In my last article, I emphasized the significance of the jugular foramen. It is the osseous cradle through which the vagus nerve exits the cranium from the brain toward its truly remarkable descent through the thorax, hitching a ride along the esophagus, to below the diaphragm.

The vagal nerve system has many functions, which will be discussed, as well as a highlight of a novel therapy that is emerging, and finally, more fully recognize its essential role in the healing process.

Wanderlust

The Vagus nerve originates "in the brainstem, just behind the ears, it travels down each side of the neck, across the chest and down through the abdomen." Vagus is Latin for wandering and indeed this bundle of nerve fibers roves through the body, networking the brain with the stomach and digestive tract, the lungs, heart, spleen, intestines, liver and kidneys, also including a range of other nerves that are involved in speech, eye contact, facial expressions and even your ability to tune in to other people's voices.

It is made of many thousands of fibers, 80 percent of which are sensory, meaning that the vagus nerve reports back to your brain what is going on in your organs." This description is from an intriguing article written by Gaia Vince detailing "vagal nerve stimulation(VNS)," which will be explored later.¹

Polyvagal Theory

The notion that the vagal system participates in communication via speech, eye contact, facial expressions, and even one's ability to tune into other people's voices so influentially, to my perception, is based on the Polyvagal Theory put forth by Stephen Porges Ph.D. His ideas suggests that there are really two vagal systems that evolved within our ancestral progenitors. Both systems are related to discerning safety in the environment.

The first is related to defensive strategies of immobilization (e.g. fainting or freezing) or, that of mobilization (e.g. fighting or fleeing) including dissociated states of awareness. The second vagal system evolved to influence our brain toward behaviors of communication that promote enhanced human cooperation via eye contact, facial expressions, and discerning the meaning of voice tone.²

Dr. Porges further postulates that the right-side vagus is made up of unmyelinated fibers while the left-side vagus is composed of myelinated fibers. Let's remember that "myelin is a fatty white connective tissue that surrounds the axons of some nerve cells, forming an electrically insulating layer. It is essential for proper functioning of the nervous system."³

Porges further associates the more ancient vagal system to the unmyelinated fibers which communicate via the right and more posterior vagal trunk while the myelinated fibers are the base of the communication network of the left anterior vagal trunk.

Myelinated fibers are capable of faster transmission of information and thus allow us more rapid and more accurate information in any present time situation where a choice of behavior is needed. In sum, Dr. Porges' ideas fit with my clinical experience. A colleague who has communicated with Dr. Proges frequently, Michael Shea PhD, suggests that when clients' experience a sense of safety in response to a therapist's facial expressions and tone of voice, their work will be enhanced in its effectiveness.^2,4

The Rest & Restore System

Understanding the importance of vagal outflow is even more essential in light of an article written by Til Luchau. He describes research from Spain which asserts that the pelvic splanchnic nerves (in mice) are actually sympathetic in nature rather than parasympathetic as has been believed for more than a century.^5,6

If this research proves to become generally accepted, then this leaves the vagal system and the enteric system within the digestive tract as the principal actors of the parasympathetic system commonly thought of as the "rest and restore" system within our bodies. Without rest and the restoration toward physiological homeostasis directed by these component elements of our nervous system, one cannot fully heal.

Vagal Nerve Stimulation

Let's shift our attention to Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS) therapy referenced earlier in the cited article by Gaia Vince. The gist of the article suggests that by improving vagal tone, one's heath can be improved. The article goes on to describe that electrical stimulation can be the initiator of improved vagal tone via an implanted device in one's neck similar to a pacemaker.¹

According to the article, "Research shows that a high vagal tone makes your body better at regulating blood glucose levels, reducing the likelihood of diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Low vagal tone, however, has been associated with chronic inflammation. As part of the immune system, inflammation has a useful role helping the body to heal after an injury, for example, but it can damage organs and blood vessels if it persists beyond the time of effective healing. One of the vagus nerve's jobs is to reset the immune system and switch off production of proteins that fuel inflammation."¹ This is an excellent summary of why and how enhancing vagal outflow and tone is so essential.

Let us remember that all touch and movement therapies have the ability to stimulate and I assert, re-calibrate the quality of electrochemical and electromagnetic transmissions within the human body. This is one description applicable to all therapies that produce positive changes for our clients.

As you begin your next session with a client, image "your idea of the vagal network." It really is that central to health and healing. Request help of any teacher you study with to expand your comprehension of this system. Most importantly, recognize the electricity within your hands and trust even more in your ability to assist the healing process.

Feel free to send me descriptions of how this adds to your sense of daily satisfaction as your work produces even better results for your clients. Clarifying one's "intention produces results in and of itself." You might not have known of the importance of the vagal system before, but now you do.

Author's Note: I would be remiss not to mention John Upledger D.O., Developer of CranioSacral Therapy and founder of the Upledger Institute, and his son, John Matthew Upledger, who became its CEO. Much gratitude toward both of these exceptional individuals is richly deserved.

References

1. Vince G, et al. "Hacking the Nervous System to Heal the Body." Mosaic & Discover Magazines, May 2015.
2. Wikipedia. "Stephen Porges." Wikipedia.com, 2017.
3. Wikipedia. "Myelin." Wikipedia.com, 2017.
4. Shea M. The Vagus Nerve (unpublished manuscript), 2017.
5. Luchau T. "Sympathetic Sacrum" Massage&Bodywork Magazine, Mar/Apr 586-89, 2017.
6. Espinosa-Medina I, Saha, O, et al. "The sacral autonomic outflow is sympathetic." Science, 2016;354(6314): 893-897.