immune-cell migration)3, 4.

As long as TNF production remains confined to the site of infection, the inflammatory response is clearly beneficial. But once bacteria, and consequently TNF, invade the systemic blood circulation, blood ‘poisoning’ and sepsis can develop quickly. Furthermore, TNF has been found to be a central mediator of chronic inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. So there is much interest in learning how to control the production, release and activity of TNF. Several means of doing so have been developed (Fig. 1), and have seen some success in treating certain inflammatory disorders5. For instance, there are drugs that inhibit the transcription of the TNF-encoding gene into messenger RNA, the translation of the mRNA into protein, or the release of the TNF protein. There are also antibodies and soluble receptors that bind to and block TNF once it has been released. But, although the value of these approaches is beyond doubt, they all take time to work — and time is usually short when treating patients with sepsis.

Tracey’s research team has been studying TNF since this protein was discovered (see, for instance, ref. 6). Recently, Tracey’s group described another level of control of TNF synthesis — namely by means of the vagus nerve7 — thereby providing a new and exciting link between the involuntary nervous system and inflammation. This ‘parasympathetic’ nerve emanates from the cranium and innervates all major organs in a subconscious way. It is finely branched and is composed of both sensory (input) and motor (output) fibres. This is of relevance because it means that the vagus nerve can on the one hand sense continuing

inflammation (presumably by detecting cytokines through receptors on the nerve surface), and on the other hand suppress it. This suppression is efficient and, above all, a good deal faster than the mechanisms mentioned above. Tracey’s group found7 that, after injecting lipopolysaccharides into rats, electrically stimulating the vagus nerve prevented both the release of TNF from macrophages, and death. Conversely, surgically severing the nerve not only removed this protection but also sensitized the animals to lipopolysaccharide.

But how does the vagus nerve have this effect on macrophages? It was already known that, after this nerve is stimulated, its endings release the neurotransmitter molecule acetylcholine with lightning speed. Macrophages express acetylcholine receptors known as nicotinic receptors, and respond to the released acetylcholine (or the acetylcholine-mimicking nicotine) by suppressing TNF release. But the precise identity of the nicotinic receptors on macrophages was not known. From a therapeutic point of view, this is clearly important to know. It’s also very difficult to find out, as the receptors are pentamers containing different combinations of a possible 16 monomers.

In their latest paper, Tracey and colleagues2 pin down the relevant nicotinic acetylcholine receptor: it is one comprising five copies of the monomer 7. They started by using -bungarotoxin, a molecule that binds to just a subset of receptor monomers, to show that macrophages express the 7 subunit. When the authors blocked the expression of this protein, acetylcholine and nicotine were no longer able to prevent the release of TNF — data that the authors confirmed by studying 7-deficient mice. In fact, such mutant mice displayed an exaggerated response to lipopolysaccharide in terms of their production of the cytokines TNF, interleukin-1 and interleukin-6. Finally, in a technical tour de force, Tracey and colleagues showed that electrically stimulating the vagus nerve of 7-deficient mice no longer afforded protection against lipopolysaccharide (in contrast to the situation in wild-type mice).

These findings2 could have therapeutic implications. The discovery of the connection between the involuntary nervous system and inflammation had already yielded new ideas about treating inflammatory disorders such as sepsis: for instance, a small compound has been developed that can trigger the vagus nerve in rats, thereby reducing inflammation8. Looking to the future, it would be interesting to stimulate the vagus nerve electrically in people — as is currently done in thousands of epilepsy patients, showing that the procedure is safe and feasible — and to study the effect on inflammation. More specifically, the new findings suggest that molecules that stimulate the 7 subunit would also be worth developing.

On a different note, nicotine has been found to have powerful immunosuppressive and inflammation-suppressing effects. Of course, the health risks associated with smoking are immense. Yet epidemiological studies indicate that nicotine protects against several inflammatory diseases, such as ulcerative colitis, Parkinson’s disease

and even Alzheimer’s disease. It can also reduce fever and protect against otherwise lethal infection with the influenza virus9. The demonstration2 that nicotine binds to the 7 subunit on macrophages fleshes out the details of how nicotine produces such effects.

The data also make me reconsider the possibilities and molecular biology of ‘alternative’ medicine. Pavlovian-type conditioning, hypnosis and meditation are well known (since the beginning of the twentieth century in some cases) to reduce inflammation10. It might be worth finding out whether these effects, as well as the reported beneficial effects of prayer and acupuncture on inflammation (the last of which is known to depend on acetylcholine)11, 12, are mediated by the vagus nerve and the 7 subunit.

References

1. Stone, R. Science 64, 365-367 (1994). 2. Wang, H. et al. Nature421, 384-388 (2003); advance online publication, 22 December 2002

(doi: 10.1038/nature01339). 3. Vassalli, P. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 10, 411-452 (1992). | Article | 4. Wielockx, B. et al. Nature Med. 7, 1202-1208 (2001). | Article | 5. Feldmann, M. Nature Rev. Immunol. 2, 364-371 (2002). | Article | 6. Tracey, K. J. et al. Science 234, 470-474 (1986). 7. Borovikova, L. V. Nature 405, 458-462 (2000). | Article | 8. Bernik, T. R. et al. J. Exp. Med. 195, 781-788 (2002). | Article | 9. Sopori, M. Nature Rev. Immunol. 2, 372-377 (2002). | Article | 10. Talley, N. J. & Spiller, R. Lancet 360, 555-564 (2002). | Article | 11. Son, Y. S. et al. Neurosci. Lett. 319, 45-48 (2002). | Article | 12. King, D. E., Mainous, A. G.III, Steyer, T. E. & Pearson, W. Int. J. Psychiatry Med. 31, 415-425

(2001).

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From Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life by Dacher Keltner (pages 228-230):

[The vagus nerve] resides in the chest and, when activated, produces a feeling of spreading, liquid warmth in the chest and a lump in the throat. The vagus nerve … originates in the top of the spinal cord and then winds its way through the body…, connecting up to facial muscle tissue, muscles that are involved in vocalization, the heart, the lungs, the kidneys and liver, and the digestive organs. In a series of controversial papers, physiological psychologist Steve Porges has made the case that the vagus nerve is the nerve of compassion, the body’s caretaking organ.

…Porges notes that the vagus nerve innervates the muscle groups of communicative systems involved in caretaking – the facial musculature and vocal apparatus. In our research, for example, we have found that people systematically sigh – little quarter-second, breathy expressions of concern and understanding – when listening to another person describe an experience of suffering. The sigh is a primordial exhalation, calming the sigher’s flight/flight physiology, and a trigger of comfort and trust, our study found, in the speaker. When we sigh in soothing fashion, or reassure others in distress with our concerned gaze or oblique eyebrows, the vagus nerve is doing its work, stimulating the muscles of the throat, mouth, face, and tongue to emit soothing displays of concern and reassurance.

Second, the vagus nerve is the primary brake on our heart rate. Without activation of the vagus nerve, your heart would fire on average at about 115 beats per minute, instead of the more typical 72 beats per minute. The vagus nerve helps slow the heart rate down. When we are angry or fearful, our heart races, literally jumping five to ten beats per minute, distributing blood to various muscle groups, preparing the body for fight or flight. The vagus nerve does the opposite, reducing our heart rate to a more peaceful pace, enhancing the likelihood of gentle contact in close proximity with others.

Third, the vagus nerve is directly connected to rich networks of oxytocin receptors, those neuropeptides intimately involved in the experience of trust and love. As the vagus nerve fires, stimulating affiliative vocalizations and calmer

cardiovascular physiology, presumably it triggers the release of oxytocin, sending signals of warmth, trust, and devotion throughout the brain and body, and ultimately, to other people.

Finally, the vagus nerve is unique to mammals. Reptilian autonomic nervous systems share the oldest portion of the vagus nerve with us, what is known as the dorsal vagal complex, responsible for immobilization behavior: for example, the shock response when physically traumatized; more speculatively, shame-related behavior when socially humiliated. Reptiles’ autonomic nervous systems also include the sympathetic region of the autonomic nervous system involved in flight/flight behavior. But as caretaking began to define a new class of species – mammals – a region of the nervous system, the vagus nerve, emerged evolutionarily to help support this new category of behavior.

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http://www.subtleyoga.com/220/

A corny title – but a cool nerve. The 10th of the cranial nerves, it is often called the “Nerve of compassion” because when it’s active, it helps create the “warm-fuzzies” that we feel in our chest when we get a hug or are moved by a chick-flick.

The vagus nerve is really a bundle of nerves that originates at the top of the spinal cord and enervates all sorts of organs. Here’s a picture:

(Peter Jurek, www.peterjurek.com)

That first little offshoot stimulates certain muscles in the vocal chamber, facilitating communication. The fourth reduces heart rate and there’s some new scientific findings that are suggesting that the vagus nerve might be closely connected to receptor networks for oxytocin – the feel good hormone/neurotransmitter of parenthood, hugs and bonding.

You can see from this diagram that the vagus nerve branches off to everything from the neck down to the colon. Its fibers are parasympathetic – the relaxing side

of the nervous system (that’s somewhat simplistic, but, in general, a useful, lay person’s way to understand the nervous system is sympathetic = fight or flight, parasympathetic = rest and digest). So the vagus nerve can be related to heart rate, digestion and even skeletal muscles.

Pretty easy to see how even the simplest yoga routine would stimulate lots of branches of this nerve. For years I have heard teachers talk about how yoga benefits the vagus nerve – from shoulderstand and down dog to chanting and pranayama – Yoga is a virtual celebration of the vagus nerve – a practice of viva las vagus!

But here’s something even cooler – the research that Dacher Ketlner, director of the Social Interaction Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley is doing shows that stimulating that vagus nerve is not only good for you – it’s good for the planet!

“Our research and that of other scientists suggest that activation of the vagus nerve is associated with feelings of caretaking and the ethical intuition that humans from different social groups (even adversarial ones) share a common humanity. People who have high vagus nerve activation in a resting state, we have found, are prone to feeling emotions that promote altruism – compassion, gratitude, love and happiness.”

There you go. Do it for love.